A Family Tree, Taking Root - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1930502028 ISBN 13: 9781930502024

Inhaltsangabe

This epic novel spans 32 years from 1963 to 1995. Roman and his sister Virginia are products of Watts during a period of discontent. Through them we get a glimpse of how the history of the time may have affected black families. Included in the past events are the assassinations of President Kennedy, his brother Bobby, and Martin Luther King, the Watts Riots, the Vietnam War, and the latest proliferation of drugs and gangs into the inner cities.

Though these events affect the two main characters there are other factors that also influence their upbringing and that of their children. Both suffer the abuse of a mother, Simone, who takes out her anger toward men on Roman. He responds by lashing out at the world by getting into fights whenever possible. Whoever is naïve enough to think they can take him on is in for a rude awakening. His move into manhood is flawed at best; two kids by two girls before turning 17 shows his ineptness at responsibility. He forgoes a possible football scholarship, and regains the desire to be the man inspired by his beloved grandmother. Roman’s children grow up in a loving home with two parents until the draft board calls and he is off to war. After his return home, he establishes himself in the community but finds that he cannot raise his children in the city he grew up.

His sister Virginia faces different obstacles on her way to adulthood. An early marriage ends tragically; her youth prevents her from helping her people; and at times she fails to recognize who is really on her side. Though she becomes an icon in her community, her commitment to help continues. She leads a nationwide effort to better educate inner-city students and finds that her voice is heard.

Their support for one another helps them accomplish goals set long before they are realized. As Virginia tells her brother, "We’ve done all right for a couple of nappy headed kids from the ghetto."

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

On the worst day of his life David Doc Robertson was paralyzed from the neck down in a high school football accident. After eleven months in the hospital and confinement to a wheelchair, he entered UCLA. He received his BA in English and then ventured across town to earn an MA in Journalism. This was a very productive period in Robertson`s life. He wrote, produced, and directed Something Cool, a stage-play set in Watts. He also established a student organization called the Equal Opportunity Film Institute, providing free, on-campus classes in film and video to minorities in the surrounding community. Robertson and the institute produced five video productions that played to capacity rooms on campus.

All of his efforts were inspired by research he conducted as part of his masters program. He focused on the effects of the media on African Americans, finding many disturbing results. For the Los Angeles Times he wrote articles on a regular basis about the use of minorities and the disabled in the film industry. While continuing to write for the Times and other publications, he decided to continue his contribution to the community behind the scenes and began teaching in the inner city. That`s when his writing became more focused than ever. In A Family Tree, Taking Root, his vision is clear.

He currently does double duty as a high school English teacher and a writing instructor at the University of Arizona.

Details zur Ausgabe

• ISBN 10: 1930502028
• ISBN 13: 9781930502024
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar