So, no offense to John M. Barry, but Rising Tide has been kicking my backside. I started the book several times over the last months, and this week I finally made a plan. I'm reading at least five chapters a day, no excuses. (There are 35 and an appendix. I looked.)
Being an English teacher and whatnall, I can soldier through most books...enjoy them even, but this book is reminding me what reading must be like for some of my students. The primary obstacle to comprehension for those who struggle is a lack of background knowledge. I don't have firsthand knowledge of the Mississippi River or the geographical areas it roils through. I'm not down with the intricacies of civil engineering or bureaucratic government nonsense. I can't relate to a decision making process that goes against common sense or human decency. Also, this book seems to have a cast of thousands.
So far the easiest chapter for me was LeRoy Percy's roasting of the Klan. It's impossible to have lived nearly 40 years and not have background information on the workings of the KKK. In fact, I live in a town where Thomas Dixon, Jr. once lived. In this charming article about daffodils, he's referred to as a "gentleman farmer and author." His best known book The Clansman was turned into a screenplay for the epic film that resurrected the Klan, The Birth of a Nation. Yeah, that guy. It's a shame he didn't stick to farming cantaloupes. But I digress.
I decided to look online for some visuals to augment my reading experience. Bingo. PBS's film Fatal Flood is all about the subject of this book. Sadly, I can't find it in any surrounding libraries, so I'm on my way to see if I can get an interlibrary loan set up.
I also peeked ahead online to see some bad news. Well, I knew that flood was coming. No surprise there. After building a reputation for being a leader who worked to nurture positive race relations in his corner of the world-- Greenville, MS, LeRoy Percy made a decision that was out of character.
When the flood of 1927 came, he placed his son Will in charge of the Washington County Relief Committee. Because the Greenville levee was higher ground, thousands of African Americans sought refuge here. It was an impossible living situation to manage. There was no way that Will could meet even their most basic needs. They would need to be evacuated. It was a humane decision. Will was his father's son after all.
Here's where it gets sticky. The Greenville planters did not want to evacuate "their" workers. What if they never returned? Their anger caused LeRoy to disagree with Will's decision. The refugees were forced to stay and work, and that meant working at gunpoint.
I guess when I get back to reading the rest of today's chapters, Greenville will be taking a turn for the worse.
Being an English teacher and whatnall, I can soldier through most books...enjoy them even, but this book is reminding me what reading must be like for some of my students. The primary obstacle to comprehension for those who struggle is a lack of background knowledge. I don't have firsthand knowledge of the Mississippi River or the geographical areas it roils through. I'm not down with the intricacies of civil engineering or bureaucratic government nonsense. I can't relate to a decision making process that goes against common sense or human decency. Also, this book seems to have a cast of thousands.
So far the easiest chapter for me was LeRoy Percy's roasting of the Klan. It's impossible to have lived nearly 40 years and not have background information on the workings of the KKK. In fact, I live in a town where Thomas Dixon, Jr. once lived. In this charming article about daffodils, he's referred to as a "gentleman farmer and author." His best known book The Clansman was turned into a screenplay for the epic film that resurrected the Klan, The Birth of a Nation. Yeah, that guy. It's a shame he didn't stick to farming cantaloupes. But I digress.
I decided to look online for some visuals to augment my reading experience. Bingo. PBS's film Fatal Flood is all about the subject of this book. Sadly, I can't find it in any surrounding libraries, so I'm on my way to see if I can get an interlibrary loan set up.
I also peeked ahead online to see some bad news. Well, I knew that flood was coming. No surprise there. After building a reputation for being a leader who worked to nurture positive race relations in his corner of the world-- Greenville, MS, LeRoy Percy made a decision that was out of character.
When the flood of 1927 came, he placed his son Will in charge of the Washington County Relief Committee. Because the Greenville levee was higher ground, thousands of African Americans sought refuge here. It was an impossible living situation to manage. There was no way that Will could meet even their most basic needs. They would need to be evacuated. It was a humane decision. Will was his father's son after all.
Here's where it gets sticky. The Greenville planters did not want to evacuate "their" workers. What if they never returned? Their anger caused LeRoy to disagree with Will's decision. The refugees were forced to stay and work, and that meant working at gunpoint.
I guess when I get back to reading the rest of today's chapters, Greenville will be taking a turn for the worse.
 |
| There's a hunt club at the site of the '27 levee break. (Davis 7.12) |
No comments:
Post a Comment