A compelling and necessary read, this narrative- enhanced documentation of The Great Migration that, between 1915 to 1970, saw almost six million Black citizens leave the South in search of greater freedom.
The book came out twelve years ago, (at a time I was reading almost nothing new due to writing deadlines) and was a huge best seller and award winner--all well deserved. I'm embarrassed to just now be reading it.
The terrible slavery-like peonage of Black sharecroppers, the routine humiliations of Black folk, the inadequate educational opportunities, and the ever-present threat of lynching are shown through the day-to-day experiences of three who left, and the reality of Jim Crow comes to heart-breaking life.
As one who lived through segregation, I found this book forced me to confront my own blindness to and acceptance of the injustice all around me at the time. I was young--by the time I went to college and the Civil Rights Movement was well underway, I began to realize the terrible truth. But not to the extent that this book has revealed it.
Lived experiences, carefully told with an incredible attention to the details of everyday life, explain so much about the injustice still plaguing our country, even as the Republican party plots and plans to effectively disenfranchise many Black voters.
A necessary book.
James Baldwin, writing during the Migration, put it well: "I can conceive of no Negro native to this country who has not, by the age pf puberty, been irreparably scarred by the condition of his life...
The wonder is not that so many are ruined but that so many survive."
7 comments:
Wonderful post, Vicki. I want to read this book. Like you, I grew up oblivious to the extent of racism that pervaded our culture. Growing up mostly in California, I knew about Jim Crow, but certainly was ignorant of the pervasiveness and viciousness of it. Then the 60s exploded with the truth of things. I would have to say the 60s was my "coming of age." Even then, I didn't recognize how hard white supremacists were working to try and return to the past. I read YOUR recent book - a masterpiece in my estimation - and I will be reviewing it soon on my blog.
Yes, a blindness existed in how we were raised to not see Jim Crow laws in action all around us. If we ever saw the unfairness, we were told to accept reality, that was "just the way it is," Considering how many young white people joined in the civil rights movement, I would say a lot of us started seeing for ourselves. I'll also look for this book, it's about time!
I haven't read this, but am currently reading Caste by the same author and it is intense. And harrowing. And incredibly illuminating. I can highly recommend it.
If Florida Governor DiSantis has his way, no white person in Florida will be able to read it because it will most definitely make them uncomfortable.
Sad times. I don’t know if I or most truly comprehend. And those times affect life and atitudes today.
I thought I recognized the author's name and Karen above mentioned Caste which I found very profound and eye opening. It is a very sad part of our history and it continues to impact so many of our fellow citizens. Unfortunately NH law now prohibits the teaching of just about anything that has to do with our history of racism.
I grew up in South Carolina and well remember the confusion and fear the school integration movement aroused in white people. I was used to being around black people and had never felt that they should be feared. And I never grasped the realities of segregation until I was forced to acknowledge them.
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