The Atavist: The Color of Love

by Gene Owens

John Wayne, a 10-year-old boy, swings a pine club at his abusive stepfather during a fishing excursion in South Carolina, and knocks him into a flooding river. His limp body lodges half submerged in the forks of a fallen tree. John flees in a 10-year-old's fear that he will be sent to the electric chair. His flight brings him into contact with a Negro family, who befriend him and help him make his way to the Mississippi Delta. 10 years earlier, in Mississippi, Mary Helen loses both parents and is taken in by a wealthy plantation owner. She makes friends with a smart and pretty Negro girl. She marries a young man from Chicago, who, unknown to her, is the son of a white lawyer and a mulatto woman. Mary Helen gives birth to an atavist, a throwback who has African-American features. Tragic fate brings John and Mary Helen together Ten years later. John soon becomes accepted as Helen's son and is presumed to be African-American. The story traces the evolution of John's and Mary Helen's racial attitudes, dips deeply into the excesses of the Civil Rights movement, and traces his romantic interests as he is torn between a bright blonde whom he met in prep school and a beautiful young Negro who could pass for white. The book is intended as a realistic view of attitudes in both races during the Civil Rights movement, and a hopeful look at the outcome.

395 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 10, 2024