Reviewed by Bev Scott Do we have a class system or a caste system? When I studied sociology in college, I learned that we have a class system, and India has a rigid caste system. And, that the freedom of U.S. democracy gave opportunity for people in the lower class. They could work hard and raise themselves […]
African American history
Book Review: “The Secrets of Mary Bowser: A Novel” by Lois Leveen
Reviewed by Bev Scott Mary Bowser was born into slavery in Richmond, Virginia before the Civil War. She fortunately grew up knowing both of her parents. Her mother worked as a house slave in the Van Lews mansion. Her father lived nearby, working as a blacksmith. Also fortunate, Bet, the daughter of the Van Lews, saw […]
Book Review: “The Black Rose” by Tananarive Due
Reviewed by Bev Scott The Black Rose is based on the truly inspirational story of Sarah Breedlove Walker, Madam C. J. Walker. She was born in 1867 on a plantation to slave parents who died from yellow fever, “Yellow Jack,” when she was about eight years old. From abject poverty, unable to read but with drive […]
Book Review: “The Underground River” by Martha Conway
Reviewed by Bev Scott In The Underground River, Mae Bedloe is the seamstress and all-around support for her more famous cousin Comfort Vertue. In 1838 they are searching for new opportunities in the theatre for Comfort. They have booked passage on the steamboat Moselle headed to St. Louis. But after six days on board the […]
The Lone Ranger was Black*
Was the Lone Ranger modeled after Bass Reeves, the first black U.S. deputy marshal who worked thirty-two years in the Arkansas and Oklahoma territories in the late 1800’s? He may have been. History Is Biased “The Lone Ranger was Black: Reintegrating Minority Viewpoints into Historical Fiction.” This title intrigued me. I found this session at the Historical […]
