Coretta Scott King Award (Author) - One Crazy Summer by Rita William-Garcia
One Crazy Summer by
Rita William-Garcia
Summary:
Delphine
and her two younger sisters, Fern and Vonetta are sent to spend a month with
their mother in Oakland, California in the summer of 1968. Sent by their father in Brooklyn, New York so
that their mother, a poet and a printer, can get to know each other. She is less than thrilled to have them even
for a month. Instead of welcoming them,
she sends to a summer camp run by the Black Panthers.
Meanwhile,
Delphine takes her sisters to the nearby summer camp run by the Black Panthers
and Mother Mukumbu. A rally is planned
to protest the injustices committed against two of the Black Panther members. The campers will participate in the talent
show. The sisters decide to recite one
of their mother’s poems at the rally.
Just prior to the rally, their mother and two black panther members are
arrested. The girls are taken care of by
some neighbors while their mother is in jail.
At the rally, the biggest surprise comes when the youngest, Fern,
reveals that one of the campers was tipping off the police to the Black
Panther’s activity. Cecile is released
from jail in time to hear her girls recites one of her poems modified to fit
the occasion. This become the theme for
the event and makes their mother proud that they belong to her.
My
Perspective: The book is told from Delphine’s perspective. She is 11-years-old and has been responsible
for her younger sisters since her mother left five years ago. Even when the
girls reach California where their mother lives, Delphine finds herself in
charge of meals, household chores, and caring for her sisters as usual. Their mother, Cecile Johnson is a poet and
printer and works under the name of Nzilla.
The girls’ presence is an intrusion to her work. Family was never what she had planned for her
life, and she had abandoned the girls when they were young. Big Ma, their paternal grandmother, raised
them and disapproved of Cecile’s behavior.
Later Delphine Discover’s that Cecile had lost her own mother at age
eleven, and life had been difficult for her. While it may not fully explain Cecile’s
behavior completely, it gives insight to her character and her inability to
mother her own children. It is not until the girls are about to return home
does she warm up to the girls. The
mother daughter relationship is at the heart of this story. In a New York Times Book Review, Monica
Edinger, M. (2010) describes One Crazy
Summer as “a child’s-eye view of the Black Panther movement within a
powerful and affecting story of sisterhood and motherhood.”
During
their one-month time with their mother, Delphine discovered the power of words
in fighting against injustice. Vonetta
who demanded attention also developed into a more compassionate person.
Finally, Fern who was the youngest grew from the ‘little girl’ that her mother
called her into her own person. One that
was not afraid to speak out for justice.
While the story is based on history. Their actions and words seem to come from
much older girls, possibly teenagers.
The story is effective and worth reading. This book has earned several awards including the Coretta
Scott King Award, National Book Award Finalist, Newbery Honor, and Scott O'Dell
Award winner.
Library Application:
Cecile Johnson was a poet and a
printer working to push forward the Black Panthers political agenda. She used words as a way to protest. This
book can be used to introduce political poetry and other books that were used to fight against issues of social justice.
References:
Edinger, M. (2010,
January 14). Seize the Time. Ney York Times. Page BR12. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/books/review/Edinger-t.html
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