Belmont Heights

This is a story about two boys, Keshawn and EJ, growing up in the same neighborhood but taking very different paths.

Keshawn is the son of a pastor, surrounded by a loving family and a supportive community. He follows in his father’s footsteps, goes to college, and becomes the new pastor of Saint Matthews. He represents hope and the potential for a better future for the community.

EJ, on the other hand, experiences tragedy early in life when his parents mother at dies childbirth due to racial discrimination at a hospital who wouldn’t take her in to delivery EJ. EJ’s father found a woman on the street to help him delivery his son but his wife died in the process. EJ’s father was anger and went back to the white hospital where police intervened and killed him. EJ had to be raised by his grandmother.

Anger and resentment lead EJ down a path of crime. He gets involved with a local gang, ends up in prison, and eventually becomes a kingpin. He represents the systemic issues and the cycle of violence that plagues the community.

EJ and Keyshawn are best friends growing up but their choices are drastically different. Their lives intersect throughout the story, highlighting the stark contrast between their choices and the consequences that follow. The story also touches on themes of:

• Racial Injustice: The story is set against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement and vividly portrays the segregation and discrimination faced by the Black community.
• Poverty and Crime: EJ’s story shows how poverty and lack of opportunity can lead to a life of crime.
• Friendship and Loyalty: The complex relationship between Keshawn and EJ shows the challenges of maintaining friendship amidst conflicting values and lifestyles.
• Hope and Redemption: Despite the hardships and challenges, the story offers a glimmer of hope for a better future, symbolized by Keshawn’s dedication to his community and his father’s legacy.

Love Interest

EJ grew up with a crush on Lauren, while Keyshawn had the same feelings but kept them quiet, not wanting to tread on EJ’s territory. With EJ going to juvenile detention, Keyshawn was left with the opportunity to date Lauren. However, his shyness never allows him to ask her out. After college and Keyshawn’s return to take over Saint Matthews, Keyshawn runs into Lauren and the two start dating. When EJ returns to the scene, anger is welled up in him. He blames Keyshawn for him going to detention and taking his girl.

Conflict

One night when Keyshawn was 15 he hung out with EJ. They were having fun near the basketball court when a man asked them to sell some weed to their friends. EJ was reluctant at first because he was in enough trouble. Keyshawn wanted to sell it because he wanted to buy a car. He saved up some money but the money from selling the weed would be him over the top.

While selling the weed the police come on the scene. EJ and Keyshawn run praying they wouldn’t get caught. EJ gets caught but he never tells on Keyshawn keeping him out of detention.

Conclusion

The story ends with EJ asking Keshawn for a favor that could potentially jeopardize Keshawn’s future. EJ reminds Keyshawn that he took the fall for something Keyshawn wanted to do but Keyshawn refuses. EJ then attacks his friend with a smear campaign all but telling everyone what Keyshawn did as a teenager. When the pressure is on Keyshawn struggles to do the favor for EJ but Lauren tells him to trust God and admit what he did years ago.

Belmont Heights: A Novel of Divided Paths, Lost Lives, and a Congregation Divided

In Belmont Heights, a community yearning for salvation, two young men stand at a precipice. Keyshawn, the righteous son of a pastor, is the heir apparent to St. Matthew’s, a beacon of hope amidst the neighborhood’s struggles. But his path is shadowed by EJ, a childhood friend consumed by grief and rage, whose descent into the criminal underworld casts a pall over their shared history. Fueling EJ’s destructive trajectory is a bitter resentment over Lauren’s quiet affection for Keyshawn, a longing that festers into a dangerous obsession.

The chasm between them widens with Keyshawn’s growing suspicion that EJ is responsible for the tragic death of their mutual friend, Cory. Keyshawn also suspects Pastor Mulberry, the ambitious elder vying for the pastoral position Keyshawn is poised to inherit, becomes entangled in EJ’s web of illicit activities, a secret alliance that threatens to corrupt St. Matthew’s and ultimately destroy Belmont Heights.

Lauren finds herself caught in the middle, her unspoken love for Keyshawn a painful reminder to EJ of what he believes he’s been denied. As Keyshawn’s faith and dedication to his community deepen, and his suspicions about EJ solidify, the stage is set for a devastating confrontation. The battle for Belmont Heights transcends the streets, reaching into the heart of its spiritual center, as the forces of good and evil clash in a fiery reckoning fueled by lost love, buried secrets, and the desperate fight for the soul of a community.