Have you ever wondered what were the children doing during the Civil Rights movement in the 50s and 60s? What were the people who weren't actively protesting or participating in racism doing? Author Martha A. Taylor recently published a book that answers these questions!
Martha tells her childhood story, in her book In The Land of Cotton, as a young white girl who has a memorable relationship with a spirit filled black family. Martha meets a very poor family, the Boyds, and her life changes as she falls in love with one of the young members of the Boyd family, Silas. The Boyd family is trapped in time; Martha comes from a middle-class white family who is not actively taking part in harassing black people. The story is spectacular and filled with historical revelations. For more details, read the material below to fully grasp the importance and relevance of this book, at this time. If you liked the movie and book, The Secret Life of Bees, you will truly love this new book!
Author Martha A. Taylor has published her first book! Let's give her a hand for stepping up to the plate and telling her story. She's one brave woman to have done all the things she reveals in her new book!
Intro: In the Land of Cotton by Martha A. Taylor
SLAVERY IS MORE THAN CHAINS AND SHACKLES
SLAVERY IS A STATE OF MIND
Immerse yourself in this highly anticipated political docu-drama set in the Deep South amidst the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement.Martha was a young white girl living in the Deep South, inundated with the racist sentiments of the times. But Martha's natural curiosity and generous heart led her to question this racial divide. When she discovered a poor Negro family, the Boyds, living deep in the woods near her house, everyone's life changed forever. She meets Silas, a little black boy and falls in love. The Boyd family "adopts" her as one of their own and the saga begins....
Take the journey of a lifetime alongside Martha as she forges relationships that lead to self discovery and a clearer understanding of the world around her. In the Land of Cotton provides an outstanding snapshot of life in the South during those troubled times - a snapshot everyone should take a close look at, regardless of era or color. The year was 1956. (Book info: ISBN-10: 1432734717; ISBN-13: 978-1432734718)
Interview: In the Land of Cotton by Martha A. Taylor
http://edcmagazine.blogspot.com/2009/04/intimate-conversation-with-author.html
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Praise for In the Land of Cotton by Martha A. Taylor
Racism from the perspective of an innocent white girl who learns firsthand how absurd it is.
Book Review by cashbacher@yahoo.com (TOP 50 REVIEWER, Amazon)
The innocence of youth is a beautiful thing, it is refreshing to witness and gives the world so much, except when it is a young white girl being exposed to a poor black family in the southern United States in the 1950's. In that context, it could have meant the death of some of the participants.
Martha was a young white girl who bonded with her black maid when her parents were generally absent. Her natural curiosity and openness led her to an enclave of an extended black family living in primitive conditions. Martha was quickly "adopted" by the family, as they allowed her to be a part of their activities and she responded in kind. Martha's parents were racist and she maintained her relationship with the black group in secret for many years and even over great distances.
Martha also fell in love with Silas, first a playmate from the black family, then a companion and eventually a fiance. Silas was extremely intelligent and handsome and when he was old enough, he went off to school in Chicago and then joined the military, becoming a helicopter pilot flying rescue missions in Vietnam. Silas is seriously injured and Martha rushes to his bedside to take care of him.
One simple, yet significant scene is when a white soldier in the hospital wing with Silas objects to the black-white relationship. Another white soldier immediately responds, telling the white soldier, "That man saved my life, he can have whatever girlfriend he wants." The history of the civil rights movement, from the Rosa Parks refusal through the assassination of Martin Luther King is chronicled and placed in context.
Therefore, the story has two significant and complex tracks. The story of two people who grow to love each other within the bounds of a truly extended "family" and the broader context of the segregation of the south and how it was finally and thankfully forever broken. Given that the names of the title character and the author are identical, it seems clear that the book is an autobiography, which increases the power of the depiction of the events.
ISBN: 1432734717
ISBN-13: 9781432734718
Format: Paperback, 270pp
Buy the Book: Amazon
