What are you reading?

I'm reading the biography of Fanny Lou Hamer written by Kate Clifford Larson. Fanny was a civil rights activist in the 1960's. They wouldn't let her vote! She got fired from her share cropping job and as a result lost her home, just for registering to vote! This book takes you through Fanny's very hard life from working in the fields at age 6 and being beaten by the police in Mississippi for wanting to vote at age 21. This is in America 100 years after the civil war "freed" the slaves! Did you know they even had "whites only" streets and grocery stores in Mississippi in the 1960's? This book is especially interesting to me because I had the pleasure of meeting Fanny in 1968 when I was at a conference on poverty and went down for the free breakfast. So did Fanny! We got along great! Fanny was the sweetest person! So friendly and nice! She invited me to join her and two other black gentlemen at the table, Eldridge Cleaver and Bobby Seale of the Black Panther Party. They were equally as nice as Fanny. We four were the only ones who came down for the free breakfast and we had a great time together! This is a very well written book and will open your eyes to some shocking realities of the 1960's that many thought were all taken care of with the end of the Civil War!
PML

Laurie, that's quite the line-up of great Canadian authors. I'm a fellow lover of all the authors you mention, however these are all titles I haven't yet read. Guess what I just added to my list?

I forgot to mention that the title of the biography of Fanny Lou Hamer which I am currently reading is: "Walk with Me."
Sorry!
PML

@pml
I'm listening to and audiobook (through Hoopla) that you would probably enjoy. It gives an explanation about racism in the U.S. The title is Caste by Isabel Wilkerson. A very worthy read (or listen).

That sounds good, @becsbuddy!

For @contentandwell and others who like to read WWII novels, I'd highly recommend, The Light After the War, by Anita Abriel. While it is a novel, it is based on the true experiences of the author's mother and her mother's best friend. It chronicles how these two young women survived after thinking that their entire family had been lost at Auschwitz. It's hard to put down once you've started it. Here is an interview by the author which might help you understand the background of the book, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYj_AgTM00U

A Place of Greater Safety by Hillary Mantel. It is 800 pages about the French Revolution. Let me just say, the hours reading it were well worth it. My problems seem minor by comparison!

Thank you for the suggestion! It sounds interesting. I will definitely look that up! I think the reason I was so shocked at the agrevious racism; (white streets only!) was that it was in the 1960's and there were laws at that time that prevented companies and governments to openly deny people of color employment and access to local things such as the streets! Also, people were getting to know others who didn't look like them because of these laws and as a result, discovered we all had a lot in common such as raising children and just trying to pay the bills.
PML

@pml

Thank you for your very interesting review. Little did I know that they even had "whites only" streets and grocery stores in Mississippi as late as the sixties!

What amazes me and scares me, is that many so-called reasonable people - in our time -seriously have suggested taking part of this history out of children's history books pretending ugly things never took place in this country.

Your book made me think of a beautiful film called: "The green book".
In it, the two main characters are an extremely talented black musician and an Italian immigrant to the United States. The movie is based on a true story. It shows us how two very different kinds of human beings can develop warm and lasting relationships. - And how this friendship between them is evolving and grows over the course of the years and how it lasts until the end of their lives.

It starts with the fact that the Italian guy needs a job, and the musician needs somebody to work for him – who can take care of his business, become his manager, assist him, and drive him around during his many concerts in the South.

The film is also an authentic description of all the terrible treatment this black musician gets (he is a famous musician, but I just can’t recall his name right now) gets from the whites who, on the one hand, come to his concerts to enjoy his music, but on the other, they discriminate terribly against him because he is black.

It is a well-played movie, and also a very sad, intense, and amazing (to me) piece of American history. In addition, it is an important but also funny, and encouraging contribution to breaking down prejudice and contrasting injustice.

One of the best WW11 books I've ever read was Coerlli's Mandolin, by Louis De Bernieres. It was first published in 1994. A love story also. It left me thinking about the characters and the story long after it was over. I loved it!