The struggle for civil rights in America has been going on for centuries, and though progress has been made, some injustices haven't changed. This book centers on two generations of Black women - a mother and daughter - fighting a discriminatory system decades apart.
Author Nancy Johnson was inspired in part, by recent events. In an interview, Johnson observed, "These periods are different, yet we are going through the same thing over and over again. When we look at where we are in America—new presidential administration, new Congress—marginalized groups now are grappling with how to resist. Looking back at how our ancestors did generations back can be instructive for how we respond today.”
*****
In 1959, Freda Gilroy, who comes from an upper-middle-class Black family in Chicago, begins her freshman year at Nashville's Fisk University.
The school is a legacy from her parents, Almeda Gilroy and Dr. Booker Gilroy - who see higher education as their people's true emancipation.
Freda, a math major, follows the rules of her Jubilee Hall dormitory; is conscientious about her classes and schoolwork; calls her parents every Sunday; and becomes best friends with her two roommates. Cora and Evaline.
As Freda's freshman year unrolls, she meets two young men who will be instrumental in her life. The first young man is Darius Moore, a saxophone player and Fisk student who's a civil rights activist;
During Freda's outing to the state fair with Darius, she's exposed to blatant racism for the first time in her life when she sees a sign indicating 'Colored Bathrooms' and 'White Bathrooms.' This literally makes Freda sick to her stomach, and it's just one of many exclusion policies in the Jim Crow South.
Freda is even more taken aback when she happens to be shopping at Woolworth's on the day Black students are staging a sit-in at the 'Whites Only' lunch counter. Darius is one of the demonstrators, and the reaction of White patrons - and the police - is vicious. As a result, Freda is drawn into Darius's civil rights activism.
Meanwhile, Freda meets Gerald Vance, who turns out to be a very nice medical student at Nashville's Meharry Medical College. Gerald's philosophy aligns with that of Freda's dad - that education is the path ahead for the Black race, not demonstrations.
Freda is torn between Darius and Gerald. Darius matches her compulsion to fight for civil rights, and Gerald matches the expectations of her parents, who feel Black advancement will be achieved via academics and professionalism.
******
Jump ahead to 1992, and Freda is married to Dr. Gerald Vance. Freda is teaching math, Gerald has a successful medical practice, and their 27-year-old daughter Tulip has been working at Maddingly Public Relations for five years.
Tulip is one of two Black employees at Maddingly, and she's a real go-getter. Tulip works extra hours on her accounts and finds a novel way to attract new business to the firm, all in hopes of getting a promotion. Tulip knows White employees see her as an affirmative action hire, and she's subjected to microaggressions and furtive snide comments.
In her private life, Tulip is dating a handsome bus driver named Key, but the romance is constantly discouraged by her parents, who want Freda to marry a professional man.
Tulip's life comes to a crossroads with the Rodney King case. King was the victim of police brutality, and when the cops are being tried, Tulip fully expects a conviction. When the police are exonerated, Tulip is stunned and feels compelled to join activists demonstrating against the verdict.
Tulip faces the same discouragement her mother did, but forges ahead to assist a rally for justice. Along the way, Tulip jeopardizes her employment by using work contacts to advance her cause.
The book toggles back and forth between Freda's story in 1959 and Tulip's story in 1992, and it's evident these two women are fighting the same battle more than three decades apart. [Note: Sadly, we still see police brutality against Black victims, like George Floyd, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Breonna Taylor, and more.]
The book is more than a story about civil rights, however. The author explores the lives of the characters, and I was drawn into the exploits of Freda, Tulip, and the people around them. Along the way we encounter bad boy behavior; trouble paying tuition; a gay man half-way in the closet; an accidental pregnancy; abusive white nationalists; the secret activism of Nat King Cole; Pullman Porters furtively transporting money for Black demonstrators; and more.
Pullman Porters
I liked the book and was very pleased with the finale, which satisfied my personal sense of 'chickens coming home to roost'.
I think it's important to include another snippet from Nancy Johnson's interview, where she says, "It feels like we take a few steps forward and a few steps back. I mean, right now, when you look at some of the executive orders from the current administration and their attempt to roll back some of that civil rights progress made when Freda was a student in the 1960s. Some of what’s been couched as DEI [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion] looks like there is an attempt to roll back some of the civil rights protections people have. I see the trajectory, and it’s scary. It’s a lot, but I think when people read People of Means, it will feel like it’s in conversation with where we are today because there are so many parallels with what’s happening in the 50s and 60s, in the early 90s, and today."
Author Nancy Johnson
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Nancy Johnson and Bahni Turpin, who do a fine job.
Thanks to Netgalley, Nancy Johnson, and HarperAudio for a copy of the book.
Rating: 4 stars
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