Green Street in Black and White: A Chicago Story

by Dave Larsen

In the early 1960s on Green Street, a boy and his friends face challenges in a neighborhood brimming with racial change. Dave Larsen takes us back to a summer of social upheaval, when youthful mischief collided with the weight of adult fears.

The novel is set in Englewood on Chicago’s south side, a community like countless others across America that were marked in that era by the lively interaction of families, despite ethnic divides and the realities of integration and white flight. The story follows Erik Pedersen and his friends, the Green Street Boys, as they confront prejudice, discover solidarity, and witness the cracks in their seemingly ordinary world. As families leave, neighbors and their congregations grapple with fear. As tensions rise, Erik is thrust into a moral conflict that challenges his understanding of right and wrong.

Larsen's historical fiction includes real events from the author’s childhood on Green Street to give a sense of the dynamics at play in neighborhoods and congregations in that era. Factual events include riding in an Irish uncle’s Chicago police car, a church hiring a seminary intern to track where Black families were moving, and even a tragic shooting that poured fuel on families' simmering anxieties.

With heart and authenticity, Larsen captures a pivotal moment in American history for millions, as seen through the eyes of a young boy yearning to make sense of his changing world. Green Street in Black and White is a coming-of-age tale that poignantly examines community, courage, and the enduring need to face what we cannot ignore.

This novel also is ideal for group discussion and Larsen provides a free, downloadable discussion guide to help spark spirited conversation.

194 pages, Hardcover

Published April 29, 2025

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Green Street in Black and White relates a serious story told by one who knows it first-hand because he lived it: author Dave Larsen. It’s the early 1960s on Chicago’s South Side. The protagonist is Erik, a 12-yr old boy who is very observant and thoughtful. He is this way in large part because his parents are people of integrity guided by their faith. The Pedersons are sharply contrasted with another family, the Bensemas, whose dad is a secret Ku Klux Klan member.

Magnus Pederson, Erik’s dad, knows what it’s like to be on the outside looking in. Magnus is of Scandinavian descent in a world of Dutch Calvinists. Erik’s mother, however, is Dutch, and that plays a big role in the family being accepted in their Englewood neighborhood. The Pedersons send their kids to the Dutch Christian Reformed Church and go to the school that it supports (both within walking distance).

There are quiet heroes in this story, namely Magnus and Fenna Pederson, who teach their children that all people are created in the image of God, and Willoughby and Sheila Jackson, a young Black pastor and his wife who bravely move into the Green Street neighborhood having paid cash for their home (funded by their church and Black-owned businesses).

The serious (and contemporary!) topics of racism, hate crime, and White supremacy are lightened by Larsen’s humorous touch. For example, when Magnus seeks to talk with his son Erik about sex, Erik says, “Shouldn’t I pubertize first?” and when the congregation recites the Lord’s Prayer Erik and his friends look around for each other as they say, “Our father who art in heaven, Harold be thy name.”

I liked many things about this book, and one of the things I liked best was that the characters are complex. No one is totally good or bad (like all people, right?) This makes the characters real for me. There is a good amount of tension, too, which drives the story. What will the deeply-rooted Green Street folks do – move to the suburbs or stay in a swiftly-changing neighborhood? Larsen does a good job of presenting the pressures that the families face.

I highly recommend this book!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, based on real experiences of the author’s coming of age in Englewood in a time that would later be marked as white flight in Chicago. His retelling is honest, empathetic, funny and inspiring. Green Street, and the surrounding Englewood, is nearly its own character in the book, as Larsen transports the reader back to summer days spent listening to the ball game and hanging out on a neighbor’s porch. I appreciate that it addresses the topic of race without being preachy and think it would lend itself well to a discussion group.

[Robert D. Cornwall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Larsen takes us back to a changing Chicago neighborhood in 1962. In a fictional portrayal of a white community offered through the eyes of a twelve years old boy and his friends, we see the depth of racism in even a Christian community. We see attempts to bridge gaps as a black minister and his wife, a school teacher move into the neighborhood, but also the racism rooted in fear. An insightful portrayal that will offer some hope but reminds us how far we have to go.

[Roger Wiers · Rating 5 out of 5]

The voice of this book took me back to my childhood. I could imagine myself bantering with boyhood friends. As a lifelong Chicagoland resident, this book resonates as a Chicago story. I love Chicago, and this book has its finger on the pulse of what Chicago is. The problem is, that as much I love Chicago, it has major flaws, and many of those flaws revolve around racism and cultural exclusion. Those flaws are evident in this book and the author doesn't shy away from them. This is also a book about faith and its impact on our lives. Do we really walk the talk? As the book points out, we often let our fears (many of which are imagined) prevent us from walking the talk. How does our faith become strong enough to overcome our fears? Reading Green Street encouraged me to continue to wrestle with this question.

[Barb Lavery · Rating 5 out of 5]

I too started my young life in Englewood, IL and left with my parents when the neighborhood seemed to be unsafe in their eyes. I heard stories similar to the ones in this book based on a true story of "white flight". My family chose to leave the area and headed to Oak Lawn. Why are we so afraid of people who differ from us? Excellent writing of reminiscences and dilemmas we must face in life.

[Douglas Brouwer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Green Street in Black and White: A Chicago Story is a compelling novel that effectively blends personal narrative with historical context. Through the eyes of a young boy navigating a changing world, my friend and Reformed Journal colleague, Dave Larsen, delivers an authentic portrait of a community grappling with racial tensions. Highly recommended.

[Annalee]

The idyllic 60s meet real life in a Chicago neighborhood. Larson helps us understand how racial fears trump religious principles. Answers aren't as easy as some might think. This book, while entertaining, is also heartwarming...and heartbreaking. An important read that will leave you thinking long after you've finished it.

[Rena Compaan]

A good book to read, especially if you know or are from the area described. Well written.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story. It is historical fiction at its best. My in-laws were in the thick of this place and time, and there were stories here that I had never heard. I appreciated in the telling, seeing the good and bad in many of these characters, the angst they experienced, the real fears they had (and the ones they imagined and propagated), their love for church, home, neighborhood and school, the decisions to move. It was an eye opener to see the good and far less than good ways in which people used their influence.
So much has changed in the 60 some years since 1962, and I'm more aware that we still have a long way to go.