Those Who Saw the Sun

I took my time with this one, and I'm glad. The most remarkable thing about it for me was seeing certain similarities crop up among all of these different people. Nearly every, if not all, of the interviewees reflected on two specific circumstances that caught my attention. 1) The positive aspects of segregation. Obviously none of them were fans of Jim Crow, but there was a feeling of safety and community that simply was not available to them after instances of integration. This fracturing of community resulted in additional negative outcomes for local Black economies. 2) A smaller thing, but again almost every interviewee brought up that they were aware of only receiving second-hand (or third or fourth...) books at school. Another common thread was vastly positive experiences while attending Black schools with Black teachers who supported and cared for them. Unsurprisingly, that experience did not continue after attending predominantly white schools.

A wonderful collection spotlighting specific experiences that I hope will be widely read.