The story moves with the Tysons from Oxford to Wilmington, as Vernon’s attempts at racial reconciliation alienate key members of his Oxford congregation and he is reassigned. The chapter begins with racial violence in Wilmington, recalling the Wilmington Race Riot of 1898 and detailing events in 1971 surrounding the “Wilmington Ten”( led by none other than Ben Chavis). The latter part of the chapter focuses on Tim’s own difficult journey to adulthood, as he confronts the demons of adolescence and of being white, southern, and witness to racial atrocities.
Tyson says that the Wilmington Race Riot of 1898 was “probably the most important political event in the history of the state” and that its “omission from North Carolina history may have been the biggest of the lies that marked my boyhood.” (p. 271) We begin our own bus journey in Wilmingon. Were you taught about this event in school? Why do you think Tim believes it is so important?
What are some of the problematic moments in Tim’s “journey to adulthood”? As one also on a “journey to adulthood,” can you relate to any of those experiences? What about his relationship with his parents, especially his father?
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