Hot Dogs On The Road: An American Indian girl's reflections on growing up brown in a black and white world

by Lena Epps Brooker

Lena Epps Brooker’s parents had a special hope for their children. As American Indians living in the Jim Crow South, they had faced extreme prejudice all their lives, and they wanted a better future for their children. They hoped that one day, Brooker and her two brothers could use the same water fountain as white children. They hoped that one day, those with “brown” skin wouldn’t be devalued by a bigoted society. Brooker took up her parents’ dream. In this insightful look back at her life, she shows you how she moved from innocence to awareness. It didn’t take long for the happy little girl to begin to understand the ways the government and population of North Carolina kept her from the same opportunities as white children. Despite these challenges, Brooker refused to give up. She persevered and became the first American Indian graduate at an all-white women’s college in Raleigh. As Brooker takes you from her early life through her college experiences, she fills her memoir with wisdom, love, and laughter. Despite all the obstacles she faced living in a racist society, she never stopped believing that she could embrace and embody her parents’ optimistic vision of the future.

262 pages, Paperback

Published November 30, 2017

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story of author's youth 1940's - 1960's. Book makes you think about prejudice, with just a little twist on Civil Rights movement-coming from Indian perspective instead of Black. I'm a newbie to North Carolina so appreciated learning some history of my new state. As a 'yankee', I don't really get all the segregation history. And I'm a little annoyed that sometimes people avoided(?) problems because 'indian', not 'black'; either way prejudice/racism is just stupid. Author was from well educated, seemingly middle class family, so I bet some of her friends had less of a positive experience growing up. Not best written book, but glad I read it.

[Kirby Jethro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It has personal ties as Lena and I both have Sappony heritage and I grew up in Person County, one of the many NC locations she addresses in her book. I found her perspective on growing up as American Indian in the 1950s eye-opening. Her story of growth, advocacy, and appreciation for her heritage is beautiful!

[Mitzi Cole · Rating 1 out of 5]

Go ahead and skip this one in favor of Up from Slavery by Booker T Washington. The writing is much better. I didn’t find any humor and just kept counting the pages until I was done. Clearly I was reading for a book club otherwise would have given up on it.

[Dakota Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Informative and eye opening. It doesn’t say where she met her husband