Black & White

by Leigh Allen

1957 – Troubled times. Cracks are forming in the foundation of "separate but equal". Battle lines are being drawn and armies assembling on both sides of the issue. A naïve and untraveled Donnie Hansen along with twenty other teens set out from Boston headed for North Carolina to hold a racially integrated youth conference. The ghosts of racism, both ethereal and solid, dog the journey from the start.As the tour sinks below the Mason-Dixon line the idealism of the group begins to succumb to fear for their safety as they encounter blatant bigotry and the odd quirk engendered by the "separate but equal" philosophy engrain in the southern states. Separate bathrooms, separate drinking fountains and refusal of service based only on the premise of skin color begin to take their toll.Can Donnie and the conference strike a blow for equality, make a difference, survive?

298 pages, Paperback

Published January 18, 2020