Overview

Innocent young Black men jailed by a racist judge. Jim Crow trauma that still haunts. Can two women on opposite sides of the color divide unite to seek justice and right the wrongs of the past? Pop singer Regina Day vowed never to return to Jefferson Springs, Arkansas, the Jim Crow city of her youth. She learned to fit in with the white celebrity world of Los Angeles. But when her mother dies, she knows she must attend the funeral, because there are some things you owe your mama. Now, after thirty years away, she dreads returning to the humiliation, anger, and fear of her youth. Karen Whittier worked for her father, the bigoted Judge in Jefferson Springs, for more than a quarter of a century. She longed for a true father-daughter bond, but in his eyes, she could do no right. Now she fills her barren life with chocolate and English romance novels. When the two were young, Regina's mother cleaned for Karen's family. But racial bigotry wouldn't allow them to be friends. In 1963, when they were teenagers, President Kennedy was assassinated, and all hell broke loose in the town. Regina and Karen became engulfed in a tragedy that changed the course of their lives and left them both traumatized. Now thirty years later, can the two women unite to uncover the truth about their family history and find justice and peace in a world still enmeshed in racism? The Snake in the Garden is a timely collaboration between two women -- one Black, one white. Brenda Sutton Taylor grew up under Jim Crow laws in Arkansas. Deborah Hand-Cutler was raised in white suburban Los Angeles where bigotry was in the language around her. With these two perspectives, the novel delves into the minds of both Black and white characters. The result is an explosive depiction of racism in twentieth-century America told through four generations of interracial relationships. It's a powerful story of transcendence over the scars of the past, and the healing that can come when truth is exposed and faced head on. It gives hope that the snake of racism could one day be cast out of the garden. Filled with historical detail, The Snake in the Garden will leave you with a better understanding of how this poison of racism affects us all. But be warned! This book will cause you to look deep into your own heart to examine your feelings about race in our society today. This book would be a great addition to every library's anti-racism shelf, and has been well received among book clubs that like to delve into the social issues we face today. Although the setting is a fictional town and county in Arkansas, the historical details woven throughout the story concerning the Jim Crow laws, the Civil Rights movement and the justice system of the time would make it a good choice for high school senior or college English or social studies classes. The topic certainly resonates in our time.

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9781736516515

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Deborah Hand-Cutler started her writing career at The Christian Science Monitor, working in print, radio and media. She holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Washington's Far East and Russian Institute, and a Masters in History from UCLA. She lives in Tehachapi, CA, and has written plays produced by the local community theatre. She has also served on the City Council and was the mayor during the city's revitalization project in 2008. She and her husband, Peter Cutler, own Fiddlers Crossing, a concert venue in Tehachapi. They both are part of Folkscene, a radio program that has been on the air for over 45 years. She also teaches cello and mountain dulcimer. Although she has a file full of unproduced screenplays, The Snake in the Garden is her first novel. Brenda Sutton Turner grew up in Texarkana, Arkansas, in the 1960s. Her father was employed by the railroad and her mother was a domestic worker. Brenda was the eighth of eleven children. As The Turner Sisters, she and four of her sisters sang gospel in venues all over Texarkana. At seventeen, she moved to California to live with two of her older sisters. She married musician Michael Sutton, and the couple became writer/producers for the Motown label. Some of their songs were recorded by Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson and many other recording stars. They performed as a duo, Mike and Brenda Sutton, and also wrote for artists at Capitol and Columbia, among other labels. Brenda has four children and a granddaughter. She lives in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles and is a vocal coach for up and coming singers.

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