“People are more afraid of ideas than guns.” ~The Rock and the River
Kekla Magoon’s books are filled with beautiful ideas: turning Robin Hood into a young black girl, exploring Malcom X’s young adulthood in fictional form, and grappling with the non-violence and black power movements of the 60s.
This final idea she explores expertly in her novels The Rock and the River and Fire in the Streets. They deal with a young boy in the 60s wrestling with his father’s view of civil rights in a non-violence capacity and the black power ideas of his friend. These novels do an excellent job showing both sides and the merits and downfalls of each. Never do they seem linear or preachy however, because Ms. Magoon focuses on the people, especially the children affected.
It’s a powerful narrative that is good for anyone interested in a personal view of that revolutionary time in history.
Stay fly,
~Akilah
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