Small Moments
A Child's Memories of the Civil Rights Movement
by Mary M. Barrow
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Pub Date Feb 14 2014 | Archive Date Jan 21 2016
Description
Small Moments: Amelia’s Personal Journey of Character and Hope
Illiterate, strongly religious, poor, abused, African American, and eventually the anchor of a well-to-do white family, Amelia’s story is a personal glimpse of the who, why, and how of a black life in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s and the effects of the civil rights movement.
Based on a true story, Small Moments: A Child’s Memories of the Civil Rights Movement, recounts the impact of the events of the civil rights movement upon the caretaker of a large southern family transplanted to New Jersey.
Amelia, the youngest of fourteen children, was born in a rural southern community in 1902 and left motherless within minutes of opening her eyes. Married at 13 to an abusive alcoholic twenty or thirty years her senior, she begins working for a young white couple when their first children arrive. As more children are born, she becomes the family’s full-time housekeeper and caretaker. And, when the family moves to New Jersey in 1959 she and her husband, Peter, accompany them.
Functionally illiterate and deeply religious, we see her early life through her occasional revelations to Mary, one of the children and the narrator of the story. We see the grinding poverty that prompted her early marriage, the loveless, brutal relationship she experienced for decades and the tragedy that stained and colored her life. We also witness the strength of character than enabled her to endure without bitterness or self-pity. Finally, we see how the civil rights movement, with its message of hope, impacted Amelia and her close knit, church-centered black community.
As the title suggests, Small Moments focuses on the ordinary events of day-to-day life and in so doing is deeply revelatory of the attitudes and behaviors of the times.
A Note From the Publisher
Winner of the 2015 Bronze Medal for Non-Fiction Social Issues from the Reader’s Favorite Books Awards.
National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist
Advance Praise
—Eleanor Dore, Former Head of Language & Literature Division, Martin Luther King Memorial Library
"Perhaps the best example I've read that the personal is politcal, Small Moments is heartbreaking and true."
—Judy Logan, author of Teaching Stories
"An affecting tribute"
—Kirkus Reviews
"A valuable tool to commemorate the steps made to combat racism in the 1960's and to educate readers about the lasting effects of racism, classism, and sexism."
—Michala Tyann, Drowning in Words
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781940014067 |
| PRICE | $15.00 (USD) |
Average rating from 10 members
Featured Reviews
Sandy S, Reviewer
Sometimes when I am reading, I feel as if I am no longer reading the words on the page but I have become a part of the novel. I felt this way while reading this novel which occurs at the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. The words flowed smoothly and time gently moved along. Amelia had nothing left but this family, her attachment to this world, and the children were her anchor. The connection with her husband and son were gone, their stories were full of heartache and yet her heart loved these children whom she has cared for, for years.
Coming from the South, the family has just moved to NJ and these neighborhoods are not used to having coloreds among them. There is a bridge that separates these individuals and as the new neighbors relay this information to the family, Amelia doesn’t take too kindly to their remarks. Amelia has cared for this family for years and this is her livelihood. Mother listens to the women’s remarks, just letting it slide off her shoulder but their harsh way of speaking tells me that father will fit right in with this neighborhood. It angered me whenever father opened his mouth. His hatred sprang forth to all areas of his world and there was not much that pleased him. His voice was loud and intense and his children’s ears were open, their young, vulnerable ears were listening and I feared their opinions would be affected by the man whose voice rang the loudest.
Amelia’s heart was heavy, her life had not been easy and these children who she cared for were the bright spot of her day. As her life moves forward, her days grow long and her walk slowed down. The children have been exposed to both sides of life during this period of time and times are changing in their big world. The ending was fantastic as I finally put the book down. The cover on the front is an excellent description of the characters and dispositions that I embraced inside this novel. I stared at this cover, it was true, this image captures the true essence of Amelia. I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley and Wise Ink Creative Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
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