From Publishers Weekly
Based, as the author explains in an endnote, on an event that took place in 1921-22, this somber, moving story focuses on prejudice, injustice and everyday bravery. When the city council of Dillon, Tex., unveils its plans to raze Freedomtown--an all-black enclave in the town's center--and replace it with a park, the proposal unleashes a tumult of rage and defiance in the black community. The Freedomtowners' indignation dwindles down to a trickle of unrest and, eventually, resignation after a Klan cross-burning, the destruction of the local school and several other frightening, dispiriting events. As seen through the eyes of 12-year-old aspiring artist Rose Lee Jefferson, this struggle for equal rights quickly becomes a sorrowful march toward an inevitable eviction. Even Rose Lee's activist older brother--a World War I veteran and follower of Marcus Garvey--fails in his fight against Dillon's privileged class: he is tarred and feathered by local hooligans. Numerous historical details and snippets of then-current political thought are smoothly integrated into the story. Bleak though its conclusion is, this bittersweet novel is poignant and tender, both in its spare vernacular dialogue and delicate description. Ages 8-12. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 5-7-In a small Texas town in the 1920s, 12-year-old Rose Lee Jefferson's favorite places are the gardens tended by her beloved grandfather. Granted "toting privileges" by his white employers, he has planted a profusion of colorful flowers around his home, so striking that Rose Lee calls the spot the Garden of Eden. Happily surrounded by her hard working, loving family, the girl is shocked when she overhears the casual plan to move her entire black community to the sewer flats, so that a park can be built in the middle of town. Reactions from her neighbors range from quiet resignation and prayer to calls for strikes and a return to Africa. Some whites respond with threats of violence. Rose Lee feels sad and confused, but undertakes a special mission. Perfectly evoking time and place, Meyer carefully layers detail upon detail, until readers nearly breathe the humid floral scents and hear the languid voices so carelessly spelling destruction for a whole way of life. The tone and pace are just right, and characterization is true and varied. Although readers can't help but identify with Rose Lee's first-person narration, the presentation (based on a real incident) is well balanced. Ultimately, this story is about relationships and the difficulties that can be endured when caring people come together. Thematically reminiscent of Mildred Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Dial, 1976), it could be read as a companion piece, but deserves attention in its own right. Thoughtful readers will hope for an encore.Cindy Darling Codell, Clark Middle School, Winchester, KYCopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 6-9. In 1921 the "colored" section of the Texas town of Dillon was called Freedom. It had its own school, its own churches, a general store, homes, and gardens. When the white residents of Dillon vote to turn the area into a town park, the residents of Freedom realize their loss is a foregone conclusion. The subsequent dismantling of the community and the businesses and families living and thriving there is seen through the eyes of Freedom teenager Rose Lee Jefferson. Characterizations and relationships ring true as Meyer depicts the black community chillingly intimidated by a silent Ku Klux Klan march; the tarring and feathering of Henry, Rose Lee's brother, a World War I veteran who refuses to buckle under to a rich white man's son; and Rose Lee's enlisting the aid of the daughter of the same rich white man to smuggle Henry to safety. Through it all, Rose Lee chronicles the last days of Freedom in a sketchbook, drawing pictures in an effort to capture the reality and spirit of the place she thought would always be home. Based on a true story, White Lilacs has a concrete sense of time and place that will transport readers so effectively that their view of the present may be forever altered. Janice Del Negro
From Kirkus Reviews
Meyer (The Broken Heart Still Beats, 1992) revisits Texas history with an incident from the 20's, when the blacks of Denton (``Dillon'') were forced from their homes to make way for a park. As Meyer explains in a note, the whites callously used quasi- legal moves and intimidation to drive out a thriving community of 58 families. Using fictional characters, she explores typical attitudes: Rose Lee, 12, overhears her white employer describe her home and people in cruelly demeaning terms; when Rose Lee alerts her community, most people despair of averting the calamity, though brother Henry (back from WW I) tries to organize a protest strike; he's tarred and feathered in retaliation. Cheated of fair prices for their homes, the blacks are moved to an inferior site; key people (teachers, the doctor) leave altogether. Meyer's moving account is as much documentary as novel, with a vividly realized setting and a good array of characters to dramatize issues. Consequences of the move are far- reaching--without their doctor, Rose Lee's grandfather dies; without a northern teacher who's fired for her support of the blacks, Rose Lee's artistic talent goes unnourished. Henry, still unbowed, escapes the Klan with the help of a white friend--a possible occurrence, and one for which Meyer lays careful groundwork, but as a climactic incident it creates an unfortunate emphasis in a book focused on the blacks' tragedy. Still, a compelling, well-researched depiction of a grievous injustice. (Fiction. 8-12) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Card catalog description
In 1921 in Dillon, Texas, twelve-year-old Rose Lee sees trouble threatening her black community when the whites decide to take the land there for a park and forcibly relocate the black families to an ugly stretch of territory outside the town.
White Lilacs ANNOTATION
In 1921 in Dillon, Texas, twelve-year-old Rose Lee sees trouble threatening her black community when the whites decide to take the land there for a park and forcibly relocate the black families to an ugly stretch of territory outside the town.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
In 1921 in Dillon, Texas, twelve-year-old Rose Lee sees trouble threatening her black community when the whites decide to take the land there for a park and forcibly relocate the black families to an ugly stretch of territory outside the town.
FROM THE CRITICS
The ALAN Review - Michaeline Chance-Reay
Carolyn Meyer has taken a kernel of history and imagined a most moving elaboration and yet another memorable female protagonist. Rose Lee Jefferson draws each house in Freedomtown, including her grandfather's, which contains the extraordinary garden where the rare white lilacs grow, to create an illustrated historical record before the town is literally moved away. During the 1920s, the residents of Denton, Texas-the white, voting residents, that is-actually did move an African-American community to make room for a city park. The novel contrasts the lives of Rose Lee and her relatives with those of the white family for whom they work. This is a realistic portrayal of the precarious existence of African-Americans in the South and how their sense of community and faith helps them survive. Varying attitudes towards segregation are reflected in the actions of both segments of the town, and unlikely heroes emerge. Meyer gives us believable characters and a good story which will give middle school and high school readers a greater understanding of the human drama in American history.
Art & Photography
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