MARCHERS FOR THE DREAM

With eleven-year-old Bethany and Great-Great Grandma in Resurrection City. . . ""a crude monument to poverty and dedication and hope""--which typically pompous declaration fits the slight story as well. Gone because no one will rent the Jacksons a new home, they return determined to demonstrate for their rights, attracting the attention of a landlord who'll not only rent but reduce the rent. Even more manipulated--in a way that emasculates the occasion--are their experiences on the Poor People's March: the one white man on the bus is presumed to be a civil rights worker (and there are no whites in camp); their friendly marshal is a reformed thief Who becomes a cop; the entire camp is lifted out of the doldrums of much rain and no progress by the appearance of Ralph Abernathy and Coretta King. Conversation consists chiefly of grievances and reassurances and unidiomatic idiom (""We've been real soul sisters, haven't we?"" says Bethany to her best friend in parting). The people are lifeless, the circumstances not lifelike.