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Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration
Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration | Isabel Wilkerson
In this epic, beautifully written masterwork, Pulitzer Prize winning author Isabel Wilkerson chronicles one of the great untold stories of American history: the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a better life. NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNERLYNTON HISTORY PRIZE WINNERHEARTLAND AWARD WINNERDAYTON LITERARY PEACE PRIZE FINALIST NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY"The New York Times USA Today O: The Oprah Magazine Amazon Publishers Weekly Salon Newsday The Daily Beast"""NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY"The New Yorker The Washington Post The Economist Boston Globe San Francisco Chronicle ChicagoTribune EntertainmentWeekly Philadelphia Inquirer The Guardian The Seattle Times St. Louis Post-Dispatch The Christian Science Monitor"From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America. Wilkerson compares this epic migration to the migrations of other peoples in history. She interviewed more than a thousand people, and gained access to new data and official records, to write this definitive and vividly dramatic account of how these American journeys unfolded, altering our cities, our country, and ourselves. With stunning historical detail, Wilkerson tells this story through the lives of three unique individuals: Ida Mae Gladney, who in 1937 left sharecropping and prejudice in Mississippi for Chicago, where she achieved quiet blue-collar success and, in old age, voted for Barack Obama when he ran for an Illinois Senate seat; sharp and quick-tempered George Starling, who in 1945 fled Florida for Harlem, where he endangered his job fighting for civil rights, saw his family fall, and finally found peace in God; and Robert Foster, who left Louisiana in 1953 to pursue a medical career, the personal physician to Ray Charles as part of a glitteringly successful medical career, which allowed him to purchase a grand home where he often threw exuberant parties. Wilkerson brilliantly captures their first treacherous and exhausting cross-country trips by car and train and their new lives in colonies that grew into ghettos, as well as how they changed these cities with southern food, faith, and culture and improved them with discipline, drive, and hard work. Both a riveting microcosm and a major assessment, The Warmth of Other Suns is a bold, remarkable, and riveting work, a superb account of an unrecognized immigration within our own land. Through the breadth of its narrative, the beauty of the writing, the depth of its research, and the fullness of the people and lives portrayed herein, this book is destined to become a classic."
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brushlo
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Pickpick

best read of 2023 so far. should be required reading in high school. it connects the dots between the past oppression and subjugation of blacks in america and so much of our current situation. i loved the way the story was told through the lives of the migrants. check it out!

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TheSpineView
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Eggs Perfect 🤩 4mo
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AmyK1
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My library sale #bookhaul!

wanderinglynn Great haul! 4mo
Clwojick Library book sales are the best! You found some gems 💎 4mo
Gissy Lucky you!📚📚📚🙌 4mo
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vlwelser
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Pickpick

This book is lovely. But I highly recommend reading it in bits. Because it's repetitive. Like as if the chapters are meant to stand alone.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 4mo
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vlwelser
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Today's plan + the tote I received in the book club gift exchange. 💛

Blaire That is one of my favorite books of at least the last decade 4mo
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ChaoticMissAdventures
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5 ⭐
Warmth of Other Suns - Wilkerson
4.5⭐
Fresh Water for Flowers - Perrin
Galaxy and the Ground Within - Chambers
4⭐
Little - Carey
Paradise - Morrison
Elatsoe - Little Bader
Me (Moth) - McBride
Stay With Me - Adébáyọ̀
Devil Takes You Home - Iglesias
The Way We Never Were - Coontz
Swimming Home - Levy
3⭐
Girl from the Sea - Ostertag
Seven Days In June - Williams
Tales of the City - Maupin
Nine Perfect Strangers - Moriarty
Birnam Wood - Catton

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ChaoticMissAdventures
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Pickpick

5⭐
You can tell by my tabs I got so much information out of this book. But what I loved the most is the weaving of the history and analysis of the Migration with the biographies of 3 people who were involved (all three migrated from the south to different areas of the US) this made the book a much lighter and more engrossing read.
One of those books all Americans should read.

Kristin_Reads I‘m halfway through this and it‘s incredible. 5mo
ChaoticMissAdventures @Kristin_Reads I was so intimidated by it, it has sat on my shelf for years, but it was nothing like I had imagined. So personable and easy to read. 5mo
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ChaoticMissAdventures
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Big plans for this week! Trying to wrap up a bunch of books I started this year before the New Year. I have Fear of Flying, Trust Exercise, and Elatsoe on audio to speed things along.

rockpools It‘s a good plan! 5mo
Cinfhen Happy Reading 🧡 5mo
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Adventures-of-a-French-Reader
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Pickpick

Excellent book that I highly recommend.
The author, through personal accounts of black people moving from Jim Crow's south to the north, gives a factual account of this phenomenon that lasted several decades.
Informative and well-written, this book is also moving, sometimes hard to read because of its content, but so essential.

TheBookHippie I agree such a powerful read. 5mo
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ChaoticMissAdventures
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"Still it made no sense to Pershing that one set of people could be in a cage, and the people outside couldn't see the bars."

Such an excellent description of how racism and the people who allow it to continue.
#nonfictionNovember

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ChaoticMissAdventures
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Last few days of nonfiction November!
#readinggoals #weeklyforecast

I have been taking the tagged bit by bit and hope to finish this week. Also about half through Are Prisons Obsolete, and Souls of Black Folk those should be done by end of month. I picked up the audio for Wild Swans to finish #nonfictionNovember strong(ish) I didn't get as much as I wanted read, but got a few off my old #tbr

Chelsea.Poole Lovely little scene 😊 6mo
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ChaoticMissAdventures
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Nonfiction November continues. I have been a bit unmotivated this year. I randomly started rewatching White Collar reruns and can't seem to want to turn that off. But have a long weekend coming up so hoping to make a dent in these, and throwing a fun fiction book into the mix.

All of these are incredibly interesting I have just apparently hit a slump. Getting Beautiful Forevers and the Feynman one on audio to help move along

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ChaoticMissAdventures
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"times were the best they had ever been, which said more about how meager the past had been than how great the present was."

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ChaoticMissAdventures
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"Was it a braver thing to stay, or was it a a braver thing to go?"

"It was the first big step the nation's servant class ever took without asking."

I was intimidated by this book but the first chapters are very easy to read and absorb.

SamAnne I loved this book. I learned so much more history and I appreciated her telling the history through three individuals and sharing her own stories as well. So powerful. 7mo
ChaoticMissAdventures @SamAnne yes! It is a great layout and the stories make it so much easier to read then a dry disconnected academic book only focused on numbers. 7mo
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CMaybin
Pickpick

This book was an amazing and educational story. That should be read by all. Don‘t let the fact that it is a work of non fiction put you off.

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ChaoticMissAdventures
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melissajayne The Warmth of Warmer Suns is excellent 7mo
ChaoticMissAdventures @melissajayne it has been on my shelf for literal years, I have been intimidated by it, but this is the time! 7mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 7mo
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Cinfhen
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Pickpick

An amazing work of history and storytelling 🙌🏻 Warmth will definitely be on my top reads for 2022.
I did print/ audio combo and both mediums were fantastic.Looking forward to discussing with my IRL bookclub 🤓

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Cinfhen
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This book is fantastic but my two weeks away from the book has left me forgetting a bunch of relevant information. I feel like I need a little refresher course. #IRLbookclub

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Cinfhen
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Getting a jump start on my #IRL #BookClub October read - So far it‘s fantastic and the audio narration is outstanding 🙌🏻🎧

MallenNC This book is excellent! I‘ve read it twice. 8mo
AnneCecilie I loved this one 8mo
Cinfhen It really is an amazing piece of history and storytelling @MallenNC @AnneCecilie it will definitely be on my top reads list!!! 8mo
Centique I‘d put it on my TBR but it‘s so good to hear that it is such a good reading experience. Will have to move it up! 8mo
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swynn
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The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
The Prophets by Robert Jones, Jr
Checkmate in Berlin by Giles Milton
Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M Valente

#Littenswanttoknow

Thanks for the tag @MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm !

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Thank you for playing!! 📚 8mo
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ChaoticMissAdventures
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Even though I didn't do great this month, continuing on with trying to get that old backlog down.
#bookspin list with @thearomaofbooks

LeslieO The struggle is real! 11mo
TheAromaofBooks Yay!!! 11mo
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Bevita
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Pickpick

Amazing, unforgettable, awful, how come they didn‘t teach us ANY of this? She‘s a magnificent author, makes me like nonfiction. Couldn‘t put it down

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DMC_run8
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Pickpick

Very well researched book about the migration of African Americans from the south during the Jim Crow period. The book follows three people who make their way out of the south and end up in Chicago, NYC, and LA each in a different decade. 5⭐️

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BacklistReader
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Pickpick

This was a great one to pick up. We read this for my family book club and we all learned a ton. Definitely recommend this one.

Nonfiction that doesn‘t read like a text book is always a plus for me.

#nonfiction #thewarmthofothersuns #isabelwilkerson #bookreview

Leftcoastzen She‘s s wonderful writer .Such a great book! 1y
BacklistReader @Leftcoastzen it really was good. I‘m looking forward to picking up more by her 1y
Leftcoastzen Caste was great too! 1y
BacklistReader @Leftcoastzen that‘s definitely good to know. 1y
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BacklistReader
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January wrap up and currently reading

#wrapup #currentlyreading #januarywrapup

slategreyskies Just a quick note to let you know that I love your screen name! It makes me smile every time I see it. :) 1y
paperwitchs These books look greattt 1y
BacklistReader @paperwitchs they are really good. I highly recommend the mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs (it‘s my favorite). 1y
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BacklistReader
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swynn
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Pickpick

(2010) This is the January pick for my RL book club, and y'all, it's f***ing brilliant. (Not sure I can say that at Book Club, but it's true.) It's the story of the "great migration" of black citizens from southern states northward during the early twentieth century and into the 1970's. It's an enlightening history interwoven with moving personal stories of three people who made the move. Fascinating, affecting, enthusiastically recommended.

Graywacke Agree, especially with your asterisk-ed comment. 1y
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swynn
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The night clouds were closing in on the salt licks east of the oxbow lakes along the folds in the earth beyond the Yalobusha River.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

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Butterfinger
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Pickpick

A strong sociological study of the Great Migration. Statistics and historical facts revolve around three figures who escaped the South in order to be free. To become American citizens. I'm so grateful to have read this book. #OtherSuns @megnews

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AnneCecilie
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Pickpick

This book thought me so much. I had no idea that there had been an internal migration in the US from the South to the North and the West starting during WWI and until the 60s.

Wilkerson chooses to focus on three people; Ida Mae Brandon Gladney leaving in 1937, George Swanson Starling leaving in 1945 and Robert Joseph Pershing Foster leaving in 1953. Each represents their own decade for leaving and their receiving city. I loved reading about

AnneCecilie their lives and expectations. I‘m so glad you organized this buddy read @megnews so I got to this book sooner rather than later. 1y
megnews Thank you! Sorry I‘ve gotten behind here at the end. Still making slow progress. Defy plan to finish as it‘s excellent. 1y
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Deblovestoread
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#BookReport.

I appreciated this book on the Great Migration and wished the facts presented were more common. I‘m so grateful for the continued opportunity to learn and then share these truths. 5 🌟 Seven Days was not bad 3.5 🌟

The Winterson‘s is a reread one story a day. In the Midst of Winter is kind of meh and I might bail but have less than 3 hours. Halfway through Nantucket and will finish The Twelve Fates today.

Cinfhen I‘m reading Warmth with my IRL bookclub later in 2022! I‘m looking forward- I bailed on the Allende when it first came out, i found it boring. 1y
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megnews
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I saw a few reviews go up this week. I‘ve read a little but still behind. Still, I wanted to post for the rest of the group. Anymore new insights? What really stood out in this section?

Riveted_Reader_Melissa How are you doing, making any progress. I was behind forever and then when I got back into it I just went the rest of the way through. Maybe try switching to the audiobook or ebook depending on what you are using now. 1y
megnews @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I‘m in the Disillusionment section. I looked at 8 library systems and hoopla for the audio so I could listen on my trip and could not find one. I had already bought the ebook and didn‘t want to pay for the audio too right now. I‘m slowly making my way through. This is what happens to me with long books (even fiction) even when I love them. I seem to get bogged down in the length. I really hoped leading the discussion 👇🏻 1y
megnews 👆🏻would motivate me but even though I really love the writing style and the stories, it happened again! I‘m going to keep pushing my way through but at this point I won‘t finish in time. It‘s also been difficult because my mom developed a blood clot after knee surgery and has now been emergency with bad nose bleeds from the blood thinners. My oldest daughter is having a rough time with her Bipolar. So I‘ve been sticking with mindless 👇🏻 1y
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megnews 👆🏻Christmas stories mainly in audio. 1y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa I completely understand that, real life has been complicated for me lately too and I still haven‘t finished Vanguard from SheSaid yet. I‘m glad you are doing ok though, even with all the other stressors around at the moment. You‘ll get there when you get there, so just read what works for you at the moment. 1y
Butterfinger Oh Megan, if there is anything I can do, just let me know. I just finished. 1y
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BarbaraTheBibliophage
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Pickpick

Worth five solid and fascinating stars. Wilkerson follows three people who leave the South and chase a brighter day. She tells about their dreams, many of which don‘t come to fruition the way the dreamer hoped. The migrants land in Chicago, NYC, and Los Angeles. So Wilkerson discusses life in all those areas during the turbulence of the 20th century. Highly recommend!

Full review https://www.TheBibliophage.com #thebibliophage2021 #OtherSuns

Prairiegirl_reading I loved the way this was set up. I honestly wasn‘t expecting it to be what it was. I loved it too! 1y
Graywacke One of my favorite books. 1y
Amiable Such a phenomenal read. 1y
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BarbaraTheBibliophage @Prairiegirl_reading I agree. So much heart in the midst of all the historical information. Lot of heartbreak also. 1y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @Graywacke Yes! And she is an automatic buy author for me from now on. 1y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Pickpick

I loved this nonfiction book that examines the Great migration from the South to the North and West of large swaths of African Americans starting in WWI. Wilkerson does a great job here of telling the larger story of terror, upheaval, change, and culture shock by interviewing and telling the personal stories of 3 migrants and their families…looking to escape racism and lynchings and get a new start in under warmer (and hopefully pleasanter) suns.

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Sorry @megnews I got on a roll and just finished it. #OtherSuns 1y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @TheAromaofBooks This was my #DoubleBookSpin from May 😳, but I finally read it 🤪 1y
megnews It happens! I‘ve enjoyed the discussions. Glad you liked it. I really like your graphic. 1y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa @megnews Stock background images in Vanillapen, it seemed like the right one to pick to me. 😉 1y
Tamra I keep meaning to read this one! 1y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Tamra I think you‘d really like it, she tells the larger history… but the majority of the book is the retelling of 3 peoples lives, in their own words….what they saw, why they left, what happened when they arrived, etc, etc. it makes it all the more personal and relatable. I found myself so grateful she was able to do intensive interviews with people from this generation before they are all gone. Their personal stories makes history come alive 1y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Tamra ↪️ and as she follows their lives and stories she gives the larger backdrop and history…making the connections that show why these stories are so important and typical of the time. 1y
Tamra @Riveted_Reader_Melissa sounds fabulous! 1y
Amiable Such a phenomenal book! 1y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! Great work getting this one checked off!!! 1y
64 likes10 comments
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megnews
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I have to apologize to everyone because as much as I enjoy this book when I‘m reading it, I just haven‘t picked it up much recently with other things grabbing my attention. I am woefully behind. I wanted to get the audio from my drive to NC Tuesday but can‘t find it. I‘m going to keep trying to read but I can‘t imagine staying on schedule. I still want to post for those who are keeping up. What have you learned? What would you like to share?

MallenNC I was really behind but finally caught up this week. I have read this before so I was definitely getting drawn toward other books. I am getting a lot from rereading because it‘s been a few years since I first read it. The section I just finished made me sad bc the “main characters” are getting older and it‘s hard not to think of the “what if‘s” of their lives had racism not changed their paths. Especially George. (edited) 1y
MallenNC Also in this section was Dr. King‘s efforts to reform housing discrimination in Chicago. I didn‘t know much about it before this book. 1y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa I finally caught up tonight! But I very much understand your struggle….November was a tough reading month for me. So take your time and you‘ll get there when you get there @megnews 1y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa @MallenNC I found that really interesting too, I knew he had tried to start The Poor People campaign before he passed, basically uniting those living in poverty together…his children still do work on this front with his foundation. But reading this really made an impact of the Chicago atmosphere at the time. Have you seen the The Trial of the Chicago 6 movie or Judas and the Black Messiah both historical and set in Chicago overlapping the same⤵️ 1y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ time period and so very good at painting the corruption and racism in the officials of Chicago. I recommend them both if you haven‘t. (edited) 1y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @MallenNC The “what if‘s” kill me, especially with George, so much potential to basically a porter. So sad….then there is Robert at the other end… that struggled, but got too big and forgot to help others (at least to me). He could have done so much uplifting others. But he did get out, and got to live his Hollywood dream….so good for him….but I personally see wasted potential there too. 🤷‍♀️ 1y
megnews @MallenNC @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I can‘t recall hearing about MLK‘s work in Chicago. Looking forward to reading that. I‘ve not seen those movies either. Will check it out. I definitely want to see how all three of their lives turn out. I will keep trying to get through. 1y
Butterfinger @Riveted_Reader_Melissa @MallenNC @megnews the section on neighborhoods being emptied by white families hit me in the gut. It brought up guilt because I think my grandparents did that. I was way too young to know why they moved, but I remember remarks. Before this book, I really thought discrimination and segregation and Jim Crow was only in the south. It was everywhere. The New York bar, the housing in Chicago. The "receiving towns" still have division lines. Learned so much. 1y
Butterfinger Excuse my errors. Intense emotions and trying to get all my thoughts down. I also was sad with George's what-ifs. He worked so hard to get to a place where his children could get an education. Children can make you so mad when they don't have your ambition. I really empathized with him on that score. And I hated Robert's pretentious party. What was he trying to prove? Especially to those in Monroe and to his nephew. Don't worry Megan. I feel like I stay behind. 1y
megnews @Butterfinger after my maternal grandfather‘s mom died he grew up between Cleveland with his dad & NC with his dad‘s parents. Met my gran in Marion and they married in ‘47 and moved back to Cleveland, specifically the Hough neighborhood. My mom was born in ‘57 and the “neighborhood was changing.” Along with most other white families they moved by ‘62. The Hough riots took place in ‘66. I was in my 30s by the time I understand my grandparents 👇🏻 1y
megnews 👆🏻were part of the “white flight” from the city to the suburbs. It sucks. 1y
36 likes11 comments
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LitStephanie
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TBR for #wintergames2021 #teamgamesleighers
The pictured, plus The Stupidest Angel (re-read on audio), The Warmth of Other Suns (already started but twice as long as most books so I figure it counts), A Highlander's Christmas Kiss (couldn't resist a holiday bodice ripper), Merry and Bright (cheesy holiday romance), and Long Road to Mercy (recently started). Holiday beer to accompany. Let the games begin!

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megnews
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I can tell you this stuff still happens. My ex is Black and this happened to us the first time we bought a new car together, significantly different than my own personal previous experiences. He was so used to stuff like this but I was ticked. We left and, like Robert, I contacted the Manager & told him we could have drove off the lot with any car there but they lost that sale. Still get mad thinking about it. #othersuns

Jari-chan Unbelievable! 🤨 2y
megnews @Jari-chan yep! We knew exactly what vehicle we wanted because we‘d done our research beforehand. At first, I thought he was just being a salesman showing us options, but when the options were all used and cheaper, I started getting heated. 2y
DaveGreen7777 So sorry your Ex was treated that way! Racism sucks so bad! 😔 2y
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megnews @DaveGreen7777 it does. I don‘t like complaining about this stuff on the internet especially when it‘s not me it impacts like it does someone else. But so many people think this doesn‘t happen anymore so I try to share a little. The sad part was how he seemed so resigned to it because he was so used to it. (edited) 2y
DaveGreen7777 @megnews I understand what you mean. I remember reading a post from a white woman about a time when she playfully said “Race you to the car” to her black boyfriend, and when he got to the car, he asked her never to run in front of her like that again, because he was afraid of someone assuming he was chasing her. Again, what really haunted me reading that was how used to prejudice her boyfriend apparently was! ☹️ 2y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @DaveGreen7777 So sad, and even more sad he has a point and was correct. Too many would assume bad things, which could mean very bad outcomes for him. 2y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @megnews These stories are so important because I think way too many people think this is in the past, and just cannot see all the racism still occurring around them. 2y
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megnews
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Ida Mae, George, & Robert are finally settling in to their new homes. It‘s amazing to me how similar the reaction to Great Migration was to immigration. With previous generations, even from the same race & country, not necessarily welcoming new families in. What did you think? What were your thoughts on the advice provided by the Chicago Defender & Urban League? What else did you note in your reading this week?
#OtherSuns

Riveted_Reader_Melissa I‘m finding this whole book fascinating to read, but it‘s hard to just pick out 1 thing to talk about. She has done such a good job at making these stories of lives flow so well together. I loved that the doctor had finally made a place & practice for himself, I also love the very human quality of feeling in competition with his father-in-law and being able to provide as well…such a universal never-ending human issue. I loved the tidbits ⤵️ 2y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ about his “famous” patient. George and Inez keep pulling me back in too, all that work to escape, and he is ridding the rails permanently now, still couldn‘t get back to school. His descriptions of NY at that time remind me if parts of The Autobiography of Malcolm X, that scene of singers, dancers, gamblers, and artists must have been such an amazing time to live in, it always sounds half imaginary to me. Ida has the most down to earth life⤵️ 2y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ at least to me….worrying about children, neighbors, fitting in, again such human universal reactions….and I am so appreciative of the fact that she got to interview these people before they passed, so we get those details that make history more real, then just the facts history without personalization we usually get. I hope that makes sense. (edited) 2y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa I think the side stories that stick out to me this week are still Jesse Owens was JC Owens but misunderstood and got stuck with it, and I now want to read his autobiography….and the story of the organizer who had to basically hide out even after his job was taken from him, because he was the face of that job. Such a testament to organizing and says so much about how big organizations don‘t always understand what‘s going on on-the-ground. (edited) 2y
megnews @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I agree with everything you‘ve said here. Definitely makes sense. I love the stories. It takes it from learning facts to seeing how it impacted actual people & families. I always feel what you‘re saying when I read about NYC in that time period. So magical. What was your take on the adjustment rules of the Defender & Urban League? Helpful or respectability politics? Seemed a little of both but leaning toward the latter. 2y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @megnews Both, definitely respectability politics, but what choice did they have….they desperately wanted to be seen as equal and worthy of all the same justice, jobs, rights, everything….and the stereotypes that tried to “other” them were all based on making them seem “less than” based on illererate, lazy, immoral, what-have-you, so it was their way of both trying to educate & help the new comers to fit in, but also disprove the stereotypes. 2y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @megnews Every new comers tries in some way to fit in by doing what the supposedly in “accepted” group is doing…whether it is new immigrants, moving to a new town and joining the PTA/church, or kids changing school, everyone wants to fit in and be accepted. I think it‘s just part of human nature to want to be accepted socially and not outcast. 2y
Butterfinger I understand helping the newcomers adjust into fitting in their new environments, but I was glad that they kept part of their old selves. Especially with food. Ida Mae and Robert wanted to keep that small piece of themselves. I was surprised that Dean Martin's Riveria was so bigoted. In Davis's autobiography, Frank Sinatra wouldn't participate in a Vegas show or hotel if Sammy Davis Jr couldn't participate. I assumed Martin would have known that. Which is why Jimmy Gay thought it would be okay. 2y
Butterfinger I know Davis helped to break down the walls in Vegas. I love the personal stories and how it ties with the larger historical picture. Ida May's first time voting without persecution. 2y
BarbaraTheBibliophage This book is just so amazing. Like @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I am finding connections to many other books I‘ve read previously. Another from Harlem that comes to mind is Ralph Ellison‘s Invisible Man. And Whatever Happened to Interracial Love by Kathleen Collins. I am actually way ahead in our schedule so I put it down for a bit and that‘s making it hard to comment. 🤪 2y
megnews @Butterfinger I love that they kept pieces of themselves too. 2y
megnews @BarbaraTheBibliophage I‘m behind in responding and reading as my daughter came home from college this week. I‘ve had Invisible Man on my tbr forever. Really need to get to it. 2y
Butterfinger I'm out of town with my girls for a week and I just realized I didn't pack my book. I only brought my Kindle. On the other hand, I will finish the Overbooked. 2y
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AnneCecilie
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“Come help me,” Win said. “I can‘t blow this light out.”
George found him standing by the bulb. Win had been blowing on the bulb until he was almost out of breath.
“Win you can‘t blow it out, you got to turn it off,” George told him, reaching for the light switch and shaking his head.

#OtherSuns

(Sometimes it‘s easy to forget how new electricity actually is)

Texreader This is great! 2y
megnews This is a perfect example of the general feeling Ida Mae seemed to live with, missing the wide open, the land, peace & quiet, etc. It‘s amazing how we don‘t realize what it was like to encounter new technology at a time the world was changing so quickly. 2y
AnneCecilie @megnews It also reminded me of some scenes from Downton Abbey when they are talking about electricity and once they get it. And when they get the telephone. It‘s hard to believe that this is just 100 years ago. (edited) 2y
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megnews
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Folks, I‘m behind again. My mom had a knee replacement last week and she‘s had some rough days. Been trying to help her and got behind on my reading. But here for those who are caught up is this week‘s #OtherSuns discussion post. What did you learn this week? What are your thoughts on arrival at their destinations? I will respond tomorrow when I finish.

MallenNC I hope your mom recovers well! I‘m a little behind too. 2y
megnews I highlighted so much in this section that I don‘t know where to start. I learned some California history. Among the group that founded LA were 40 black people. CA considered prohibiting black people from living in the state. Northern classrooms where all the children were born in the South! I loved her discussion on migration in general and how it applied to the Great Migration, that contrary to the lie, Black people who moved from the South 👇🏻 2y
megnews 👆🏻faced obstacles & were highly motivated to succeed. When I read this: “controlling the movements of Blacks by controlling the minds of whites,” I thought honestly there‘s still so many who think this way and try to control AA upward mobility. If only the recommendations of the Negro in Chicago report had been put in place everywhere: that white people would seek accurate information about Blacks as a basis for their judgements and that 👇🏻 2y
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megnews 👆🏻press treat black and white stories with the same standards and proportion. Sadly these recommendations could still be made today. 2y
Butterfinger Thinking of you and your mom. What stuck with me was the realty covenants to keep people separated. Oh my goodness. Which most definitely lead to projects and that kind of life. I know this is random, but since I was a little girl, I have been confused about this incident. My family was watching Good Times and the episode was about the family moving to Mississippi and how happy they were. I remember my daddy saying why would they want to come back? 2y
Butterfinger I just never understood that comment so on some level my father subconsciously knew about the great migration or he would not have used the word 'back'. Is there something to this? Is there a sociology study about urban families trying to migrate back? That is where my brain went during this read. Also, I have to read Jesse Owens's autobiography. 2y
megnews @Butterfinger from what the book said, it sounded like they were less likely to go back south than immigrants from other countries were to return to their homes. Regarding the realty covenants, I remember my great uncle in Columbia sc saying at dinner one night a group of neighbors was going to meet with a neighbor who was selling their house to Black people to convince him not to and I clearly remember him saying “why would they want to move 👇🏻 2y
megnews 👆🏻into our neighborhood?” I wish I knew what happened in that situation. This was the mid to late 80s and I‘ve never forgotten this. 2y
megnews @Butterfinger I am aware of families who‘ve sent a kid back down south with grandparents etc if they were starting to get in trouble up here. I think it‘s viewed as more rural and less likely to get in trouble. 2y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Butterfinger I don‘t know about that, but I read a great book about the selling covenants build in to real estate, some legally have to be passed down from buyer to buyer forever, they are tied to the houses‘s deed and take a bunch of lawyer work to get removed no matter what the current owner wants or thinks. Such a crazy thing to me. Sone of these things I read and half can‘t imagine how crazy humans are.🙄. And yes, I want to read Jesse (JC)⤵️ 2y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ Owens biography now too 2y
megnews @Riveted_Reader_Melissa it is crazy! That‘s a book on my tbr. Got to get to it! 2y
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megnews
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By some miracle I‘m caught up! I think because the writing is so good and when you find the time it‘s easy to be swept away for awhile. In this section, Ida Mae, George, and Robert make their journey out of the South. Thoughts as you read? Stand out sections? #OtherSuns

megnews I find Robert‘s journey particularly interesting as when I‘ve thought of the Great Migration I‘ve always thought South to North, not so much West. It‘s interesting how different states, generally speaking, followed certain routes and ended up in certain places. I‘m outside of Cleveland Ohio and as the book mentioned, a lot of African Americans here came from Mississippi and Alabama. 2y
megnews I also liked Robert‘s thoughts at his going away party in Georgia. “How can you stay here and accept crumbs?” he said. “Come go to heaven with me.” 2y
MallenNC The part of this section where Robert is not allowed to rent a hotel even once he‘d left the south is so heartbreaking to me. I think Wilkerson‘s writing is moving. This information of narrative nonfiction is very compelling. I think it‘s my favorite genre. 2y
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Butterfinger I haven't read the section yet, but I keep thinking of writers whose families were part of the Great Migration and it is reflected in their writing. James Baldwin and Maya Angelou. 2y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @MallenNC Yes, I found that particularly heart-wrenching. I think, even though he had the less scary leaving story overall…no one was trying to actively stop him from leaving… the stories all have the feeling of a slow moving horror story, can they escape, did they tell or not tell the right people, will they make it out…and his just grabs you because you think he‘s made it out, only to realize he hasn‘t. That horror movie where they think ⤵️ 2y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa They have escaped, only to realize they are still trapped. 2y
MallenNC @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Yes, exactly. I‘ve read this book before so I know (generally) what happens but I was still feeling anxious while reading bc of that sense of foreboding. 2y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa Overall I found it very interesting how the lines of travel open to them determined the destination in many ways, the actual overground rail-lines and how they connected. I hadn‘t really thought of it in that way before, and it‘s so obvious. Plus the story about the whole train having to stop to change out the colored cars for the integrated cars at the border… it amazes me how much money/time companies wasted to maintain Jim Crow. 2y
AnneCecilie What @Riveted_Reader_Melissa wrote, but what really caught my attention was Robert Joseph Pershing Foster who was driving to California and tried to get a hotel room in Western New Mexico only to find that Jim Crow still existed there. It appears we noticed the same thing @MallenNC (edited) 2y
megnews @MallenNC @annececelie that part is heartbreaking. I want to shake my finger in their faces and tell them how awful they are. It‘s taken me a long road to read more nonfiction and I agree narrative is the best. It makes it so much easier for me to stay engaged. (edited) 2y
megnews @Riveted_Reader_Melissa it is crazy how all these companies subsidized Jim Crow for so long. I would have never thought of that, but your comparison to a horror story is perfect. 2y
BarbaraTheBibliophage I was mostly struck by the incredible strength and courage the migrating people showed. They had some general idea of what they‘d encounter, but then it didn‘t turn out quite that way. Whether that meant the actual way they left or what happened on the road. 2y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I keep thinking about the adaptation, on HBO I think, of Lovecraft Country. It combines horror with this experience of traveling while black. Not strictly a migration story but it illustrates so many of the concepts Wilkerson talks about. The show is really good and I do want to go back and read the book now. (edited) 2y
megnews @BarbaraTheBibliophage the strength and courage definitely. I have always thought that about immigrants who came from different lands with perhaps a dollar in their pocket and one distant relative here. To go somewhere far away that you‘ve heard about but never been, possibly never seeing your family again. The Great Migration was very similar and took no less courage. 2y
Butterfinger Her writing is outstanding. I also noticed that I was gripping the edge of my seat @MallenNC and @Riveted_Reader_Melissa The analogy of the underground railroad to the overground railroad. So eye-opening to me. I learned about the Green Books from a picture book and it saddens me that travelers had to have a guide of friendly boarding houses and gas stations. 2y
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megnews
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This happened so often to so many Black veterans. It burns me up. The descendants of these racist white perpetrators are the same people saying don‘t kneel during the anthem out of respect for the military which is absurd. #OtherSuns

KCofKaysville @megnews It's so sad. I have a copy of this and it's on my reading list. I'm going to listen to the author tonight who's talking at the college where I work. 2y
AnneCecilie This broke my heart. I can‘t believe that this actually happened. 2y
BarbaraTheBibliophage The more I read, the more upset I am with systemic racism and everyone who perpetrates it. To. This. Day. 2y
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megnews @BarbaraTheBibliophage yes. If someone reads any history of the US at all it‘s impossible not to recognize the systemic nature of racism and how it still has its impacts today. The people were absolute monsters. Pure evil (edited) 2y
megnews @AnneCecilie there are so many instances I‘ve read about this after both world wars. The case that stands out the most is WWII soldier Isaac Woodard who was beaten and permanently blinded. It‘s so disgraceful. 2y
megnews @KCofKaysville it is very sad. This book is amazing. So well researched and well written. I have coworkers who had the pleasure of hearing her speak at a conference and they raved about her. I‘m sure you‘re in for a great experience. 2y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @megnews I‘m sorry to say that it‘s not past tense. People are still monsters to people they believe are below their caste, for whatever reason. 2y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa And this is still happening, there was just an incident not that long ago…https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2021/04/13/caron-nazario-black-veterans/?outputType=amp 2y
megnews @Riveted_Reader_Melissa oh yes, I remember that story. It‘s an outrage. 2y
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megnews
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Stand out quotes from last week‘s reading #OtherSuns

Leftcoastzen Such a great book! 2y
megnews @Leftcoastzen it is! I find myself highlighting so much. 2y
BarbaraTheBibliophage I'm listening to the audio and wish I could highlight passages easily! There are so many. 2y
megnews @BarbaraTheBibliophage I have difficulty reading a nonfiction book on a topic I am passionate about because I want to highlight and refer back to so much. 2y
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AnneCecilie
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The story of Bill Russell. NBA is not a thing in Norway, but this still gives you something to think about.

#OtherSuns

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megnews
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Dear #OtherSuns group, it‘s been a rainy🌧 week, I‘ve been purging ♻️ and organizing, and and my mind wanders every time I start to read 📕 anything. I‘m planning to finish this section this weekend in between watching my grandbaby trick or treat 🎃 and hitting Cedar Point 🎢 on closing day and then I‘ll answer and respond to comments.
How‘s everyone else‘s reading going? What did you learn this week?

MallenNC This has been a busy week for me too. I just finished this section today. One of the main things I thought about during it was Pershing and his brother. Both doctors, but who chose different paths— one staying in their hometown and the other taking a chance on California. 2y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa I‘m behind too and hoping to catch up over the weekend, so I‘ll stop back too. Now I‘m off to comment on last week‘s post 😂 2y
Butterfinger My takeaway was how the caste system made the people of color at odds with one another. The pickers went to the citrus owners and said it's not us, it's them. Not knowing whether to stand for themselves because of fear or accept the pittance offered. And the same for the two brothers - is it betrayal to not want to stay and work for the place where you grew up? Is it wrong to stay and allow Jim Crow to run over you? 2y
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megnews @MallenNC @Butterfinger @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Just finished this section. I‘m doing 2 quote posts of things that stood out to me. The think that always gets me so worked up is the treatment of black military personnel returning to the South after wars. The irony of people saying don‘t kneel for the anthem out of respect for the military is glaring in light of these incidents and burns me up. 2y
megnews I‘m picking my mom up from her knee replacement and playing nurse so I‘ll be caught up for tomorrow. 2y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @megnews Yes! Such a great comparison to make. Because the same people aghast at kneeling during the anthem, are some of the same people who looked the other way during this, and still won‘t pass an anti-lynching bill, and want to glorify as martyrs those in the military that stormed the capital. It‘s all what suits their argument at the time, and often the ways they twist logic to fit their narrative is mind-boggling…and I know we‘ve had this⤵️ 2y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ discussion about other topics in our other book club too. 🙄 2y
megnews @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I can‘t take credit for the comparison. I recently saw someone say something similar regarding why people don‘t want CRT taught in school. I thought it made a lot of sense. Oh yes and the mental twisting to fit the argument is mind boggling. I‘m trying to figure out how people think a Democratic President who‘s been dead for over 50 years and his son are going to come back and put trump back in office. 🙄 2y
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AnneCecilie
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One of the ways the South fought back the leaving of African Americans to the North.

#OtherSuns

megnews @AnneCecilie I meant to comment before. How could this even be legal??! 2y
AnneCecilie @megnews I know, but if there‘s one thing I learn the more I read about the past,it is that anything is possible if that means that the people at the top stay there. 2y
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AnneCecilie
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As a newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, put this question to the ruling caste: “If you thought you might be lynched by mistake,” the paper asked, “would you remain in South Carolina?”

#OtherSuns

Cathythoughts Amazing picture 2y
Texreader Dang! 2y
BiblioLitten Powerful! 2y
Butterfinger This quote hit me too. 2y
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megnews
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Time for this week‘s #OtherSuns discussion. Ida, George, & Pershing are in the midst of the Great Depression. None have left the South yet. What similarities and differences have you seen in their lives so far? What have they endured so far that would bring them to a decision to join the Great Migration? What else stood out to you as you read?

MallenNC The first thing I thought about when reading this section was how glad I am that Isabel Wilkerson was able to speak to her three main subjects and get their life stories. That matters so much. This section‘s discussion of sharecropping and how it wasn‘t much of an improvement from slavery was really striking to me. The system was created to keep people from ever getting ahead. 2y
megnews @mallennc I agree. In a history book there will be one sentence saying former slaves sharecroppers meaning the landowner gave them seeds, a cabin, food, and a little equipment and took part of the crops in payment. That‘s it. The reality was this was no different than slavery. Work for no pay. No way to ever get ahead. It is striking that despite the difference in educational levels or aspirations, the life was pretty much the same. The sections 2y
megnews ⬆️on lynching were so disgusting. I believe it was George, who at the age of ten, was called by an uncle to cut down a man. I cannot fathom the level of trauma this causes. To know you are never safe. 2y
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MallenNC @megnews Yes, it is disgusting and horrific. I follow the Equal Justice Initiative, Bryan Stevenson‘s organization, and almost every day they post about a terrible racial injustice. Their posts always say to overcome racial injustice we must confront our history. I thought about that in this section. 2y
megnews @MallenNC exactly. People want to brush it under the rug that it was “so long ago.” The people she‘s interviewing are my grandparents‘ ages. 2y
MallenNC @megnews Yes! George was about 3 years older than my grandfather. (edited) 2y
megnews @MallenNC I agree about getting the stories down. Every once in a while I dip into the slave narratives collected by the Federal Writer‘s Project during the Depression. Someone should document these stories too. 2y
rjsthumbelina @MallenNC I thought the same of the sharecropping. Didn't seem much different from slavery, other than no selling of family members. Really depressing 2y
rjsthumbelina @megnews I was really struck by the idea that the man being tortured was less than 100 years ago. My grandparents were all alive during this. 2y
megnews @rjsthumbelina yes. I can‘t remember if it was George or Pershing but the story about accidentally not stepping off the sidewalk churned my stomach. When I was a teen my grandfather once said he missed the good old days when Black people would step off the sidewalk. I asked him how would he feel if for no other reason than birth he had to step off the sidewalk for someone. First time I ever saw him speechless. When I married an African ⬇️ 2y
megnews ⬆️American I thought he‘d disown me. But he surprised me by changing a lot over the years. Because of his comment, I‘ve made it my mission to be the one who moves out of someone else‘s way. I try to do this in general to be nice but it‘s a particular point with Black people. I can‘t make up for the people who had to step out of his way but I can lose a sense of entitlement and try to give the respect he did not for so long. 2y
rjsthumbelina @megnews I love that story. How wonderful that he was able to change the way he saw the world 2y
Butterfinger @rjsthumbelina @MallenNC I also noticed that sharecropping was an extension of slavery. My takeaway was how mad I got at George. Deceiving and marrying that poor girl out of spite for his father. That was cruel. 2y
Butterfinger I have similar family stories @megnews 2y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa Yes, I‘m a week behind, but finally catching up! This section had such powerful personal stories, I‘m so glad and grateful she took the time to really tell these personal histories that add up to so much of the nations history (that we still want to bury/hide). So many of these were so heartbreaking, the tortures and lynchings…I keep thinking back to what she said in the beginning, along the lines of ‘sometimes the most aggressive thing you ⤵️ (edited) 2y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ can do is leave.” And so many people left, because whatever waited out there for them had to be better than where they were at. And as much as people treated them horribly, they still didn‘t want them to leave….they needed their, essentially free, labor. (edited) 2y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @megnews and we still can‘t get an anti-lynching bill passed through the US Congress… makes we weep for shame at that continuing denying of a huge history of basic human suffering. 2y
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AnneCecilie
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That is one way of waking up. I‘m glad no one ever tried that with me

#OtherSuns

Cathythoughts Yikes 😳.. that‘s quite dramatic 2y
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megnews
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Time for this week‘s #OtherSuns discussion. Impressions so far? What stood out this week?

If you haven‘t finished this week‘s section please feel free to chime in when you can. Let me know if I missed tagging you.

Riveted_Reader_Melissa I‘m really liking it so far, it‘s so good but yet the feel is very different from the last which is nice too. I like the story telling quality to it, like getting the stories from your elders that you didn‘t get when they were around. I like that living history quality of it. 2y
TheBookHippie Oh this is so good. Enjoy. 2y
MallenNC I loved this book the first time I read it and I‘m enjoying it just as much on rereading. I like how she personalized the Great Migration through the stories of three people. Ida Mae, in this first part, seems like such a cool lady. I love to see history through the stories of people who weren‘t famous or well known. (edited) 2y
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MallenNC I also liked how Wilkerson alternated the narratives with chapters giving more context and history. She talks about caste a lot, which I didn‘t notice my first time reading. 2y
megnews @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I enjoyed Caste and learned a lot but having previously read this just past where we are now, I knew I enjoyed this writing style even more. I was the one asking the older generations about their younger lives so I love this storytelling living history quality you mentioned. 2y
megnews @MallenNC I read just past where we are now last time I tried to read this chunkster and it‘s funny I didn‘t notice all the mention of caste before, but now that I‘ve read Caste, I notice it popping up a lot here. 2y
megnews I knew about the Great Migration, though it‘s just a brief mention in school. But one thing that I hadn‘t realized is that people had to leave in the dark of night and without telling anyone. (edited) 2y
megnews Statistics I read over and over: 10% black pop. outside the South pre-Great Migration, 47% after. Wow! Also the Chicago statistic. 3% black pre-Great Migration. 33% after. More than the entire state of MS. WOW again! Meaning it should be more than the blip we learn in high school American history. (edited) 2y
MallenNC @megnews I‘m not sure I ever heard of the Great Migration before reading this the first time. The number of people who moved and their impact on the country is huge, and definitely worth more study. And all the more amazing that, as she points out, it had no leader, just individual people and families deciding to make the journey. 2y
AnneCecilie I didn‘t know anything about the Great Migration. We focus about other things for this time period in history in Norway. I love how Wilkerson is going to focus on three people through this book and Ida Mea like @MallenNC said seems like a cool lady. Like several others @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I noticed all the references to caste. 2y
Butterfinger I noticed the word "caste" as well. So true, yet I cannot think of ever hearing segregation mentioned this way. There were some quotes I especially liked. "From Louisiana, he followed the hyphens in the road that blurred together toward a faraway place, bridging unrelated things as hyphens do." My stomach fell when the lynching was described as entertainment. It just made me sick. How can normal people enjoy torture? It's closer to me than when it happened during the Enlightenment and the Renaissance periods. 2y
megnews @Butterfinger this has always been disgusting to me. They were complete sadists. People packed picnics and took their kids!!! Reprehensible!!! They made postcards of the events and people kept souvenirs. 2y
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