My Soul Looks Back In Wonder

My Soul Looks Back In Wonder

Adult nonfiction
"Fifty years after the Brown decision, the question remains:
How much did it matter? The burden of race still weighs down much of
American life, but the answer is easy: the gains from those years were
enormous--a dramatic change often obscured because the road ahead
remains so long, because so much damage was done in the previous 200
years. But in changing American life for the better, in starting the
process of rescuing the nation from the cruelest part of its own
history, the Civil Rights Movement is a glorious luminescent,
critically important chapter. It is American democracy at its very
best."
When we read about the Civil Rights Movement--those bright,
shining years in the 1950s and 60s--usually the same acknowledged
authorities contribute pieces and quotes. Juan Williams' My Soul
Looks Back In Wonder is more interesting because it's more inclusive.
It's a bright, vibrant patchwork quilt of experiences and
perspectives. Some of the essays you'll read are:
*A Dream Is A Good Place To Start by Endesha Ida Mae Holland. She was
sexually molested on her 11th birthday by a white man because, "...no
white man wanted to die without having sex with a black woman." Later,
abandoned by her baby daddy, she had to take up street walking to
support her child. But she was able to earn respect in the movement
and her PhD.
*A Blinding Flash Opened Our Eyes. Carolyn Maull survived the bombing
of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. The four girls who died
putting on their choir robes were her close friends.
and *Unprincipled Principal. Jose Angel Gutierrez had looked up to
his high school principal, John Lair, until the man invalidated a
student vote in order to avoid race mixing. Years later, as school
board chair, he was able to lay down the rules for his former nemesis.
In her afterward Marian Wright Edelman reminds readers we still
have far to go.
"Is the American dream big enough to include Dr. King's and our
dream for our own children and grandchildren? It must be. But we
must stand together to do whatever it takes to get America to live up
to its promise of justice and equality. Dr. King is not coming back.
You and I must build a 21st civil rights movement for our children."
Amen to that!
On a personal note, clean sweep week was intense. Monday through
Thursday we sorted stuff. We got it all done in the nick of time like
always. Late Thursday afternoon Lisa announced that we had to stop
and eat. She needed help bringing stuff in from her car. She had
pizza, chicken tenders, meatball subs, and other good stuff...even
blonde brownies. We had a feast. And we got to take food home. I
packed up subs, roast beef, Swiss cheese, chicken tenders, and blonde
brownies. I so won't have to cook while Eugene is at camp. We stayed
a bit late to finish pricing and got silly toward the end. Me and
Georgia vs the guys. I told Lisa we'd beat our former record of over
$6,000. She wasn't so sure. Did we?
You'll have to read the the next review to find out.
A great big shout out goes out to this year's clean sweep crew.
jules hathaway


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