A glitch occurred in JoAnn's well-laid plans, so that we found ourselves sitting outside on an old sidewalk in front of some well-worn storefronts for our discussion time. And as fate would have it, one of our FAB ladies informed us that we were sitting by the old 'blacks-only' funeral home. It all felt appropriate with the book's southern setting in the 1940's and 50's. Although there were only four of us in attendance, we still found ourselves with plenty of insightful and emotion-filled comments to carry on a lively discussion.
Synopsis:
This non-fiction book takes the reader through one of the most tumultous periods of modern America's history. Thurgood Marshall and the Groveland Boys case is the focus of this story, but the pages spans multiple decades, states, and legal cases, while introducing the reader to many prominent figures, both black and white, who fought to erase the blight of racism on this nation.
Comments:
We all agreed that this book evoked some strong emotions in us: anger, sadness, shame, and shock! It was a long read, made longer by the jumps in the story from one character to another or one legal case to another in a different decade. It became difficult to follow all the threads which were being woven together to create the ugly picture of racism being fought in the courtrooms of the United States. However, it was clear that Marshall was a visionary who understood the best course and patience required to reach the NAACP's goal of equality for all races. He took to heart and to action the credo, "A lawyer's either a social engineer or he's a parasite on society." (p.51) We all owe him and the other tireless workers in the service of the NAACP a huge "Thank You" for what they accomplished despite legal setbacks, intimidation, death threats, and Ku Klux Klan killings.
Our strongest emotion was anger at the injustices the blacks endured, but especially at the hands of Sheriff Willis McCall and his right hand man, Deputy James Yates. The Groveland Boys case had so many blatant injustices, outside and inside the courtroom, and the majority of those occurred at the hands of the Lake County, Florida law officials. We strongly desired to see those two men, above anyone else, receive their just desserts. It was impossible for us to grasp the idea that the sheriff was elected over and over and over again through the years, serving the county for 28 years. Even as his reign of terror ended and his death neared in 1994, he avouched, "I never hurt anyone...or killed anyone who didn't deserve killing." (p. 380) How could so many people turn their heads from what they could plainly see happening under their noses and harden their hearts to the cries of the blacks? We felt anger, extreme sadness and shame at the ignorance and hate so many white folks displayed.
This was a history lesson, a geography lesson, an American government lesson, and a lesson in the depths of darkness in some humans' souls. Not to be outdone, we also witnessed the strength and indomitable spirit of the human race as the blacks forged on to create a better future for their children and grandchildren. It is no stretch of the truth to say that this battle is still being waged today in courtrooms across the nation, but also in the minds of the small and bigoted individuals who wrongly believe that the color of our skin dictates the worth of the individual. May our own children and grandchildren fully live out Dr. King's dream: "I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Memorable Quotes:
Allan Knight Chalmers, a highly respected white minister, moved us with these words quoted from his 1951 book, They Shall Be Free: "There are enough staid people in the world holding things as they are. We need no more of them. What we need is people caught by the truth that no one is free when anyone is bound. That is not an easy idea to have get a hold on you. It has to be applied person by person, not just in the pious generalities of the resolutions good people pass when they gather for a moment and separate without effective action." (p. 371)
FAB Rating:
**** (4 out of 5 stars)
This was an excellent book which brought to light so many stories, both horrific and heroic, which we had never heard. It exposed in more detail the plight of the blacks after World War II, along with a new understanding of the anger and defensiveness sometimes passed down from generation to generation. We must keep telling these stories and remind the younger generation of where America has been so that we do not ever repeat this shameful history. Filled with so many facts, characters, geographical settings, courtrooms and cases, we sometimes found ourselves struggling to keep everything straight while eager to return to the main story, the Groveland case. This book had enough stories in it to have easily created two separate books, keeping the Groveland case alone for one book, so that we could better focus on those facts and characters. For that reason, we took off one star from the rating.
