Memphis, Martin, And The Mountaintop

Memphis, Martin, And The Mountaintop

Juvenile nonfiction
"Several Memphis garbage trucks were old and unsafe. The trucks
were not maintained.
According to my daddy, a packer blade malfunctioned, crushing
his friends.
Daddy told Mama, 'It ain't right to die like that'."
Back in the 1960's sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee
labored under unsafe conditions for inadequate pay. Even full time
workers needed government help so they and their families could simply
survive. Mayor Loeb ignored all union attempts to improve things. In
February 1968 sanitation workers, feeling they had no other recourse,
went on strike and marched on a picket line. Ultimately Martin Luther
King Jr. was shot and killed during this crusade.
Alice Faye Duncan's Memphis, Martin, And The Mountaintop is
based on the memories of a woman who participated in the strike with
her parents as a child. Protagonist Lorraine speaks from a nine-year-
old's perspective. She provides the precise details that will make
her narrative come alive for the primary school set.
"With Daddy on the picket line and less money in the house, he
rolled pennies to pay our rent. The phone bill went unpaid. One week
we had no lights, and when classmates visited the candy lady on their
way home from school, they bought cookies, pickles, and peppermint
sticks. I walked home empty handed."
This fine book is a great way to introduce our children to the
fight against worker poverty and expiration, a topic that is sadly all
to relevant half a century after King's death.
On a personal note, something I did a couple of years ago is really
helping me cope with Joey having cancer. Reading Lynn Plourde's
Maxi's Secret nudged me into thinking of the loss of beloved companion
animals. It gave me the insights that are enabling me to make the
most of our precious time together instead of being paralyzed with
sadness when the best little cat in the world needs me most.
Bibliotherapy is very real and amazingly accessible. Whatever you may
be going through, it's highly likely that there are books by people
who have been there. You can search for them on the Internet or ask a
friendly librarian or library volunteer for help locating them.
A great big shout out goes out to Lynn and the other fine authors who
put into words what we feel and show us we are not alone.
jules hathaway


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