The Rock and the River

YA fiction 

     "He stood up at the front of the throng, feeding the crowd with his words.  The podium shook under the pounding of his fist.  Mama stood behind him, where she always stood, hands folded, lashes low, her stillness a mirror for his fervor."

     The year is 1968.  The city is Chicago.  Sam, 13, the protagonist of Kekla Magoon's The Rock and the River, is the younger son of a civil rights activist charismatic preacher.  Like Martin Luther King, his dad believes that although the arc of justice is long the goal will be reached through non violent protest.  Needless to say, he expects both his sons to follow in his footsteps, not straying into the more militant groups.

     Sam's older brother, Stick (Steven), is becoming impatient with their father's pacifism.  Not surprisingly he joins the local branch of the Black Panthers.  This does not sit well with their dad.

     "'I'm a Panther."  Stick broke through Father's tirade with a calm breath. 

     Father sucked in his belly, sucked back the words that would have come next.  'Not in my house,' he said instead."

     So Sam is caught not only between two drastically different ways of dealing with racism, but between two of the most important people in his life.  And things are heating up.  First Sam sees Stick's friend Bucky seriously beaten by cops and arrested on trumped up charges.  And then King is assassinated and his city is on fire.

     This perceptive coming of age narrative takes readers back to the not so distant past when it was becoming clear that change was desperately needed and irreconcilable differences split change makers into two opposing camps, each convinced that their way was the only valid one.

On a purrrsonal note, tonight is the drag show.  I have over nine hours until the lights go up and the music starts.  I have my outfits packed.  I'm just not sure how much homework I'll be able to get done.  It's a little hard to focus on anything but tonight.  (Jules)

She'll nail it.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to everyone who will participate.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

  

     

Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone