Black man ask about mojo

Dear Matthew: I've got to know what “mojo” is. I'm a black man who has been listening to blues music and noticed that this word comes up quite a bit. I can't ask my black friends for fear that my lack of cultural knowledge will hang like a dead albatross from my neck and I will be scorned and mocked for the rest of my days. This leaves me no choice but to turn to a white boy (I assume) for help with the history and ways of my own people. — J.H., Escondido

The mojo of Delta song and story refers to magic or the ability to cast spells on people. When your mojo is workin’, you have the power to get what you want (a woman usually figures into it somewhere). A mojo hand is an amulet embodying the power of the mojo. Hope this brings you up to cultural speed. As for the “white boy” business, J.H., an assumption is just a mistake waiting to happen.