Saving Our Sons: Raising Black Children in a Turbulent World - Softcover

Golden, Marita

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0385473036 ISBN 13: 9780385473033

Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 1995

Synopsis

When Marita Golden decided to write her personal account of the challenges of raising a black son in today's world, she didn't intend to write more than her own family's story. But through the story of raising her son against the backdrop of a racially divided society, Golden discovered she was also confronting the causes of the violence that surrounds African-American men.

In the fierecely lyrical and revealing narrative of Saving Our Sons, she has created a work of profound and lasting importance−one that sensitively and uniquely addresses the problems of boyhood and emerging manhood. It is a book that issues a clarion call: The survival of our cities, if not our society, depends on our finding a way to save our sons.

About this title

From the Publisher

Marita Golden began her writing career with Migrations Of The Heart, a memoir about living with her husband in his native Nigeria. In Migrations, Golden tells how it was only with the birth of her child -- a son -- that she was truly respected, for in that culture males are held in highest esteem. Ten years later, Golden presents, in essence, her son's story. Michael is now in his teens and he, his mother, and his stepfather are haunted by this statistic: The leading cause of death among black males under 21 is homicide. The boy who was surrounded by a warm, loving African tribe is now the kid who arrives home horrified by shootings in his school hallways, and reports that friends are stopped by police for no other reason than that they are black. The son who was revered in one country is, in the U.S., looked upon with scorn by whites and a deep, aching fear by his fellow African-Americans that his life may be casually taken. Through the story of raising her own son, Golden confronts the explosive issues. In her search for the causes of the violence, Golden reassesses the legacy of her own generation's struggle for civil rights. She interviews psychologists, leading African-American thinkers, as well as young black men -- criminals and scholars alike. She asks Lonise Bias, the mother of Len and Jay Bias, how she became an indelible symbol of many parents whose suffering has been transformed into public action. Marita Golden infuses this sociological drama with the hope only a mother's love can engender.

About the Author

Marita Golden is the author of more than a dozen works of fiction and nonfiction. Her books include After, Migrations of the Heart, Saving Our Sons, and Don’t Play in the Sun. She is the founder of the Hurston/Wright Foundation, an organization that supports African American writers. She lives in Mitchellville, Maryland.

About this edition

• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0385473036
• ISBN 13: 9780385473033
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208