Reviews

Fraternity: In 1968, a visionary priest recruited 20 black men to the College of the Holy Cross and changed their lives and the course of history. by Diane Brady, Diane Brady

heather01602to60660's review

4.0

Really fascinating history of something local to me that I had no idea about. Born in the mid 70's, somehow this era always seemed so far in the past to me growing up. Realizing how recent it all actually was - and how many of our country's issues with racism linger in slightly different yet vastly similar ways, even another 50 years later. And at the same time, how sometimes signs of hope can come from the most unexpected places, even through a Jesuit priest at a Catholic college on the hills of a city none of the recruits had likely even heard of.

(I listened to this as an audio book, and have to say that the hardest part of getting through it was listening to the various ways the narrator could mispronounce Worcester. He got it right a few times, which just added insult to injury! :))

amydavid's review

5.0

This was a very interesting look at what it really took to get more black students on campus at Holy Cross and the pushback that came with it. In some places, it reads a little too much like a white savior narrative, but at the same time, it makes it clear that white people overwhelmingly hold the power in higher ed, and desegregation work is an obligation, not an act of charity. That many of the men involved turned out to be famous is almost besides the point.