the 1950s

Citation:

Kidd, Ronald. On Beale Street. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008.

Annotation:

This realistic story focuses on several aspects of the American South in the 1950s through the eyes of a teenage boy. The prevalence of class-ism and racism makes the journey of coming of age particularly difficult but the this teenager triumphs as he faces challenge after challenge.

Review:

Part I Black

Part II White

Part III Grey

Memphis in the 1950s had Main Street for whites and Beale Street for blacks. The music scene was explosive and so were the segregated neighborhoods where blacks lived in fear of burning crosses in their yards. Three boys; Lamont Turner, Trey Chapman, and Johnny Ross try to find their niche, will it be black, white, or grey?

Genre: Historical Fiction

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