The Untold Migrations

For my non-fiction novel, I am reading The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson. I am not very far into the book but I am already hooked on it. Wilkerson’s simple dialect and unique writing style makes the book easy to understand while her words still hold a deep meaning. The structure of the book is also very interesting but confusing sometimes. The book is sectioned off into five parts, each with their own set of sections. Under these sections, are more sections that tell the story of a person at a specific time and location.

This book takes place in the twentieth century United States during the Jim Crow years of segregation, discrimination, and racism between whites and blacks. Wilkerson’s book maps out the journey of three individuals who travel from the South towards the West and North during this time of prejudice. The three individuals represent the larger, often undermined migration of blacks during the twentieth century, who migrate for similar reasons: to escape discrimination and prejudice and to seek opportunity.  

By mapping the lives of Ida Mae Gladney, George Sterling, and Robert Foster, Wilkerson portrays the general lifestyle and treatment of blacks in the United States. They lived in a time where blacks could not even pass a white person on the sidewalk or in a car. Blacks could not eat or use the same restrooms as whites. Wilkerson highlights the cruelty behind this segregation and prejudice during the 1900’s but shows the pride and strength that the blacks hold on to.

 

What surprises me the most about the book is its depth in detail. Through interviews, Wilkerson was able to vividly describe the lives of three individuals efficiently and clearly through her words. Her work is able to hold on to the emotion of her three subjects. To be honest, I do not usually like non-fiction books because of the lack of emotion in the text but Wilkerson’s book overrides that. I wish read this book from start to finish in order to learn more in depth about the lives of blacks in the 1900s.