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The Color of Love: A Mother's Choice in the Jim Crow South
by Gene Cheek
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About This Book
ISBN13: 9781592286263 |
Only 1 left in stock at $15.95!
Synopses & Reviews
Publisher Comments:
Nine years after the landmark civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, and only a year before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a judge in the Forsyth County Courthouse of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, wrenched twelve-year-old Gene Cheek from the security of his mother's devotion. Here is a true story of love in a time afflicted by hatred, ignorance, and racism. At its core, this is a frank account of a love affair between a white woman and a black man that took mother from son and split a family forever.
In the early 1960s, the city of Winston-Salem struggled under the strict edicts of segregation, setting the tone of division that would plague Gene Cheek's life. Raised by his alcoholic father and his earnestly loving mother, Gene learned about the power of hatred and the strength of love. Yet when his mother fell in love with Cornelius Tucker, an African-American man, and became pregnant with Tucker's child, their union was seen as morally and lawfully unfit. The court forced the parents to choose between the mixed-race infant and Gene. From a distance of more than forty years, Gene Cheek recounts a life of constant struggle with his biological father. Briefly that tension dissolved with the warm guidance of Cornelius Tucker - but that period of peace would soon end.
The Color of Love is Gene Cheek's story told in his singularly honest voice. Its sincerity and truth resonate with a plea for tolerance, and the irrevocable nature of the decisions and emotions of modern life.
Review:
"Cheek spins a mesmerizing yarn, told from a little boy's viewpoint, of growing up poor and white in 1950s North Carolina, surrounded by generations of wife-beating alcoholics. Through plain yet descriptive language seasoned with wry, biting adjectives, he ably conveys the sights, sounds and feelings of his surroundings. His musings are funny and hopeful, and Cheek shapes his childhood voice to suit stories of his tense relationship with his violent, alcoholic father; his mother's endless tolerance and denial; and his admiration for his maternal grandmother, who taught him to 'be full of love, not hate.' His child's-eye reportage captures the intricacies of his mother's postmarital relationship with Tuck, a strong, kind and gentle black man Cheek had met years earlier, and their secret life as an interracial family. The secret was revealed only after Cheek's mother had Tuck's baby, which enraged her family enough for them to have a court declare her an unfit mother. When the judge ordered her to give up one of the children, the author took the choice out of his mother's hands when he elected to leave the family and become a ward of the state, turning the formerly optimistic young man against the rest of his family. In an epilogue written in his adult voice, Cheek explains that his motivation for writing the book was vengeance, which in the process of writing turned to understanding and, finally, forgiveness." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
Synopsis:
The true story of a young man whose life and family were torn apart by a decision no mother should have to make.
About the Author
Gene Cheek is a blue-collar son of the South, born on March 2, 1951 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He has lived an unremarkable life with the exception of his children, grandchildren and his own peculiar childhood. This is his first book. He lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.
What Our Readers Are Saying
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Average customer rating based on 3 comments:
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secrets_in_mirrors, February 11, 2008 (view all comments by secrets_in_mirrors)
This book is very good, but sad too. Its horrible that she was forced to choose. I'm so glad that I didn't have to grow up in this time period and have to deal with the racism that African-Americans dealt with on a daily basis.
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phil.long, March 9, 2007 (view all comments by phil.long)
I cried through much of the book. I'm a product of the south during this same time but never saw or felt these prejucices. I hate the prejudices but love the south. This book has brought an awareness to me that I have never felt in my 57 years. I've since had a phone conversation with Gene and looking forward to more. I'm thinking he's still dealing with this vengeance thing and my hope and prayer is that more folks will read and study these events and start showing support for him by asking him to speak.
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janiceduke, September 9, 2006 (view all comments by janiceduke)
I learned about this book in our class "Power and Social Change" at St. Catherine College. I always love hearing a story through the eyes, ears and voice of the author's life. Frederick Douglas did the same thing in his book about slavery in the South. For myself, a story like the one written by Mr. Cheek is absolutely heartbreaking, and I end up crying through much of the story. I don't like the South anyway, and stories like the one written by Mr. Cheek only help to reinforce my dislike for that part of the country. When I read the story I have feelings of extreme sadness and hurt, but I also have feelings of intense dislike (hate) and anger toward that culture. I see that culture as extremely ignorant, emotional weak (although they think they're strong), and full of a false sense of superiority and arrogance. The prejudice and discrimination has no basis in logic or rational thinking, and the whole premise of discrimination in the South is centered around stupidity. The decision by the courts in the 50's and 60's doesn't surprise me b/c of what I have stated above. The justices were no exception in many cases notwithstanding their education. I can fully appreciate it taking years for Mr. Cheek to come to terms with his past meanwhile harboring feelings of anger, frustration and hate, most of which comes from underlying feelings of overwhelming sadness and loss. It is a beautifully written book that brings out so much feeling in oneself, which emanates from the author's story.
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Product Details
- ISBN:
- 9781592286263
- Subtitle:
- A Mother's Choice in the Jim Crow South
- Author:
- Publisher:
- The Lyons Press
- Subject:
- General
- Subject:
- Mothers and sons
- Subject:
- Adult Children of Alcoholics
- Subject:
- Discrimination & Racism
- Subject:
- Childhood Memoir
- Subject:
- Ethnic Cultures - General
- Subject:
- General Biography
- Publication Date:
- 20050501
- Binding:
- HC
- Language:
- English
- Illustrations:
- Y
- Pages:
- 272
- Dimensions:
- 9.46x6.36x1.05 in. 1.28 lbs.
