Hey freedom "readers"! Today I undoubtedly wanted to incorporate some non-fiction into this week's book review! So, when I had to sit down and brainstorm what book to choose, I knew which one was right for the job. After an easily settled brainstorming session, I selected Children of the Movement by John Blake. This is one of my most treasured non-fiction works. This book made me switch my whole outlook on the non-fiction genre. By the way, this is coming from the girl who basically resides in Fiction-utopia!
I thought we could switch it up with this week's book review and not jump right into it, but give you some background information on the author first. I mean...don't you want to know a little bit about the brains behind the operation? John Blake is a reporter and a journalist who has worked for the Atlanta Journal Constitution and he currently contributes work to CNN. He is a very influential writer.
I thought we could switch it up with this week's book review and not jump right into it, but give you some background information on the author first. I mean...don't you want to know a little bit about the brains behind the operation? John Blake is a reporter and a journalist who has worked for the Atlanta Journal Constitution and he currently contributes work to CNN. He is a very influential writer.
He speaks volumes about the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as several award-winning stories regarding the civil rights movement. Some of the awards he has received are from the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists and the Georgia Press Association.
Now we get into the review.
Children of the Movement is about the lives of the children of significant civil right leaders, activists, and supporters. Intriguing right? We learn about and know these paramount leaders who fought for our rights, but do we really know them? Do we know the lives they lived behind closed doors? Do we really understand the costs that they had to pay to fight for our freedom?
John Blake dug deep by interviewing the children of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Elijah Muhammad, George Wallace, Andrew Young, Julian Bond, Stokely Carmichael, Bob Moses, James Chaney, Elaine Brown, and so many other freedom fighters and their children. This book speaks of the struggles of how the civil rights movement can test and even transform the bond, strength, and power of your family.
Children of the Movement is filled with intimate and gripping interviews from the kids who experienced it all, the children that witnessed their parents fighting for a greater good and how that affected their childhood. We can only imagine what it was like growing up with Malcolm X as your father, but these kids actually lived it! These families were pulled apart from each other or turned against one another due to the hardships and negative spotlight the civil rights movement shone on them.
Some families were brought together by the efforts to make America a place for all beings of all colors to come together and co-exist, not just exist. In this book you also find out what the children, now adults, are doing. Some are still emotionally "out-of-it", as they say the parents were better fit to fight and protest than to grasp onto parenthood. Others, are still trying to change the world. As there is much more change that needs to be done, more knots of hatred that need to come undone by positivity, and more arms that need to be bound with co-existence.
Now we get into the review.
Children of the Movement is about the lives of the children of significant civil right leaders, activists, and supporters. Intriguing right? We learn about and know these paramount leaders who fought for our rights, but do we really know them? Do we know the lives they lived behind closed doors? Do we really understand the costs that they had to pay to fight for our freedom?
John Blake dug deep by interviewing the children of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Elijah Muhammad, George Wallace, Andrew Young, Julian Bond, Stokely Carmichael, Bob Moses, James Chaney, Elaine Brown, and so many other freedom fighters and their children. This book speaks of the struggles of how the civil rights movement can test and even transform the bond, strength, and power of your family.
Children of the Movement is filled with intimate and gripping interviews from the kids who experienced it all, the children that witnessed their parents fighting for a greater good and how that affected their childhood. We can only imagine what it was like growing up with Malcolm X as your father, but these kids actually lived it! These families were pulled apart from each other or turned against one another due to the hardships and negative spotlight the civil rights movement shone on them.
Some families were brought together by the efforts to make America a place for all beings of all colors to come together and co-exist, not just exist. In this book you also find out what the children, now adults, are doing. Some are still emotionally "out-of-it", as they say the parents were better fit to fight and protest than to grasp onto parenthood. Others, are still trying to change the world. As there is much more change that needs to be done, more knots of hatred that need to come undone by positivity, and more arms that need to be bound with co-existence.
Imagine never being able to have a normal play-date and just drink apple juice and do things that normal children did. Constant police shootouts, worrying if your mom or dad is going to walk through the door again, and having a bodyguard follow you everywhere you go? While we complain or cry or disrespect our parents just know that it could be worse. We should never take our parents for granted. Maybe not all of them, but most parents are crucial to our existence and they play a major role in our lives. |
I will end this book review by saying that this a must-read that is relevant to today's times.