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Soul_sister
Regular Poster
Username: Soul_sister
Post Number: 65
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 06, 2007 - 07:52 am: | 
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Hey All
Happy Summertime - corny - yes I know -- Anyway I am writing to talk about a new favorite of mine - a selection from Dafina at BEA - Most of you know that I am not a reader of urban lit - and I have a strong issue with the genre - which Dafina seemingly has come to embody - enough said
When I ran across No Safe Place by Kim Reid - I was immediately sold on the cover - check out the link -- me and technology no good - grunt, grunt
Anyway the story is a memoir of a fellow Gen-Xer laid across a unique background - the 1979-1981 Atlanta Child Murders - Reid's perspective is unique for a number reasons - the important being her mother's employment as an African American police woman on the Atlanta force.
I truly enjoyed reading this bit of nostalgia - from the description of clothing - disco era; music Funk and R&B; candy - lemonheads and squirrel nut - WOW what a ride - Moreover the actual impact these murders had on contemporary children in Atlanta has not been discussed or revisited since Wayne Williams was arrested - Like Reid and others, I doubt if Williams was solely responsible for all of the murders - the evidence was flimsy and his arrest to convenient.
Sidebar - this is another reason why we need to keep tabs on the The Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act -- which aims to solve a number of civil rights cold cases. The bill was crafted by John Conyers -- even though the Atlanta Child murders are post-civil rights - there are some elements of cold cases since Williams was only convicted for 2 out of 25 plus murders --
In closing, this coming of age story has it all - humor, nostalgia, racism, genderism, sibling rivalry/responsiblity, and little flesh pressing ala teenage style - and the impact child murder had on children living in the same area where so many lives were taken - without reason or concern from "the authorities"
Check it out - No Safe Place by Kim Reid
Peace
ps - Sister Reid if you are checking this out - I am my sister's Brigette and believe me we are more thankful to you than you can ever imagine - peace
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Nom_de_plume
Newbie Poster
Username: Nom_de_plume
Post Number: 45
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 - 05:24 am: |
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I got this at BEA also, plan on reading it very soon, thanks for posting! |
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