"Go Set a Watchman" by Harper Lee (2015)

I have been waiting for this book since 1966 when I first read “To Kill a Mockingbird”. I was 12 years old and found the book in the school library. The title intrigued me, and the book became a lifelong friend. I had not yet seen the movie and had only just taken my first trip down south with my family. The South was still the south of Jim Crow; though in its dying day at the time.

Here is the short version: Scout comes home and finds the idyllic town changed; it is charged with a racism she never saw in her sepia toned memory. The dichotomy of the Southerner at the time of this novel was that of Christian values versus Anglo-Saxon supremacy. You can throw in the Civil War if you’d like, though I doubt it would make much difference. This was a dying culture which; after almost 100 years; was still advocating gradualism at a time when the people affected were demanding change “now”.

Scout discovers her father is human and has a need of being able to control that change in society which; though inevitable; could be delayed under the guise of Christianity and Gradualism, much to Scout’s dismay. The conflict which ensues takes her back through some of her own memories; as well as new discoveries. Just as she is about to leave Maycomb for good her Uncle Jack has a final confrontation with her in which he sets her straight on the history and experience of Civil Rights as he sees it. He is surprisingly adept at turning Scout’s mind around about leaving the South forever. He feels that to truly change the place she needs to come home and lead by example.

The dialogue in some spots is over emoted; but the messages on both sides of the issue are clearly stated. And the dilemma of the Southerner of Scout’s generation is laid bare; were the sepia toned memories just that? Or were things really better for everyone concerned when the lines of demarcation were more clearly defined? And, finally, is there really a middle ground to this issue at all?

Well worth the wait and thanks to Sue for buying this for me at lunchtime on Tuesday when it was released. Now, my more detailed analysis;

I have been waiting for this book since 1966 when I first read “To Kill a Mockingbird”. I was 12 years old and found the book in the school library. The title intrigued me, and the book became a lifelong friend. I had not yet seen the movie and had only just taken my first trip down south with my family. The South was still the south of Jim Crow; though in its dying day at the time.

Marja Mills book “The Mockingbirds Next Door” is almost a pre-requisite if you are to get the full benefit of this book. That book, written with the help and consent of Ms. Lee and her older sister Alice, chronicled the real life of the 2 sisters who lived in a modest house; eschewing many modern conveniences, and choosing mostly to communicate by fax machine, even with their neighbors and closest friends. An understanding of the iconic author’s day to day life in her later years will go a long way towards understanding the full scope of this book. In addition you will see Scout as Jean Louise; and vice versa.

To begin with the reader must be familiar with the title’s origin in Scripture. It appears in Isaiah 21:6 which reads “For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.”

There is an article on Alabama.com by Wayne Flynt, a friend of Harper Lee and the Baptist minister who appears in Marja Mills book; his take on the title, from his view as a Baptist minister; is that “Go Set a Watchman’ means, ‘Somebody needs to be the moral compass of this town. ‘Isaiah was a prophet. God had set him as a watchman over Israel. It’s really God speaking to the Hebrews, saying what you need to do is set a watchman, to set you straight, to keep you on the right path. What more elegant title could there be?”

The intent of the title is to set the tone of the 1950’s against the more sepia like era of the 1930’s, when everybody had a defined place in the local social structure. The upheaval of the Civil Rights movement threatened to knock many Christians off the true path; hence the reminder to set a watchman against that occurrence. Now that we understand that we can deal with the book itself.

When Jean Finch returns home from New York City to the small town of Maycomb she is almost immediately aware of a sea change in the attitudes of the white residents towards the town’s Negro population. She is taken aback by this; after all she was raised, like so many others of her generation; by a “colored” woman whom she had always considered to be a surrogate mother. Her own mother passed away before she was old enough to remember. Indeed it was the reliable Calpurnia who ushered the confused Jean Louise into womanhood; making up for the lack of a mother to impart that information which is so necessary for a daughter to know.

To further confuse; make that infuriate her; is that both her intended fiancée Hank, and her father, Atticus; whom she idolizes; have both become involved with the White Citizen’s Council in a quest to thwart the advance of the NAACP and the Civil Rights Movement in their town. Scout is appalled at what she sees while looking on at a meeting of the group in the very courthouse where Atticus had so eloquently defended Tom Robinson for a crime he did not commit in “To Kill a Mockingbird.” She cannot reconcile the man she knew then with the man she sees before her now.

Complicating the situation is the drunken driving accident by one of the Calpurnia’s children; which kills a white man. Mr. Finch has been asked to defend him. His partner Hank; the prospective son-in law; refuses the case in Atticus’ name, but Atticus takes the case anyway. His motive, however, is suspect to Jean Louise when she hears him state that if he doesn’t take it and plead guilty, then some NAACP attorneys will show up to defend him, bringing change; and possibly even violence; to the town. He is also an adherent of White Supremacy, which makes his daughter despise him even more.

It is interesting to note that Jean Louise; early on in the book; faces the dichotomy which is inherent in most Southerners of her era; a total distrust of everything from Washington, D.C. In Jean Louise’s case this distrust begins early on in the narrative; before she learns of her father’s racist attitudes.

She remembers the patch of earth by the school where she used to play a game called “Tip Top”. That area was paved over by a WPA project and resulted in so many skinned knees that the children were forced to play elsewhere. This, she says, was her first taste of that resistance to change. To put it more plainly; she is saying that not only had the federal government changed the rules; but also the game. This metaphor comes back to haunt her later on when she is forced to deal with her Uncle Jack who just may be the real hero of this story.

But it is how her father and the citizens of Maycomb handle that change is what drives her distaste for them. Even reliable Calpurnia, who raised Jean Louise and her brother Jem, has changed. She now admits to having hated the system under which she so faithfully served the Finch’s; calling into question whether that love which Jean Louise perceived was real.  And if it wasn’t; then the question arises, what is real and what is not? What is right and what is wrong? Remember, this was supposed to be a relaxing summer trip home…

As she comes close to the verge of leaving Maycomb for good it is her beloved Uncle Jack; lost in his own world of reverie; who saves the day and makes her understand that we are all bigots in our own ways. He also makes her realize that the only way to change Maycomb for the better might be if she came home to live there, leading by quiet example rather than urging sudden change from afar. (Uncle Jack also imparts a secret to Jean Louise which will surprise the reader; I know it did me!)

This book was written before “To Kill a Mockingbird” and in some ways is its polar opposite. The sepia toned Maycomb of that book is a child’s view of life in the Jim Crow south. “Go Set a Watchman” is a mature; though sometimes jarring; look at the realities beyond the rosy pictures we all tend to paint of our own, sometimes flawed lives.

For the review of the Marja Mills book "The Mockingbird Next Door" see the following link;

http://robertwilliamsofbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-mockingbird-next-door-by-marja.html

Two Flags - Big Difference

There is a rising tide of resentment about the proposed removal of the Confederate Battle Flag from the memorial at the State House in South Carolina. The center of the argument is along the lines of; “If the Battle flag; which flew for only 4 years, representing a singular evil; is wrong, then what about the American flag which has flown for over 200 years and reigned over such atrocities as slavery; the conquest of Texas from Mexico; the complete annihilation of the American Indian; the bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki; etc, etc; then why should it be permitted to fly?”

Well, the biggest difference of all is that each of the mistakes we, as a nation, have committed in the past have been addressed in some fashion. We abolished slavery; we no longer conquer our neighbors; and until recently we have led the world in the attempt to at least control the threat of nuclear weapons. While we look towards the future, the proponents of the Battle Flag still harken for the days and grand lifestyle of the antebellum South. In other words; given their druthers, they’d do it all again.

What it all boils down to is this; in much the same way as Moderate Islam has lost control of their religion to a supposed minority of radicals and misfits, so goes the way of the Confederate Battle Flag. Unfortunately; for some, with or without a flag; that war will never end.

"The Great Debaters" with Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker, Jr. (2007)

Imagine being the man who trained some of the greatest orators of the civil rights era. That’s the story of Professor Melvin B. Tolson, faculty member of little Wiley College in Texas during the 1930’s. His debate team consisted of some of the brightest stars who would later inform the Civil Rights Movement.

Jurnee Smollett plays Samantha Booke; Nate Parker plays Henry Lowe; Denzel Whitaker plays James Farmer, Jr., and Jermaine Williams plays Hamilton Burgess. These four comprise the debate team assembled by professor Toland. Forest Whitaker, Jr. (no relation) plays the father of James Farmer, Sr. Those two are exceptional in their portrayal of the sometimes tense; but always loving; relationship between the two.

Tolson trains his young debaters by challenging them at every turn. He even has them train their voices so they can be heard distinctly and clearly. Using a rowboat as his lectern he has them say the same mantra over and over again for days, each time rowing a bit further from shore while exhorting the team to speak louder so that he can hear them.

As they grow in confidence they beat every team they encounter. The other teams are always African-American. They soon discover that the pressure is very different when they face white opponents. There is always the racial disparity to overcome, but they manage to remain undefeated, a fact which professor Tolson uses to procure the opportunity of a lifetime; to be the first African-American debate team to debate at Harvard.

While this entire story unfolds, young James Farmer, Jr. learns that Professor Tolson is working with the local farmers to form a union; a very dangerous practice even for white men back in those days. While the boy is intrigued with the prospect of Civil Rights, his father seems to lives in the shadow of fear. This confrontation between father and son is one of the most emotionally charged scenes in the film; eclipsing in some ways even the final debate sequence.

The whole film is done with attention to detail and the result is perfection. This is a film which you will sit through even in front of your own television, eschewing the usual snacks and breaks available only a room or so away. An excellent screenplay by Robert Eisele; from the original story by Jeffrey Porro; coupled with excellent direction by Denzel Washington, combine to make this film a modern classic.

"The Autobiography" by Chuck Berry (1987)

The only problem with this book is that it’s just too short, covering only the years from Mr. Berry’s birth in St. Louis in 1926 until 1986 when he wrote this book. At the time he was just beginning to edit the the classic rockumentary “Hail, Hail, Rock and Roll!” with Keith Richards. That film, together with this book, gives a complete picture of what went into the making of the man, but both leave out the next 25 years; from 1987 until today; and with Mr. Berry still walking amongst us, it would be nice to have a more current view into his life.

That said; you could not ask for a more personable read from a man who is iconic of the music he plays; rock and roll. John Lennon once said that “If you were to try and give Rock and Roll another name it might be called Chuck Berry.” And, he was right.

Skillfully written, with no ghost writer, Mr. Berry takes you on a no-holds barred tour de force of his life. Beginning with his childhood, and some of his first sexual stirrings, he paints a vivid picture of a young man yearning to be free in every way possible. This is the attitude which would bring him world-wide fame, and at the same time, this attitude helped to lead him off the beaten path at times, resulting in his incarceration for robbery at age 17, and then again for a supposed violation of the Mann Act in the early 1960’s. He also served 120 days for tax evasion in the early 1970’s, at a time when his career had gained new momentum. His candor in describing these periods in his life is admirable.

Mr. Berry was a victim of the unscrupulous practices which were then the norm in the music publishing business, including the song “Maybellene”, which listed DJ Allan Freed and Russ Fratto, the publisher, as co-writers. It took 25 years for Mr. Berry to get the rights back for his own song. And even then, most of the back royalties would never be realized.

The strong influence of his parents is evident in almost every aspect of the book, as the author recalls his father’s warning words of wisdom several times throughout this remarkable book. Filled with alliteration and internal rhymes, the book reads as fluently as one of his songs.

With a keen business sense, Mr. Berry is able to parlay his success in the entertainment industry into a successful career in real estate on the side. Beginning in 1957 he began work on Berry Park, a place where people could gather, picnic and listen to music in his hometown of St. Louis. It is still a work in progress, but does house a nightclub, and several other buildings, as well as a small lake. Several concerts were held there during the 1970’s, all to the benefit of the community.

The history of his joining, and then taking over, Johnnie Johnson’s band is given careful attention, helping to dispel the often told story that Mr. Berry simply came in and “took over.” As with most things, there is a second side to the story. Like-wise with the famous, but much overblown, story about not lyp-synching on American Bandstand as requested by Dick Clark. Although they did have a difference of opinion about the subject, it was never the clash of titans it was made out to be.

This is a very good book written by a very complex man who struggled to attain his goals at a time when many obstacles were placed in his path by society. It was written when Mr. Berry was 60 years old, and he is still with us today. It would be a gift to have Mr. Berry pen another volume covering the years since this book was written. So much has happened since then, including the release of “Hail, Hail, Rock and Roll”; a small clip of which is posted below.

At the risk of being redundant I will quote John Lennon once again; “If you were to try and give Rock and Roll another name it might be called Chuck Berry.” He was definitely right.

"David Played a Harp" by Ralph W. Johnson (2000)

I live less than 20 minutes from the Main Street where this book takes place. I read it for the first time in 2000 when it was released. Mr. Johnson wrote the book in the 1970’s, and let the manuscript lay around for over 20 years before he decided, at the urging of friends and family, to publish it at the age of 96. And what a book it is.

It is the story of the old Jim Crow south and how the author, Ralph Johnson, managed to deal with the inequities of those times. Over the course of 40 years, in the midst of racial segregation, he was able; with great difficulty; to open, operate and maintain the area’s largest barber shop. It is also the story of how the misguided elite students and professors of Davidson College, helped to tear it all down with idealism at a time when the country was rife with racial division in the days before, and just after, the assassination of Martin Luther King.

Ralph Johnson was a victim of the Jim Crow era, but in a much different way than one usually thinks. He was not beaten, nor lynched. He was, instead, the unique victim of hostility from his own people; who saw his efforts at bettering himself as an affront to their own lack of initiative; and, at the same time, also the victim of the young white students and faculty at Davidson College, who looked to alleviate the racial discrimination in the town as a way to assuage their own guilt at having benefited from it.

Indeed, even as they were protesting the segregation in Mr. Johnson’s barber shop, they themselves were the employers of Negro laundry workers, janitors, and cooks on their own campus. These employees had no rights, no benefits and were paid substandard wages for the time. When they grew too old, or too sick, to work anymore, they were simply dismissed and could be seen wandering in rags, sometimes living with relatives who took them in, or else in camps in the local woods, living like tramps. There were no student protests about these unfortunate victims of Jim Crow from the students of Davidson College.

The book begins with Mr. Johnson’s childhood and his scant memories of his father. He recounts his own efforts to obtain an education, which was not possible in Davidson for a person of color at the time. By hard study through correspondence courses taken over many years, Mr. Johnson was able to earn a high school diploma, a college degree and even studied law. As a matter of fact, in 1937, just before the law regarding taking the Bar exam in North Carolina changed, he had been taking law courses in preparation to take the Bar. He was even offered a position with a locally prominent white attorney, but it was economically impossible for him to abandon the barber shop in order to do so.

Eventually he was able to move his shop to Main Street without causing too much backlash. Later, when moving his shop to its final location, he was able to buy a building at the Corner of Main and Depot Streets, which was unheard of at the time. There were several incidents of vandalism and even an attempt at arson on his home as a result of this, but Mr. Johnson, plagued by illness and anxiety, shouldered on and eventually had the best barbershop in the region, drawing customers from every nearby town. By state law he was not permitted to cut the hair of Negroes in his own shop, and even had to have his own hair cut there at night, with the shades drawn.

I moved to this area of North Carolina in 1998, two years before this book was released. I had become familiar with the Town of Davidson by that time. It is a beautiful college town, fully integrated and with a lively economy in spite of the superhighway which runs parallel to it by about 1 mile and has sucked the life out of most of the small towns it breezes through. A lot has changed in the years since Mr. Johnson wrote his story.

The building where Mr. Johnson ran his business is a bank now, which has changed hands over 3 times since we moved here. The author’s description of the town allows you to walk down Main Street and identify every building and what businesses used to occupy them. The steeple of the Church across the street from the old barber shop still stands on the grounds of Davidson College, and at certain times of the year, at certain hours of the afternoon, the sun casts the shadow of that cross over Mr. Johnson’s old barber shop, in the building he once owned. I think he would find some comfort in that.

"Society's Child" - Janis Ian (1967)

When Janis Ian recorded this astonishingly mature song in 1967 she was barely 17 years old. This performance is from the Smother’s Brothers Comedy Hour, which was always pushing the envelope in relation to political and social issues. It’s the main reason they were taken off the air in the politically charged late 1960’s.

I have been searching forever to find a copy of the first recording of this record, which was done without the electric organ, or any other instrument for that matter. I haven’t seen it since I took the accompanying book out of the library several years ago, which contained a disc featuring Ms. Ian singing the song with only her acoustic guitar. If you think she looks and sounds young here, you should here the other version. It’s even more plaintive and powerful when you consider that she had to be about 16 when she wrote it.

Sunday nights in America underwent a radical change during the second half of the 1960’s. The slick variety shows were making way for more edgy forms of entertainment. It seemed, suddenly, that America was not satisfied with Ed Sullivan’s talking mouse or a troupe of acrobats any longer. The audience wanted entertainment which reflected the changes that were taking place in their own cities, towns, and even in their homes.

In this semi-live performance you will notice a few vocal differences from the recorded version. Although portions of the music were pre-recorded, Ms. Ian is singing live, with the help of some unnecessary reverb at certain points. These were the days when the cameramen focused on the faces of the musicians, rather than their hands, which is what I was always looking to see. I didn’t care how the performer looked, just as long as I could see their hands and try to make the same chords.

As for the recording itself; it was banned in some cities, mainly by Chicago’s WLS, a 50,000 watt station, making it one of the larger stations on the air at the time. In spite of, or maybe because of, this ban, the record went on to reach #14 on the Billboard charts and hung there for several weeks during the “Summer of Love”. And of course, it has become a classic in its own right for the brave stand Ms. Ian took by writing and performing it. She actually received death threats and hate mail for this recording.

Ironically, as Sunday night’s evolved from the benign shows of the 50’s and 60’s, many bemoaned the fact that America was losing her spirituality by veering away from traditional entertainment. I have to disagree on that point. Songs like “Society’s Child” were actually a step toward a higher consciousness, addressing the important social inequities of the time. In this respect, I submit that performances like this were much more spiritually oriented than a talking mouse.

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Eydie  Gorme - 1966

The fabulous Eydie Gormet has passed away, taking part of an era with her. Whether performing solo, or with her husband Steve Lawrence, she lit up the stage during the 1960's, She broke into the big time while with Kay Kyser's Musical College, and the rest is history.  This performance, from You Tube, was filmed in 1966.  Ms. Gorme was 84. RIP Eydie.

"Hey, Boo: Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird" (2011)

If you have never read “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee then skip this film. It will not be as meaningful if you have not read the book which spawned this wonderful documentary look behind one of the most powerful books ever filmed, and the remarkable woman who penned it.

Through archival footage of New York City in the late 1950”s, and also photos of the small Alabama town where Ms. Harper grew up, the film tells the story of how the book came to be written, and the two remarkable people who made it possible.

It was Christmastime 1956 when Ms. Lee arrived in New York City to visit her friends Joy and Michael Brown. She had been working as an airline reservation clerk and writing sketches of the people she knew back home. These sketches tremendously impressed both Joy and Michael who were fellow transplants form the South. Believing in the integrity of her work they proposed to her that she should remain in New York with them for one year in order to write the book they knew she had within her. That was their Christmas present to her. She accepted the offer and “Atticus” was born.

The initial printing was 5,000 copies, which scared everyone except the publisher. By 1960 the book was released and the awards began to flow in. The book garnered the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was made into the classic film starring Gregory Peck in 1962. The film, just as the book, was an instant hit and is considered one of the finest contemporary American classics ever written.

With commentary about the book from such luminaries as Andrew Young, Richard Russo, Roseanne Cash and Oprah Winfrey, the film tells of the impact this book had on the Civil Rights Movement from the perspective of the people who lived through the Jim Crow years down South. When she wrote the book, Ms. Lee had no idea of the impact, and change, that her book would engender.

Sometimes, when explored through the eyes of a child, the image of what we see around us becomes clearer. That is what happened with “To Kill a Mockingbird”. When the nation looked at the plight of Tom Robinson, and then walked around in his skin; as Atticus would say; it became harder and harder to look in the mirror. Though Ms. Lee never wrote another book, “To Kill a Mockingbird” will stand the test of time for the gem that it is.

Eddie Ray - "Against All Odds"

Eddie Ray is probably one of the least known, and most humble, of all the people involved in bringing R and B, and Rock and Roll records into the mainstream media. His career has taken him from the stockroom; filling orders at Aladdin Records for Leo and Eddie Mesner; and on into the boardrooms of major record companies during the last days of Jim Crow. And, if you listen to music of any genre, Eddie Ray has had a hand in bringing many of those artists and composers who created that music, into millions of homes.

Mr. Ray was appointed by President Reagan as a U.S. Copyright Commissioner to serve on the U.S. Copyright Royalty Tribunal during the early 1980’s. As the technology surrounding music changed, so did the way in which the artists needed to be compensated. Mr. Ray helped create copyright regulations which provided a substantial increase in royalty fees for the Artists and composers who created the music. The aim was to be fair to the listening public, the artist and the copyright users. This has not always been easy.

I am privileged to have had the chance to ask Mr. Ray a few questions about his remarkable career, spanning almost 7 decades! You can usually find him at the NC Music Hall of Fame, located in the old jailhouse in Kannapolis, North Carolina. In addition to overseeing the activities of the Hall of Fame, and attending to various Award Ceremonies, he has found the time to pen a memoir about his extraordinary life, both on, and off, the road. The book, titled “Against All Odds” is due out shortly, and will also explore the evolution of the process by which the artists receive their fair share of the profits, as well as the challenges of staying abreast of the newer technologies. Here are the questions, posed by my alter ego “RT” for Rooftop Reviews, followed by Mr. Ray's responses;

RT. What is your first memory of music? Was it in your home, or church? And did you have a radio, Victrola or an instrument in your home?

Eddie Ray: My first memory of music was in my home and to a lesser degree in churches. We always had a radio and victrola in our home and I constantly listened to all genres of music. However, the primary genres of music that were broadcasts on radio stations that we were able to receive at that time in the mountains of NC were Big Band, Country, and what I refer to as White Gospel/Sacred music. My mother and I would also listen every Sunday morning to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir from Salt Lake City and The Wings over Jordan Choir from a Black church in Cleveland, Ohio.

RT. What were your parents like? How did their relationship with you relate to your life in reference to perseverance and self-esteem, traveling in the Jim Crow South, and later navigating the white dominated corporate world?

Eddie Ray: Neither of my parents had a formal education beyond high school but both were highly intelligent and hard workers who under a severe racial discrimination and segregation system achieved a very successful life for themselves and their family. Perhaps even more importantly, they both possessed a high esteem of themselves and maintained a strong self confidence that they could succeed in spite of the racial restrictions and negative thoughts that others may have of them. All these extremely positive attitudes that they possessed were instilled in me and my siblings and we were constantly reminded that our ultimate fate was in our hands only.

RT. Does it astound you when you think of all the lives that your career has touched, from the artists to the listener? And are you cognizant of the impact which the music you helped to present had on society, and how that has affected the world today, from music to politics?

Eddie Ray: I am often asked if I am aware of the positive impact that I may have had on the lives of others. That is something that never crossed my mind during my career. I was only concerned with doing the best job that I could with every project that I undertook. That is what my parents had instilled in me. Also, in spite of whatever success I may have achieved in any of my projects, I was still searching for the REAL purpose of my life. Although, I always enjoyed whatever project that I accepted, I thought that there must be something more important that I should be doing with my life. However, as I grew older and finally began to listen to many people that thank me for the impact that my efforts have had upon their lives, I began to realize that perhaps I had being doing what I was destined to do. Yes, I do believe that the legendary musical artists and great music and songs with which I have been associated did and will continue to have a positive impacted upon politics, racial justice and society in general. I am honored that I had a small part in bringing these artists and their music to the public, but the credit should go to these wonderful artists and songwriters, and not to me.

RT. What do you think it is about you that draws people to you? What is the magic behind Eddie Ray?

Eddie Ray: If I do possess anything special that attracts people to me, I am not aware of what it is. I am basically an introvert and rather shy, especially when I meet new people. However, I cannot explain how I was so successful as a national sales and promotion person with major radio/television disc jockeys. Also, how I was also successful as an executive in negotiating agreements with major recording artists/songwriters and their agents/attorneys and later with US Congress members and national copyright Owners/Users as a US Commissioner of Copyrights and Chairman of the US Copyright Royalty Tribunal.

RT. Finally, how do you maintain your level of interest in all that you do? How would you like to be remembered; in terms of your accomplishments; or is there something more that you hope to leave behind as a statement of who you are?

Eddie Ray: I have never been concerned about if or how I may be remembered after my death. I have always been more concerned about establishing a productive and enjoyable relationship with people while we are alive. I have even asked my family not to have a funeral for me. I want my ashes to be spread in a particular place in the peaceful, blue waters of the Pacific Ocean.

For a short biography about Eddie Ray's remarkable career, please visit his Wikipedia page at; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Wiley_Ray 

And for a short video which outlines some of the subjects and artists which will be covered in the book, hit this You Tube link;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghgDezvvlQ4

For more information about the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame, and upcoming events, go to; http://northcarolinamusichalloffame.org/

The following short synopsis of the book was provided by Mr. Ray. And you can be sure that you will be reading my review here very shortly.

COMING SOON—THE REMARKABLE LIFE STORY OF EDDIE RAY, A PIONEER MUSIC MAN.
 
“An incredible journey from the racially segregated mountains of Western North Carolina as a youth; to the smoldering heat of tobacco fields as a farm laborer in Glastonbury, Connecticut; to the shipping department of Decca Records Distributing Company as a stock boy in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; to a skid-row hotel room in Los Angeles, California, working as a dish washer in a sea food restaurant; to a major music company executive in Hollywood and Beverly Hills, California as well as Memphis, Tennessee; to a founder and president of the Tennessee College of Recording Arts and Sciences in Memphis, Tennessee; to a Presidential Nomination and US Senate Ratification as a United States Commissioner for Copyrights in Washington, DC; to an Induction into the Music Hall of Fame in his home State of North Carolina.”

"Devil In the Grove" by Gilbert King (2012)

Gilbert King has written a wonderful account of Thurgood Marshall's most active years in the Civil Rights Movement. From the early 1940's, and on into the early 1950's, Thurgood Marshall traversed the back roads of the Deep South, searching for, and rooting out Jim Crow, root by root. Although the book is centered on the "Groveland Boys" Case in 1949, the book is all encompassing in its scope.

Thurgood Marshall was the victim of a kidnap plot in 1949, just at the height of his fight against the Jim Crow laws in the South. While working with the NAACP on the broader issues concerning educational opportunities, and preparing a defense against the Supreme Courts stated policy of Separate but Equal (Plessy V. Ferguson), Mr. Marshall became involved in a case in Florida, not twenty miles, and only twenty three years removed from the infamous Rosewood massacre of the 1920's. It was about to happen all over again.

Briefly, the case involved a young married white couple. Norma and Willie Padgett had been married the year before, but had been separated for a few months; she was 17 and he was 23 at the time of the "incident". On a hot night in July of 1949, the Padgett’s were out together, drinking, when their old car became stuck in the sand. They flagged down the first car which passed. That car contained two young African-American men, Samuel Shepherd and Walter Irvin, both veterans of the Second World War. They got behind the Padgett's car and attempted to free it. The car would not budge, sinking instead, further into the sand. Willie Padgett became enraged with the two men and berated them in the most vile of racial terms. Norma offered the men a swig from the whiskey bottle as a way to ease the tension. She then made the mistake of offering it back to her husband, who said, "Do you think that I'm gonna drink behind a nigger?"

That was the straw which broke the camel’s back. Samuel Shepherd became angry at Willie Padgett's outburst, and grabbing him by the front of his shirt, a struggle ensued. Soon, Willie Padgett was lying unconscious in the road. The two would be Good Samaritans fled the scene. Norma was found wandering the road several hours later, strangely composed for someone who had just been raped and thought her husband had been killed.

The die had been cast; and there was trouble coming. By mid-morning the entire county was up in arms over the "white girl who was raped". The fact that there was no physical evidence of the crime did not stop the white population from rising up, along with the aid of the Ku Klux Klan, who came from as far away as Georgia. For several days, and nights, after the incident, Lake County was in flames, just as Rosewood had been only a few decades earlier.

With great skill, the author takes you through the history of segregation in Florida, and the labor shortages engendered by the Second World War. That labor shortage helped to keep in place a system so closely resembling slavery, that it rattles the mind.

Just as after the First World War, many African-Americans believed that once they got back home, things would be different. They had fought, and died, along with white Americans, and expected to be afforded the elusive equality which they had sought for so long. But some things never change, and that included the laws, and attitudes, of the people in Florida. After beating "confessions" from the two defendants, and adding two other names to the indictment, one of whom was deceased, and another who was not even present at the crime, the trial was scheduled for September 2nd, 1949; less than 8 weeks away.

The jury was all white, and the judge was Truman Futch, known as the "Whittlin' Judge" for the cedar sticks he whittled while listening to the case. You might say that the defendants never had a chance.

The NAACP argued cases in the lower courts with the expectation of losing the trials. This was a strategy designed to have the case overturned by the Supreme Court. Therefore, the prosecutor did not enter the coerced "confessions" into evidence, and the defense did not dwell on those documents. If the prosecution had entered them as evidence, they could be challenged. And of course, the defense did not want the "confessions" admitted at all. The Florida trial, as expected, was lost. The defense appealed the conviction in the Supreme Court, where it ws heard two years later, and the convictions overturned.

This is an all-encompassing read, which explores the racial attitudes and customs of the state of Florida at the time these events took place. The author does a superb job in describing the racial tensions which permeated the Jim Crow South of the time. The fear in which the African-American population was forced to live is palpable in his hands. He also gives some interesting background on the labor-convict system which was in place at the time. These arrangements allowed the Sheriffs, and the Counties, to make serious money by conscripting prisoners for work, with the proceeds going into the pockets of the officials involved, as well as creating increased profits for the companies which made use of the system.

More than just a book about the "Groveland Boys", this is also a very insightful biography of Thurgood Marshall's years as a Civil Rights attorney in the days leading up to the landmark "Little Rock" school desegregation case in 1954. The history of Jim Crow laws in America is a shameful one, which makes it all the more important to read about it, and hopefully understand its lessons.

"The Black History of the White House" by Clarence Lusane

In 1787, as the founding fathers gathered in Philadelphia to iron out the Constitution, which legitimized slavery, abolishionists were already working to end the practice of slavery in the newly formed nation.

In the skillful hands of author Clarence Lusane, the old argument, of which I have been a proponnent, that slavery was allowed to exist in the colonies in order to appease the Southern states, so that they, in turn would support a Revolution, simply loses all credibility. A quick look at the actions of President George Washington will illustrate just what I mean.

At the time President Washington was in Philadelphia, signing the "Fugitive Slave Act" into law, he was actively engaged in the pursuit and capture of one of his own slaves, a young woman named Ona "Oney" Maria Judge. She had been sent from Virginia to the new capital in Philadelphia, a free state. Technically she was a free woman. Realizing that she would be sent back to Virginia at the end of Washington's term in office, after all, the Constitution, under Article 4, considered her property, she did the unthinkable, she escaped. And Washington did the predictable thing, he signed the "Fugitive Slave Act" into law, and then had Ms. Judge pursued by bounty hunters. I am happy to report that Ms. Judge made it all the way to New Hampshire, where she died many years later, a free woman.

The book covers all the years between the Founding of our Constitution in Philadelphia, to the building of our nation's Capital City, and on through the 2008 election of Barack Obama as President. In between, the book sheds light on the daily lives of African Americans during more than 200 years in Washington, D.C., which remained a segregated city from it's beginnings in the late 18th century, until the 1950's.

Drawing upon historical accounts the book paints a picture of Washington, and our nation, during the years following our birth as a nation. It then continues on through the Civil War, the era of Jim Crow, and the early years of the 20th Century, finally culminating in the inaguaration of our first African-American President. And what a strange story it is.

Lafeyette Square Park, located across from the White House, was a slave market, even as our early Presidents sat in the White House. As the tensions heated up in the years before the Civil War, Washington was a non-state, caught between the North and the South. Abuse of Negro citizens was rampant. It was hazardous to walk alone at night for fear of being kidnapped and "sold down South." Slaves caught up North were brought back to Washington and sold at auction. Slave "pens" were everywhere in the city, and there was much money to be made in the human trafficking of slaves.

The Pearl was a ship engaged in transporting runaway slaves. On the night of April 15th, 1845 she was loaded with 70 African-Americans, some of whom were free, and set sail bound for Chesapeake Bay, and ultimately freedom. They never made it. Acting on the tip of a Negro informant, the bounty hunters were able to commandeer a boat and overtake the Pearl. When she was returned to port an auction was held, and all 70 African-Americans were sold into slavery, regardless of whether they were free or not.

Up through, and after, the Civil War things went pretty much unchanged in Washington. There would be seperate drinking fountains, restaurants and hotels all the way through the late 1950's.

In 1961 Lillian Rogers Parks wrote the first White House memoir from the perspective of the maid. The book was entitled "My 30 Years Backstairs at the White House." In the book, Ms. Parks laid bare all of the reality of being a minority employed by the world's largest democracy.

Utilizing the writings of Alonzo Fields, White House Butler from 1933-1959, Lillian Parks and Abraham Bolden, the first African-American Secret Service member, as well as the first to be assigned to the Presidential Detail, the reader gets a sense of what it was like to be "invisible." The book paints a portrait of a White House, and the Presidents, as they are caught up in a changing society, one in which African-Americans were beginning to demand, rather than ask for, equal treatment under the law.

One of the best illustrations of this time period occurs when Mrs. Roosevelt arrives in 1933, only to discover that the White House Staff is segragated, resulting in there being 2 head staffers for each department. To solve this, she fired all of the white head staff and kept the balck head staffers in their positions.

But by far the most chilling story told in this book involves Abraham Bolden, whose provocative book, "The Echo from Dealy Plaza" I reviewed in 2009. In 1958 he was recruited by the Secret Service as a "token" minority. When he met President-elect Kennedy in Chicago in 1960, he was invited to join the Presidential Protection Detail as the first African-American in that position. What happened after that is truly an amazing story.

Shunned by his fellow agents, who routinely referred to him as a "nigger", Bolden was further ostrichized for his diligence in performing his duties. He complained about his fellow agents use of drugs and rampant drinking on the job, and was relieved of his duties on the Presidential Detail and returned to the Secret Service office in Chicago. After an assassination attempt was foiled at the Army-Navy game there in 1963, another plot was foiled in Palm Beach, Florida several weeks later. By this time Agent Bolden was talking to anyone who would listen to him concerning the danger posed to the President. The other agents referred to the President as "that nigger lover", and vowed that they "would never take a bullet for him."

Agent Bolden was subsequently framed in a mob related case and shipped off to prison, where he continued to talk about what he knew. This landed him in a mental hospital, where he was subjected to drug experiments and shock therapy. He was released in 1969 and continues to fight for his vindication. His memoir, released in 2008, is one of the most compelling stories ever told.

This book is long overdue. African-Americans, working as slaves, built our nation's White House, as well as the Capitol Building itself. That they were subjected to such treatment anywhere in a "free" nation is unconscionable. That this mistreatment occurred in our nation's Capital, and in the White House itself, is almost unforgiveable.

"Rising Road" by Sharon Davies

America at the close of World War One was a diverse mixture of nationalities and religions. By the early 1920’s the Ku Klux Klan had re-organized and begun a campaign of xenophobia and hatred that spread across the land. At the same time there was a growing Socialist movement involved in labor organization. All this served to pit one American against another, either along the lines of religion or race, politics or money.

Beneath the emerging prosperity there was a growing discontent and intolerance for views that differed from ones own. By 1925 the Klan was marching in Washington, DC, unopposed, down Pennsylvania Avenue and past the White House.

Catholicism was under severe attack. Its adherents were likened to “cross kissers” and “papists.” Into this seething cauldron that was America in the summer of 1921, two people married. This seemingly innocent event would turn into a sensational murder trial involving the girl’s father, Edwin Stephenson,(a former barber turned lay minister)Reverend James Coyle,(the local Catholic Priest) and Hugo Black,(a KKK sympathizer who would go on to become a Supreme Court Justice.)

Ms. Davies has done the seemingly impossible with this book. She has at once presented us with a true life murder-mystery, as well as a complete and accurate overview of the social issues of the time. No easy task.

The two lovers who bought about this commotion are of great interest. The girl, Ruth Stephenson, a Protestant,who is fascinated by the Catholic Church, meets Pedro Gussman at the age of 13 when he is doing some work at her family's home. He is a practicing Catholic from Puerto Rico. He is 24 years older. This is a doomed relationship from the start. The three strikes of race, religion and age make it imposssible for the couple to begin dating a few years after they meet.

Added to this combustible mix is Mr. Stephenson's lack of work as a barber. After accidentally shooting himself in the foot he can no longer stand for long periods of time. He becomes a Protestant lay preacher. Birmingham was a thriving town where many runaways went to get married in civil ceremonies. Mr. Stephenson takes to wandering the steps of the court house in an effort to seek out and marry these young wayward couples in the eyes of God. This effort is frowned upon by the Reverend Coyle, who feels not only that his church is being cheated of the revenue afforded by these marraiges, but also that these marraiges are not valid in the eyes of God.

Ruth's growing relationship with Pedro only fuels her passion for the rituals of his Catholicism and she decides to convert and marry him in the Catholic Church. She is 18 and does not need, nor does she seek, her parents consent. This enrages Mr. Stephenson to the point of confronting Reverend Coyle on the porch of his rectory. What happens there triggers this sensational trial for the Reverends' murder.

There is no doubt that Mr. Stephenson did it, there were witnesses to the act. The trial, instead turns on the "why" behind the murder. Was Ruth brainwashed into becoming Catholic? Aren't Puerto Ricans merely light skinned blacks, as claimed by future Justice Black? And therefore not entitled to marrying outside of their race? The fact that Hugo Black would go on to become such a stalwart advocate of Civil Rights only makes the book more interesting.

The motivations of all the characters involved is mind boggling. Every one has an ulterior motive for the verdict they wish to see. Race, religion and politics, a volatile mixture back in the 1920's, has not changed all that much. The racists seek to keep another group down socially, while the religious crowd tries to force their particular God down your throat and the politicians attempt to walk a fine line, attempting to satisfy us all, on their way to higher office at our expense. One of the arguments presented by the Defense touches upon what would later become known as the "Miranda Decision", in which a defendants right to counsel is affirmed by the arresting authority. This was not done in Mr. Stephenson's case, and Hugo Black skillfully uses this argument to cast doubt upon the evidence for the Prosecution, which included Mr. Stephenson's confession on the night of the murder.

Mr. Stephenson is freed by a jury that takes it's course from the Bible, rather than enacted law. Mrs. Gussman never reconciles with her parents, citing "years of abuse" as her reason. This is a riveting book with applications to today's world and our continued division over these same issues.