Take a photo of a barcode or cover
jhbandcats 's review for:
challenging
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
Like the author Ty Seidule, I grew up in Virginia in the 1960s, exposed to all the same influences that revered Robert E Lee and glorified the Confederacy. It wasn’t till I hit high school that I learned what racist bigots my parents were - I became the liberal thorn in their sides.
That said, at first I was bewildered by movement to remove Confederate monuments. Robert E Lee, someone I’d revered my whole life, was suddenly being vilified and it was hard to accept after years and years of seeing both him and his Confederate generals as heroes.
I don’t know how this book would affect someone who didn’t grow up in the same circumstances, but for me it was riveting, shocking, and illuminating. I had no idea I went to high school in a school founded specifically to avoid whites having to go to school with blacks. I had no idea the prominent men in the Confederacy were outspoken about their love of slavery and their contempt for Black people - I’d been taught the war was a states’ rights issue. There was so much that resounded with me, and that appalled me
This book was a profound eye-opener, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. I spent the last few days telling everyone I know about this book. I think all Southerners, all Virginians, and possibly just all Americans should read it.
That said, at first I was bewildered by movement to remove Confederate monuments. Robert E Lee, someone I’d revered my whole life, was suddenly being vilified and it was hard to accept after years and years of seeing both him and his Confederate generals as heroes.
I don’t know how this book would affect someone who didn’t grow up in the same circumstances, but for me it was riveting, shocking, and illuminating. I had no idea I went to high school in a school founded specifically to avoid whites having to go to school with blacks. I had no idea the prominent men in the Confederacy were outspoken about their love of slavery and their contempt for Black people - I’d been taught the war was a states’ rights issue. There was so much that resounded with me, and that appalled me
This book was a profound eye-opener, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. I spent the last few days telling everyone I know about this book. I think all Southerners, all Virginians, and possibly just all Americans should read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Gaslighting, War