I began reading REST IN
POWER by Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin this past Sunday, Feb. 5th on
what coincidentally would have been Trayvon Martin’s 22nd birthday. He was
killed in 2012 just a few weeks after turning 17 and this story, told in
alternating chapters by his parents, tells of the days before the shooting and
the trial afterwards. Readers will be moved by the understated tone and calm
presentation of Trayvon’s story and his parents’ efforts to not forget and to find
meaning in his death. They say REST IN POWER was written “in the
hope for healing, for bridging the divide that separates America, between races
and classes, between citizens and the police.”
This message clearly
resonated with Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy, who noted, “Not since
Emmitt Till has a parent's love for a murdered child moved the nation to search
its soul about racial injustice and inequality. Sybrina Fulton and Tracy
Martin's extraordinary witness, indomitable spirit and unwavering demand for
change have altered the dynamics of racial justice discourse in this country.
This powerful book illuminates the witness, the grief, and the commitment to
reform that Trayvon Martin’s death has mobilized; it is a story fueled by a
demand for justice but rooted in love.”
REST IN POWER received starred reviews from both Booklist and
Kirkus.
THE BLOOD OF EMMETT
TILL by Timothy B. Tyson
Undoubtedly
you heard the news last week that Carolyn Bryant Donham had recanted her statements about
Emmett Till’s actions prior to his horrific death over 60 years ago. In 2008, she told Duke University historian
and author Timothy B. Tyson that “Nothing that boy did could ever justify what
happened to him.” And Tyson has crafted
a new book, THE BLOOD OF EMMETT
TILL , based on
her interview and many others, plus recently recovered court transcripts. In fact, roughly a fourth of this almost 300
page book is bibliography, notes and index. PBS’ American Experience has an extensive set
of web pages devoted to The Murder of Emmett Till, including his killers’
subsequent confession which was published in Look magazine in 1956.
Tyson’s book covers the
Emmett Till story, but also explains the political history of how those events
prompted the modern civil rights movement and refers to many recent sad events
involving racial profiling and violence. THE BLOOD OF EMMETT
TILL received a starred review
from Booklist. We have numerous books and videos available in the
library about Emmett Till including A Wreath for Emmett Till filled with
15 beautiful sonnets by Marilyn Nelson and Death of Innocence by Mamie
Till-Mobley, another parent writing about a son’s too early death.
