A Cry for Help

by Helen Townsell-Parker

Sub-title - A chronological history a Black Community in Northern Nevada. From Introduction - This book is about fifty-years of Documented History, of a once small but mighty Black Community located North of Reno, Nevada, once called Black Springs, Nevada. In 1954, an African American could not buy a house, get a mortgage, a construction loan or purchase property in what was called Mississippi of the West. (Description by http-mart)

268 pages, Paperback

First published November 9, 2010

Reviews

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much about the history we are never taught about Black Springs, a Black community in Reno, Nevada. The author, Helen Townsell-Parker, cares deeply about the chronological documentation she painstakingly organized when her grandparents passed and it shows. The reason to pick up this book is not for the eloquent writing, but for the story of perseverance, strength, and community the historical documentation tells. Thank you for sharing it, Helen.

[Alexios Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

This touching book recounts the history of a Black community north of Reno, struggling to get basic government services and preserve its identity throughout the 20th century. The book is layered: you get to know the author (documentarian), her inspiring grandparents (activists and preservationists), and the history of the town at once. And layers of lost worlds: the Black communities expanding, standing on their own feet in the post segregation era; the world of paper, physical minutes, limited documentation; the small democratic community, and the author writing for her own community. I loved the author’s very authentic voice and colloquial evocative writing style.

My only complaint is there was not enough context for many of the meeting minutes and so on that were documented verbatim in the book, so at times it felt less history and more documentary compendium.

This book was sent to me by the Radical Cat Bookstore in Reno, a bookshop I hope to visit one day.

[Mary Diebel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The history was interesting and it was amazing that all the papers were found. But the grammar and spelling drove me crazy. I got used to it eventually. It was the history of Reno so that made it more interesting. I liked the first section when she talked about finding and sorting all the papers. It was sad that the community had to go through so much. It made me think of my own aunt and 9 cousins who lived in an apartment with no hot running water until the late 1960s. Interesting but rather tedious.