Undeniably timely and representative of the necessary work ahead.
An ambitious account of the legacies of Plessy and Ferguson, before and beyond the vs.
Keith Plessy and Phoebe Ferguson, two New Orleans–based activists born in the deeply segregated city in 1957, provide an apt framework for Nathan to narrativize centuries of legislation of Black bodies. Plessy’s great-grandfather’s cousin Homer met Ferguson’s great-great-grandfather John in a courtroom in 1892, and Nathan attempts to demystify the eventual Supreme Court case that bears their surnames by explaining in plain language prior laws and legal precedents, the unique complexities of race in antebellum New Orleans, and the shifts that occured after the Civil War and Reconstruction. Minibiographies highlight Plessy forebears alongside activists of the 19th century and political leaders of the mid-20th. The wealth of easy-to-digest information will be useful to middle school researchers, but Nathan is most effective when grounded in the pair’s present-day work as friends and collaborators—despite the tumultuous link that greatly impacted their upbringings. Through the founding of the Plessy and Ferguson Foundation and historical markers placed throughout NOLA, the pair attempt to reconcile their shared history and ultimately provide Nathan’s work a hopeful, contemporary conclusion despite a good-people-on-both-sides approach to racial injustice that may be off-putting to many.
Undeniably timely and representative of the necessary work ahead. (afterword, timeline, about the Plessy and Ferguson Foundation, family trees, historical markers, resources, bibliography, sources, photo credits, index) (Nonfiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Feb. 9, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-58988-148-8
Page Count: 209
Publisher: Paul Dry Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In either iteration, a provocative counter to conventional, blinkered views of our national story.
A classic framing of this country’s history from a multicultural perspective, clumsily cut and recast into more simplified language for young readers.
Veering away from the standard “Master Narrative” to tell “the story of a nation peopled by the world,” the violence- and injustice-laden account focuses on minorities, from African- Americans (“the central minority throughout our country’s history”), Mexicans and Native Americans to Japanese, Vietnamese, Sikh, Russian Jewish and Muslim immigrants. Stefoff reduces Takaki’s scholarly but fluid narrative (1993, revised 2008) to choppy sentences and sound-bite quotes. She also adds debatable generalizations, such as a sweeping claim that Native Americans “lived outside of white society’s borders,” and an incorrect one that the Emancipation Proclamation “freed the slaves.” Readers may take a stronger interest in their own cultural heritage from this broad picture of the United States as, historically, a tapestry of ethnic identities that are “separate but also shared”—but being more readable and, by page count at least, only about a third longer, the original version won’t be out of reach of much of the intended audience, despite its denser prose.
In either iteration, a provocative counter to conventional, blinkered views of our national story. (endnotes, glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 12-15)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-60980-416-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Seven Stories
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
Unhappy teens in need of a lecture on thinking positively and being more in touch with one’s emotions need look no further.
Mangan presents in as many chapters a 20-point strategy that ranges from “Have a Positive Attitude” and “Cut Your Problems Into Pieces” to “Practice Being Patient” and “Appreciate the Value of Your Hard Work.” She blends private exercises like visualizing forgiveness with comments on selective attention, “problematic procrastination” and other bad habits, reframing situations to put them in different lights, “changing shoes” to understand others better and subjecting feelings to rational analysis. Though the author has a graduate degree and years of practice in clinical psychology, she offers generalities and generic situations rather than specific cases from her experience, and the book is devoid of references to further resources or even an index. Superficial advice (“If you are unsafe or are around kids that you know are bullies, just walk away”) combines with techniques that are unlikely to interest readers (“Make a song verse out of your list of helpful thoughts”). The author also makes questionable claims about the mind-body connection (“When you smile, your body sends a signal to your brain that you are happy”) and fails to make a case for regarding side forays into food habits and environmental concerns as relevant to her topic. Obvious issues and common-sense advice, unpersuasively presented. (Self-help. 12-15)
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4338-1040-4
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Magination/American Psychological Association
Review Posted Online: Aug. 9, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2011
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
