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rebeccacider's review against another edition
4.0
Picked this one up because it ended up on a Washington Post list of best 2015 nonfiction. This book, in addition to being super-depressing, was a really strange read for me, because I have a good friend from Farmville and have spent a fair amount of time there. If you haven't read a work of nonfiction in which a small town you know well is described in clinical detail, it's a disorienting experience.
Green, a Farmville native, accurately and compassionately summarizes the history of the school closures in Prince Edward County. I knew a little about this but had not just not realized how important these events were to the civil rights movement. It's painful history to read about (I alternated between binge-reading and putting it down for weeks at a time), but there's also a lot of bravery and determination in this story.
Green, who is white, also discusses her own family's involvement in the school closures. Green's grandfather was on the board of the Prince Edward Academy (later Fuqua) and her grandparents actively supported segregation. I thought her exploration of their family's complicity and guilt was a lot less compelling than the historical chapters, as was her analysis of the continued racial tensions in Southside Virginia. Here, I felt a black co-writer would have been really valuable, because Green just does not have the depth of knowledge or experience to push beyond her personal regrets about her family history and give us a meaningful picture of how race operates in this community now.
Near the end of the book, Green interviews an older black man she meets in Farmville. I found his words to be the most haunting line of dialogue in the book - he says that Prince Edward County is waiting for his generation to die so that Farmville can become an upscale post-racial community. Of course, generational trauma doesn't work that way, although the new segregation of gentrified communities might make that trauma invisible.
This book didn't completely fulfill its promise, but it is absolutely worth a read.
Green, a Farmville native, accurately and compassionately summarizes the history of the school closures in Prince Edward County. I knew a little about this but had not just not realized how important these events were to the civil rights movement. It's painful history to read about (I alternated between binge-reading and putting it down for weeks at a time), but there's also a lot of bravery and determination in this story.
Green, who is white, also discusses her own family's involvement in the school closures. Green's grandfather was on the board of the Prince Edward Academy (later Fuqua) and her grandparents actively supported segregation. I thought her exploration of their family's complicity and guilt was a lot less compelling than the historical chapters, as was her analysis of the continued racial tensions in Southside Virginia. Here, I felt a black co-writer would have been really valuable, because Green just does not have the depth of knowledge or experience to push beyond her personal regrets about her family history and give us a meaningful picture of how race operates in this community now.
Near the end of the book, Green interviews an older black man she meets in Farmville. I found his words to be the most haunting line of dialogue in the book - he says that Prince Edward County is waiting for his generation to die so that Farmville can become an upscale post-racial community. Of course, generational trauma doesn't work that way, although the new segregation of gentrified communities might make that trauma invisible.
This book didn't completely fulfill its promise, but it is absolutely worth a read.
sivanib's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
3.5
rlk7m's review against another edition
3.0
Illuminating story about Virginia’s history, but I couldn’t get past the author’s unnecessary repetition of blatant themes throughout the book. I understand her soul-searching is important, but I don’t need such glaring reminders every 20 pages.
erockwell729's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
sde's review against another edition
3.0
This is a difficult book for me to rate because of my connections with the topic.
I bought the book at an independent bookstore in Richmond, and the bookseller raved about the book and author. I wish I had been able to hear the author speak. My husband's aunt worked at Longwood College for many years, almost definitely during the time of the closed schools, but I never heard her or the rest of the family ever speak of it. (Sadly, she is no longer here to ask.) My husband's older brothers were kids during the time of desegregation in another rural Virginia county. They have some memories of it, and my husband mentioned a small private school in their area as being a school that was opened to be all white, but, again, no real discussion of the issue. He and I vaguely knew about the school closings in Prince Edward County, but had no idea how long the schools were closed, and he grew up in the region. The question of why this story is not as well known as many other civil rights stories is addressed in the book, but not fully answered.
I am not sure if I liked or disliked the author's personal anecdotes interspersed throughout the book. In some ways it humanized the story, but sometimes it seemed to trivialize the stories of the characters, both black and white, who were affected by the closings. In the Q&A in the end of the book, the author says that the book is both a history book and a memoir, and I'm not sure if that works. Maybe a book with an accompanying personal essay at the end would have been more effective.
The section of the white churches blocking the black students from entering was heartbreaking. You expect this of schools and businesses, but the fact that it happened in a house of G-d was horrible. Not surprising, I suppose, given what we know of people's feelings at the time, but given that churches are now often at the center of healing racial discourse, it was eye opening. What are our churches doing today in the name of G-d that will seem horribly hypocritical in years to come?
The part that was most eye-opening to me was what happened to white people who opposed closing the schools, worked in the public schools after they reopened, or who sent their kids to the public schools when they first reopened. They were not just shunned. They received death threats, their kids were harassed by adults, and they were at severe risk at losing businesses unless they had a lot of black customers. I don't know if I could have spoken up on behalf of integration if my kid was getting threats of violence as a result, and I have more respect now for people who spoke out even a little bit.
I work with schools both urban and rural, mostly white and mostly black, and I am skeptical that closing the private school in town will do much to improve the public school, although it may lead to healing of the community. Unfortunately, the way schools are funded, poor schools - whether in the city or the country - get shafted all over this country. I doubt that a rural area of Virginia that is losing population is any exception.
I bought the book at an independent bookstore in Richmond, and the bookseller raved about the book and author. I wish I had been able to hear the author speak. My husband's aunt worked at Longwood College for many years, almost definitely during the time of the closed schools, but I never heard her or the rest of the family ever speak of it. (Sadly, she is no longer here to ask.) My husband's older brothers were kids during the time of desegregation in another rural Virginia county. They have some memories of it, and my husband mentioned a small private school in their area as being a school that was opened to be all white, but, again, no real discussion of the issue. He and I vaguely knew about the school closings in Prince Edward County, but had no idea how long the schools were closed, and he grew up in the region. The question of why this story is not as well known as many other civil rights stories is addressed in the book, but not fully answered.
I am not sure if I liked or disliked the author's personal anecdotes interspersed throughout the book. In some ways it humanized the story, but sometimes it seemed to trivialize the stories of the characters, both black and white, who were affected by the closings. In the Q&A in the end of the book, the author says that the book is both a history book and a memoir, and I'm not sure if that works. Maybe a book with an accompanying personal essay at the end would have been more effective.
The section of the white churches blocking the black students from entering was heartbreaking. You expect this of schools and businesses, but the fact that it happened in a house of G-d was horrible. Not surprising, I suppose, given what we know of people's feelings at the time, but given that churches are now often at the center of healing racial discourse, it was eye opening. What are our churches doing today in the name of G-d that will seem horribly hypocritical in years to come?
The part that was most eye-opening to me was what happened to white people who opposed closing the schools, worked in the public schools after they reopened, or who sent their kids to the public schools when they first reopened. They were not just shunned. They received death threats, their kids were harassed by adults, and they were at severe risk at losing businesses unless they had a lot of black customers. I don't know if I could have spoken up on behalf of integration if my kid was getting threats of violence as a result, and I have more respect now for people who spoke out even a little bit.
I work with schools both urban and rural, mostly white and mostly black, and I am skeptical that closing the private school in town will do much to improve the public school, although it may lead to healing of the community. Unfortunately, the way schools are funded, poor schools - whether in the city or the country - get shafted all over this country. I doubt that a rural area of Virginia that is losing population is any exception.
kr1stintin's review against another edition
3.0
An important slice of civil rights history out of Farmville, Virginia, told with heaping helpings of white guilt and virtue signaling.
ahmclellan's review against another edition
4.0
I worked for Longwood for a little over three years, in the time after this book was written and published. It was interesting to hear stories from people who I worked with and whose descendants I worked with. Many people are deeply ashamed of this period of time and don't wish to keep talking about it or about the deep impact the closings still have on education in this county.
This should be required reading for all Longwood students and faculty, many of whom don't know or understand the history of the county. I myself, in my interview, didn't understand what they were talking about regarding "the school closings" since I grew up far away from Virginia and a generation removed from the Civil Rights movement.
It's a good primer on events that unfolded, but I found the author's frequent moments of proving to the reader that she isn't racist unnecessary and a bit disingenuous.
This should be required reading for all Longwood students and faculty, many of whom don't know or understand the history of the county. I myself, in my interview, didn't understand what they were talking about regarding "the school closings" since I grew up far away from Virginia and a generation removed from the Civil Rights movement.
It's a good primer on events that unfolded, but I found the author's frequent moments of proving to the reader that she isn't racist unnecessary and a bit disingenuous.
lisabwright's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting history of a place nearby. Reminder the impacts of history live on generationally. Made me wonder about my own inherited scars.
taypotter24's review against another edition
4.0
An extremely interesting book as I am now more involved with this subject matter. The author’s research into Massive Resistance is surprising and brings up a history that is literally close to home.
This book is told through the eyes of a family member, and therefore sometimes has an over apologizing tone that takes away from the journalism of the book.
Regardless, would recommend!!
This book is told through the eyes of a family member, and therefore sometimes has an over apologizing tone that takes away from the journalism of the book.
Regardless, would recommend!!