Part II:The Warmth of Other Suns

[Shauna Liverotti]

Part II: Reflection Question

1. This story is delivered as a narrative nonfiction that weaves the journeys of three unique individuals into a larger historical context. Is there one character that you truly made a connection with in story so far? What traits or characteristics drew you to this person? Can you think of a “breaking away” experience in your own lifetime that relates to the character that you have selected?
(pp. 165-176)

2. Quote – What is something that sparked your interest, you didn’t understand, something that you identified with or one thing that summed up the section for you?

3. Question – What are you curious about after reading this section?

4. Classroom Connection–How might you connect something that you have read about to your students in the classroom?

[Henry Seng]

1. I seem to empathize with all three individuals.  They were trying to live their lives the best they could under the circumstances.  They were all planning to move forward.  They had a sense of optimism even though they didn’t know exactly what was up ahead.  One “breaking away” experience in my own lifetime was going to study in London in my junior year of college for a semester.  It was quite a leap, but I was looking forward to the challenge.  I count it to this day as one of my best choices in life.
2. The story about Ida Mae’s dad being in a coma and him being encased in an enclosed casket and buried was pretty unsettling.   So sad!  Reminds me of this article I read recently about a 95-year-old woman who people thought was dead, but six days later, she got up and started cooking because she was hungry.  She was able to get out because the coffin had not been nailed: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/zombie-gran-95-year-old-chi...
3. Mr. Edd apparently didn’t like that George Starling was leaving.  I wonder how others felt about the Great Migration?  Were they happy that Africans-Americans were leaving the South, or were they like Mr. Edd, afraid to lose dependable labor? 
4. The “Breaking Away” portion was interesting.  Many of our students may be able to discuss their circumstance.  For those who may not be able to come up with one, maybe they could predict something that would cause it in the future. 

[Jenn Mikelaitis]

1. Each of the characters are captivating and I have thoroughly enjoyed following each in their journey.  If I am most intrigued by Pershing Foster’s story.  He lives a life of relative privilege, yet he is constantly faced with individuals and seemingly insurmountable forces that seek to keep him “in his place”.  His determination to overcome them is inspiring.  I found the social hierarchy within the black community that Pershing’s story illuminates fascinating. 

As a military spouse, I identify especially with Pershing’s move to Austria. As a young bride, I followed my husband far from home and experienced both the fear of leaving home, the excitement of starting a new life and the ultimate realization that that new life wasn’t quite what had thought it would be. 

2.  A quote that summed up the section for me: “’What’s wrong with St. Francis?’  Pershing shook his head.  The man had lived there since before Pershing was born, and a central fact of colored people’s existence hadn’t registered after all these years. ‘You know colored surgeons can’t operate at St. Francis, Mr. Massur.’  The man looked startled and caught himself.  White-only and colored-only signs were all over town, but the store keeper had not thought about how segregation applied to the hospital.  The storekeeper had watched Pershing grow into an upstanding young man and had known the Fosters for years.  For a split second, the storekeeper seemed to see Pershing as no different than any other bright young physician.  But Pershings words brought him reality: the rest of the white world did not see Pershing the way the storekeeper did, and that gave the storekeeper an uncomfortable glimpse of the burdens on one of his best customers.” 

3.  After reading this section, I am most curious to follow Pershing to California and see he really can obtain the life he seeks there, both professionally and personally.

4. Classroom Connection–I’d like to recreate that white storekeeper’s emotional response in students – spark that realization of how different life truly was and how the white community rationalized or ingored it.  The personal stories that make this book so engaging are so valuable for the classroom -  making connections and evoking responses that lead to lifelong learning.

[Shauna Liverotti]

All of you Ida Mae fans out there yesterday would have been her 99th birthday. Wilkerson posted this on Facebook yesterday. I apologize for my lateness but both of my kids were sick yesterday.

"Happy birthday to Ida Mae Gladney, one of the three protagonists in WARMTH! She would have been 99 years old today. Here's my favorite of picture of her from our trip to Mississippi. There, she met briefly with David McIntosh, who courted her and lost out to George Gladney, with whom she migrated to Chicago in 1937. When this picture was taken, Ida Mae had not seen her former suitor in 60 years.....The T-shirt she wore that day was true to how she lived. It read: "When God closes a door, He opens a window!"

[Bill Chapman]

Indeed, a very big and sincere Happy Birthday to the memory of Ida Mae; and also a very big thanks to Isabel Wilkerson and to Shauna for reminding us of the date.

[Suzanne Williams]

Yes, and again thank you Shauna for sharing. What a beautiful and touching photograph!

[Bill Chapman]

Should anyone need proof that the racism Wilkerson so eloquently describes in her depictions of black life in the early 20th century south is not a thing of the past, read Charles Blow's heart wrenching column in tomorrow's New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/17/opinion/blow-the-curious-case-of-...

[Angela Chapin]

I really enjoyed reading about Ida Mae.  It was extremely interesting to hear the female perspective on the Great Migration.  The fact that she knew that she had to be tough to make it was really inspiring to me.   I found this picture of Ida Mae while looking for info. on the author.   She took Isabel Wilkerson to see a cotton growing for the first time in Isabel's life.  

I think that I most relate to Ida Mae because of my path in life.  She knew she had to be tough and couldn't show people her weaknesses.  There were times that I knew I had to work harder to be taken seriously-in law school, and playing soccer just to name a few.  

"An invisible hand ruled their lives and the lives all the colored people in Chickasaw County..."   I can't even imagine having to watch my every move, or risk being punished.  What it must have been like back then-you couldn't look a white person in the eyes, don't make inappropriate comments, don't drink out of their water fountain, use their bathroom, sit in their restaurants.  What a horrible way to live your life!!

I am really curious to see what happens to these 3 people once they migrate.  I am waiting to read the WHOLE story.  

I really think there needs to be some empathy created here.   I would love to create more, "Put yourselves in their shoes, during this time period" kind of thought-provoking questions.  

[Peter Billingsley]

While all the characters had their own obstacles, George Starling seemed to have the most factors working against him.   Pershing Foster had access to education and a supportive, if not strict family.  George had the ability for academics but neither the family support nor access.  Ida Mae, in theory had the most going against her, as a woman in the South, but  she was also part of supportive family and had a husband, who to the best of his ability, sheltered her from segregation.  George’s contentious relationship with his wife added to his difficulties.  His effort to secure higher wages for the orange pickers directly challenged the labor and race systems in the South.  It also shows how he tried to make the most of the situation, as when he paid cash for furniture and drove the taxi and went to Detroit, taking him away from his family.  His situation seemed the most difficult and dire, and his story was the most engaging to me.

 

Quote: 

Page 168

 

‘Pa, you know Jack don’t drink coffee’   

The treatment of Jack Fowler at settling time really brought home the awfulness of the situation.  The forced compliance,  the constant debt,  the lack of options, save leaving – all right there.

 

 

Classroom Connections

 

On page 131, Wilkerson lists many of the race riots that took place.  Lessons on any of those would be fascinating.  Beyond the causes and immediate outcomes, focusing on how many black families lost property and jobs connects to the wealth disparity in the country.  It was almost impossible for the older generation to leave any wealth for the next generation, causing each generation to start over.  I’m not sure other immigrant groups had the same difficulty.  The Japanese during internment comes to mind, though I’m having a hard time thinking of another group subjected to the same level of violence and government indifference as African Americans

[Patrick Jones]

1. This story is delivered as a narrative nonfiction that weaves the journeys of three unique individuals into a larger historical context. Is there one character that you truly made a connection with in story so far? What traits or characteristics drew you to this person? Can you think of a “breaking away” experience in your own lifetime that relates to the character that you have selected? (pp. 165-176)

I really identify with Starling so much more than the other characters!  So close to home and a person working hard to overcome station in life.  The work that it took to ensure you made a living in a hot orange grove daily gaines my respect. 

2. Quote – What is something that sparked your interest, you didn’t understand, something that you identified with or one thing that summed up the section for you?

I found it quite interesting about the people who returned after moving to the city and how different they were.  Attitudes, clothes and overall outlook seemed so different.  They seemed to have more "hope".

3. Question – What are you curious about after reading this section?

I think the fact that I had no idea about the individual struggles of these people growing up in a completely "white" culture in the Northeast.

4. Classroom Connection–How might you connect something that you have read about to your students in the classroom?

To teach what many African Americans had to endure to rise above "expectations", family separation, and uncertainty was overcome to help these people earn the respect they deserved.