From Past to Present

This week I read The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson.

I am not the biggest mystery fan, but I do love historical fiction. This book included both. The Parker Inheritance addressed many hot topics, like racism, bullying, the Jim Crow era, police bias and brutality, homophobia, the LGTBQ community, justice vs. revenge, and our history as a country towards African Americans, all within the context of an unsolved mystery. My first impression was that I really loved the texture of the end papers, even though that is trivial compared to the story. I liked how the author colored the pages used for flashbacks a darker color to signify the changes in the timeline. He also uses many real historical references to add depth to his story, like Langston Hughes poem “I Too”. This book reminds me of Crenshaw and Wishtree in that it includes many pearls of wisdom. As a white person, instead of hearing from another white person, it was nice to hear from someone that had an inside experience into racism and its effects on all aspects of life. The author addresses stereotypes not only based on skin color, but also on gender. Though this is not the prevalent theme throughout the book, it still comes strongly across. He starts with questioning “boy” books versus “girl” books and moves on to the discussion of if being gay really matters in relationships (friendships and family relationships). I like his approach to it; he doesn’t shy away from it but is also like, “You’re gay? Okay, cool. Let’s get back to solving this mystery”. He also shows the generational impact of long-held beliefs, both towards race and homosexuality. A new concept that was brought to my attention was “white passing”, and how people abandoned one life for another that was a lie, but free. I had never thought of that before, nor did I think it was possible. This book includes many twists, and that was one of them. I love the South, but I think something I need to keep in mind is that even though we do not currently live in the Jim Crow Era or have slavery, that doesn’t mean its effects are nonexistent too. In order to make a better future we have to remember our ugly past. I also liked how he showed that hate came from both sides. Lots of times it’s not good vs. evil, its mixed.  Some things that surprised me were that Brown v. Board of Education was made up of four smaller cases. Additionally, I honestly couldn’t believe that James Parker, when he finally reconnected with Siobhan, wanted her to lighten her skin in order to be with him. I’ve heard of that before, but it was outrageous. Of course, it swings both ways, very pale people like me going to tanning beds in order to achieve what society says is “beautiful”. I think at some point in your life, in order to be content, you need to come to terms with how you were created and accept yourself as beautiful just the way you are. It is easier said than done of course, and everyone has good days and bad days, but it is possible. The songs listened to for this week was evidence of that: not judging someone based on looks, but instead, getting to know them for who they are. Another cool thing was learning that the tennis game in the book was based off of a secret basketball game in North Carolina, Duke vs. NCCU, right in our own backyard.

“Culturally Diverse Literature” by Fenice B. Boyd, Lauren L. Causey, and Lee Galda discusses evaluating literature based on verbal and visual sensitivity, authenticity and accuracy, and ideology. This book was very authentic and accurate, coming from the perspective of a male African American having lived in the South and experienced explicit racism. It was accurate in that it was very well researched in the historical foundations for this book. As discussed above, the author is very sensitive to emotionally-charged issues like homosexuality and racism. His approach is direct, yet matter-of-fact. He shows you the emotion behind these issues and how they have hurt others, yet doesn’t condemn a certain group for them, therefore casting judgement and isolation. There are no pictures in this book, but the author does create appropriate mental pictures for the reader. He does allude to heinous acts, like rape, but does not go into stringent detail. I think this is important for the age group that will be reading this book. He also does not include the racist and derogatory terms that he alludes to. He does lean towards a certain political stance, not necessarily a specific party, but it is apparent in the issues and ideology developed in his book.