For Americans of any color, he makes a notably persuasive case for doing both.
What happens when a gifted novelist (Scorpions, 1988, Newbery Honor) chooses to write the story of his people?
In this case, the result is engrossing history with a strong unifying theme, the narrative enriched with accounts of outstanding lives. With well-chosen specifics and lucid generalizations, Myers recounts the history of African-Americans, skillfully providing a context for longer treatment of events with far-reaching significance (e.g., the involvement of black soldiers in the Civil War or landmark cases like Plessy vs. Ferguson and Brown vs. Board of Education). Most compelling are the interwoven stories of representative African-Americans, bringing the history vividly to life: Ibrahima, unconquerable African prince; James Forten, entrepreneur; George Latimer, a fugitive who won his freedom but ended his life "a deeply troubled man"; Ida B. Wells, journalist; Meta Vaux Warrick, sculptor; and many more. The complex emotions generated by the more recent Civil Rights movement make it difficult to summarize, but even here Myers's entire presentation is dignified, well balanced, and without rancor, reflecting—like many of the lives he depicts—the movement's generous spirit. Speaking as an African-American, Myers concludes with an eloquent homily recalling the noble qualities of the people he has described and reminding readers that we should "be no less than we can be" and that "before you can go forward, you must know where you have been."
For Americans of any color, he makes a notably persuasive case for doing both. (Nonfiction. 11+)Pub Date: Dec. 30, 1991
ISBN: 0064461203
Page Count: 320
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1991
PERSPECTIVES
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
Historical fiction examines the famous case of Emmett Till, whose murder was one of the triggers of the civil-rights movement. Hiram Hillburn knows R.C. Rydell is evil. He watches R.C. mutilate a catfish, but does nothing to stop him. “I didn’t want to end up like that fish,” he says. He watches R.C. throw stones at a neighbor’s house and humiliate 14-year-old Emmett Till, an African-American visitor from Chicago, and still he does nothing. Hiram says, “When things are scary or dangerous, it’s hard to see clear what to do.” When Till is brutally murdered, Hiram is sure R.C. is involved. Hiram, a white teenager who has come back to the Mississippi town where his father grew up, is the narrator and the perspective of the white outsider and the layers of his moral reflection make this an excellent examination of a difficult topic. When the case comes to trial, Hiram knows he must face his own trial: can he stand up to evil and do the right thing? He knows Mr. Paul, the local storeowner, is right: “Figure out what’s right and what’s wrong, and make yourself do the right thing. Do that and no matter what happens, no matter what people say, you’ll have no regrets.” This is a complicated thing to do, as Hiram must summon inner strength and come to terms with who he is—the son of an English professor who hates everything about the South and the grandson of a farmer who loves everything about it. Teen readers will find themselves caught up in Hiram’s very real struggle to do the right thing. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: May 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-8037-2745-3
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2002
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