Color Me Dark: The Diary of Nellie Lee Love, the Great Migration North, Chicago, Illinois, 1919

Dear America

by Patricia C. McKissack

The Diary of Nellie Lee Love, The Great Migration North, Chicago, Illinois, 1919 Key Features Description As Nellie Lee and her family experience many changes during the year 1919, she turns to her diary to record her feelings. The family survives lynchings in middle Tennessee, a move to Chicago, and race riots with dignity and love. As Nellie Lee and her family experience many changes during the year 1919, she turns to her diary to record her feelings. The family survives lynchings in middle Tennessee, a move to Chicago, and race riots with dignity and love. About the Author Awards Discover More Read The Article Product Details Item #:NTS952911 Book and Journals, Historical Fiction - 8 Lexile Reading DRA - 50 ACR

Genres: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult, Historical, African American

218 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Patricia C. McKissack was the Newbery Honor, Coretta Scott King Award-winning author of The Dark-Thirty and Porch Lies an ALA Notable Book. She collaborated with Jerry Pinkney on Goin' Someplace Special (Coretta Scott King Award winner) and Mirandy and Brother Wind (Coretta Scott King Award winner and Caldecott Honor Book).

Reviews

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable. Didn't read this growing up so this was so nostalgic to read. Loved these books when I was a pre-teen!

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This entire series is a wonderful way to learn history or teach it to adolescents. I find today's generations seem to recall more when they learn through other people (pop songs, celebrity gossip, etc.), so what better way to teach history than through someone else's perspective? Yes, "authentic" diaries would be "better", but would the language really hold the modern student's attention? Did the diary writer know what WOULD be important in the context of history? Probably not.

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great point of view of a family’s migration north.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is with great hesitatation that eleven-year-old Nellie Lee Love begins her new diary on New Year's Day, 1919. The diary was an unwanted Christmas present from her mother that she doubts she will use much. But Nellie grows to like writing in the diary. The entries early on describe her family's fairly idyllic life in the small town of Bradford Corners, Tennessee. Nellie's best friend is her older sister, Erma Jean, who's just ten months older than her. There's Mama and Daddy, Nellie's grandparents, Papa Till and Aunt Nessie (who live with the family), and various aunts, uncles, and cousin. Their life is much easier than that of most southern blacks because Nellie's father owns his own business, a funeral home. But soon tragedy befalls the family, when Nellie's Uncle Pace, who has just returned from the war in Europe, mysteriously dies, possibly at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan. Erma Jean is with him when he dies, and something he tells her has made her mute, too disturbed to speak. Daddy decides to move the family north to Chicago, where their is more freedom and oppurtunity for black people. Nellie describes many more things, both tragic and joyous, that happen to her and her family, friends, and neighbors throughout the entire years. Her diary, although fictional, is a window to the past and describes a time period in American history I knew little about. A good read from the Dear America series, although not among my top favorites.

[Kelsey Hanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book shows the struggles that many African Americans encountered during the 1900s ranging from casual racism like the preference of lighter skin to full out violence and lynching. This book was very interesting and the family ties that bind this family together are very moving and show how they were willing to uproot themselves just for the chance to live in safety and with the respect they deserved. Another excellent Dear America book.

[Erin Becker · Rating 4 out of 5]

2021 review (four stars) - Still not my favorite from a narrative/story perspective, but rereading this after learning a lot more about the Great Migration, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, anti-lynching activism, and the woman's suffrage movement - I see how important this book can be for young readers. It is an important entry in the Dear America series.


2015 review (three stars) - Decent, but far from my favorite in the Dear America series. Viewpoint character much younger than most DA narrators.

[Dalaina Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad times for this family. It was amazing how Erma's voice came back as well as the death of the uncle unfolded. This overall was a interesting historical read. I enjoyed it!

[Alexa Blart, Library Cop · Rating 3 out of 5]

McKissack's last Dear America book (A Picture of Freedom) is one I hold in extremely high esteem; this one cements her place as one of the most thoughtful and talented contributors to the series. This book, which follows eleven-year-old Nellie Lee and her family from their ancestral home in Tennessee (built by Nellie Lee's great-grandfather, and a tremendous point of pride for the extended family) to a brand-new life in Chicago, manages to touch on so many things: life for Black folks in the post-Reconstruction South, including the ever-present threat of lynching; the dismal prospects for returning Black soldiers who fought in the first World War; the shift from the rural South to the urban centers of the North, and what that would have been like for a young girl like Nellie Lee; the race riots in the Red Summer of 1919; and the importance of Black-owned media like the NAACP's The Crisis. In particular, I thought McKissack did a good job showing the Love family's transition from Tennessee, where they are surrounded by a large and fiercely loving extended family, to a small apartment surrounded by a rotating cast of strangers in Chicago--and how those strangers become a new kind of chosen family. "Reverend Prince", a worship leader who becomes a kind of teacher and mentor figure to Nellie Lee and her sister, was also a fascinating demonstration of Black folks reclaiming their history in the late 1910s, as he teaches his congregation about the great kingdoms of Africa and to reevaluate the way they conceptualize beauty. Nellie Lee is herself an outspoken critic of the colorism she sees not only within her own family (where her fairer complexion sees her treated differently than her dark-skinned sister by an aunt they dislike), but in her classroom at school, as well. McKissack was clever to make her protagonist light-skinned herself, and thus subject to the privileges of colorism, yet appalled by them and determined to not let them affect her. Gave me, an adult reader, a lot to chew on!

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

September 2025

I read and collected the Dear America books as a fourth and fifth grader (1997-1999) and while I still read those that I owned I stopped collecting right before this book was published.

According to Goodreads, I read this about 11 years ago, but I have no memory of it. This is a historical era/event which I am largely unfamiliar with (the 1919 Great Northern Migration and subsequent race riots). This was an enjoyable Dear America. There were hard events, both personally (a close loss in the family and the move north) and in the larger world (being in Chicago during the riots) but the majority of the story was focused on Nellie‘s warm and loving family. I liked that this was rooted in a strong family that faced life’s struggles together.

This is one of the series to enjoy and reread, not as choppy and full of trauma after trauma like some of the other early volumes in the series.

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compelling take on the Great Migration through the eyes of a young girl. Nellie Lee describes the positive aspects of life in Chicago while also noting that racism is everywhere. Lots of great references to Garvey, Du Bois, the Crisis, NAACP, and more.

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I decorated plain paper and made it look very fancy. Then when I made my letters I added squiggles and curls to them." My kind of fun!

[clancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

another nice story from the dear america series

[Christian G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the book, Color Me Dark, the author tells the story of a young girl who got a diary for Christmas. So she wrote in it until the end of the year till they moved to Chicago.

My favorite part was when one of her family members suddenly lost her voice to a very shocking event, and for a long while, she could only speak through writing. It was interesting putting myself in that situation, experiencing it through the characters.

I would recommend this book for any people interested in researching the period of 1919. It gives a good perspective about racism in America.

[Purpleswag84]

The title of this book is “Color Me Dark” by: Patricia C. McKissack. The main characters in this book are Nellie Lee Love & her big sister Erma Jean Love. The setting of this book took place in two places. For the first half it took place in Bradford, & the second half of the book took place in Illinois. In 1915 Nellie Lee and her big sister received a diary from their mom on Christmas. Nellie didn’t like to write so she put her diary away. She put it away until New Years day in the year of 1919. In 1919 WW1 ended and everything was changing. Since the war was over the love family was expecting to see Uncle Pace & even William (Nellie & Erma’s big brother) even though he was always on the roll. Uncle Pace showed up later than he was supposed to, and when he showed up he was in horrible condition. The police said that he was drunk and got hit by a train, but the family knew that was a lie because Uncle Pace didn’t drink. After his unexpected death Erma Jean stopped talking. Nellie knew that she was the last one in the room with Uncle Pace when he died and that he must have told her what really happened to him. After many issues in Bradford and the lynching records increasing everyday, the Love family decided to move to Chicago. Awhile after they had settled in Chicago a big riot started after a black man was killed at a pool for going on the white side. When the 2 girl’s dad was willing to risk his life and fight Erma stopped him with speaking. That was the first time she had spoke in months and everybody was so happy. She finally told the family what happened to Uncle Pace, and that he was beat by the Ku Klux Klan.
I thought this was a really good book. I like how it was actually written like a real diary. I don’t think there was anything in this book that I could relate with, but I sure did learn a lot. To find out more about the book and to get more details, go and CHECK IT OUT!!!

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finished my goal of reading all 36 original Dear America books!

I was really looking forward to this one, but it wasn't as emotionally engaging or as historically interesting as some of the better Dear America books. And I don't think that's because the era was less exciting—I think the author just didn't capitalize on all the details like she could have. I didn't feel as though I were there, experiencing things along with the characters. Also, the ending seemed rather hasty and artificially wrapped up.

I didn't dislike the story; I just left feeling a bit disappointed and unsatisfied.

[Joanne Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best Dear Americas I've read to date. Color Me Dark is told in typical diary format. Nellie and her sister are from the South where discrimination and violence are rampant so the family moves north to Chicago, only to find similar racial prejudices in addition to economic bias. The family arrives in the city in time for the race riots, but along with turmoil they discover opportunity. The family is in fact surrounded by opportunities in business, education, politics, and culture.

[Nora Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book so much!!! This series is always a win for me and this book was no different. I love historical fiction and this book is amazing

[Brooklyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite one, still good though.

[Kat Saunders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. After several kind of "ho hum" books in a row, I was really excited by this one and couldn't put it down. This is one of the most nuanced and best-written books for middle grade readers that I've ever read. And this is probably the best book in the Dear America series so far.

The book begins in Tennessee. Nellie Lee and her sister Erma Jean live with their extended family in a rural town. Her father is an undertaker. When a family member is lynched, the family relocates to Chicago. Erma Jean is mute and clearly suffering from PTSD because she was with her uncle when he died, and he confided the truth about his attack to her. I was really impressed by this portrayal of trauma, and how the family supports her. They try to get her treatment but just continue to love her and wait patiently until she is ready to speak. Their father is struggling to start a business because the corrupt system in Chicago expects him to pay bribes. Socializing comes with a new set of challenges even though the family can move much more freely than they did in the South. New arrivals are often seen as country bumpkins, and there are clear class divisions. Colorism also runs rampant, and Nellie is acutely aware of the preferential treatment she receives from others because she is lighter than Erma Jean. 1919 also saw some horrific race riots, which made it unsafe for black families to leave their homes. Many were injured or lost property.

There's a lot going on in this book! And while the violence, especially the discussions of lynching, are disturbing (to say the least), they are an important part of American history, and Patricia McKissack manages to convey the horror in an age-appropriate way. She also weaves the complicated social issues and currents into the narrative in a way that feels very natural. This is an incredible book. I'd never read this one before, but A Picture of Freedom had been one of my favorites as a kid, and it's still been one of the top during my recent reread. Somehow, this is even better, describing a complicated and precarious time for black Americans in an accessible way for children. There is a lasting message of empowerment, too, that blackness is a positive trait and something to be proud of.

In one incredibly poignant passage, Nellie Lee imagines what life will be like more than a century later, on January 20, 2020. She hopes there won't be any more prejudice. This moment really invites the reader to pause and reflect. What would Nellie Lee think of the progress we've made? I can't help but think she'd be disappointed to know that the issues explored in her diary are often still just as relevant and they were in 1919.

It feels crass to do my usual "dead parent count" because this book was so good. Some of the books in this series are brutal for the sake of being shocking, but there is nothing sensational about the very real history of lynchings in the South.

My only one small complaint is that it strains credibility that the narrator is truly 11 years old. She is much more sophisticated and observant. But by the same token, this is what makes the book so compelling.

[Bennett Reeves · Rating 4 out of 5]

An African-American family living in a segregated community in Memphis, Tennessee. Through her writing, we witness her struggles to live in a segregated community and how school and society treat her differently. Because of this, society strips her dreams of becoming a writer away from her. But she still finds ways to have a passion for writing as a little girl and wants to chase her dreams. Throughout this book, she shows how difficult it was for her growing up in the early 1900s. But the one thing that stayed solid was the love and support of her family. Her family shared a powerful bond, resembling an unbreakable and unshakable rock. They are a less fortunate family living on the poorer side, but her dad still has big dreams of moving to the great city of Chicago. The purpose of this book is to show how it was for Nellie growing up and showing the struggles and hardships of her world through her eyes. Which is a great way for the reader to connect with what the author is saying. Because Love is painting a picture in the reader's mind. I enjoyed Loves’ characterization of Nellie, it helps readers understand what it was like to live in an area that experienced heavy racism. For a little girl it was much different for her not knowing why she was getting treated so differently. So, throughout this book we see her learning and seeing more about this cruel world. She’s understanding that she needs to carry a chip on her shoulder. As well as, be devoted to her dream and don’t let anyone disrupt it. I also am a very huge fan of Erma Jean’s characterization in this diary she is used as a piece of wisdom. She was alive at a time when segregation was at a high and the treatment of black people was very poor. Because of this, she can display her wisdom upon Nellie which helps her further understand the world around her. With this wisdom being passed down it helps the whole family better understand and become more mature with the world around them. The first major theme this book displays is a strong theme of family. Through showing family struggles and low points in life Love always describes that family is the most important. Through family, nothing can shake or disrupt the unconditional love the family has for each other. There is also a strong theme of being contemptuous of what you have. Since the author's family is on the poorer side they don’t have all the same luxuries as the white folk. That being said they still find a way to live a happy life while enjoying and being grateful for everything they have. Love writes in such a way that takes the reader through what she is seeing. In such a way that it's almost like we're looking through her eyes taking in all the emotions and surroundings of her interesting life. Her writing style is also like a roller coaster of emotions from high highs to low lows, it’s constantly mind-blowing. Given my background, I didn’t quite understand how hard it was to live paycheck to paycheck. That being said, this book gave a whole different perspective, and the fact that the family was still happy with everything is very wholesome. This book gets a 5/5 rating for changing my perspective on money and family.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nellie Lee Love is the daughter of a successful undertaker. Her diary start off with them living in Tennessee but as the tensions between races rise and the kkk move into their small town, her father decides to strike out on his own and move his family away to Chicago where his brother lives and does very well as a nightclub owner for the upperclass.

In Tennessee you get a slight feel for how things generally were in the South. Children of 'color' went to the colored school, colored people had to wait at the door of the sole grocery store in town to be invited it while they're white counterparts could just walk in. Ironically the white sheriff of their town is considered friendly to colored folk. mmmhmm...Anyhow. Any colored man thought to be overly successful or above his station would be targeted when the lynching began. Nell's family lose their Uncle Pace in this way when he is followed off the train and beaten basically to death (before being left on the tracks to die) because he had to sit in the back of the white person car because there was no room in the colored car. He clings to life for a day before passing.

This is the catalyst that has Freeman Love leaving his family run funeral home to moving to Chicago, where he struggles to open a new funeral home because he refuses to bribe officials. The family is there for the race wars, a Chicago riot that lasted days, killing roughly 56 (or is it 58?) people. You don't get to know too much about what is going on because the family hunkers down in their apartment to wait out the riot.

The book covers some general day to day life things. For the first time ever Nell gets to see and use a flush toilet, she realizes that though her school is bigger and her education somewhat better she is still considered a 2nd or 3rd class citizen because their desk are all old and falling apart and there aren't enough books for everyone. Never mind them being in a class of 40 in 1919!!! She does enjoy the small differences, like being able to walk right into a shop, but she rapidly realizes that there are some places she just can't go because of the color of her skin.

Conclusion?

It was alright. I daresay it was pretty tame. Definitely a book I would consider PG. Everything negative was pretty vague and under-described. I can't say I learned too much (other than about the Critic) and the characters all got fairytale endings in the epilogue.

[Valerie McEnroe · Rating 2 out of 5]

This telling of the black migration to the north is written in diary format. I'm not a fan of realistic diaries. In their attempt to sound authentic, they come off as dry and downright boring. It's truly like picking up the diary of any ordinary girl, stating the mundane day to day happenings of her life. It reads like the diary I wrote as a kid. What I thought was interesting as I wrote it, actually turned out to be boring as heck. Same as this book.

I gave two stars, rather than one because there is a bit of historical knowledge to be gained, if you can manage to stay awake. It covers January to December 1919. Nellie, an 11-year-old black girl, whose family owns the black funeral home in a small Tennessee town, is devastated when her beloved uncle dies. The Sheriff claims he got drunk and was hit by a train, but deep down everyone knows it was a lynching. Her sister is so upset, she stops speaking and is taken to a famous hospital in Chicago. Her father sees potential for the family business in Chicago, as well as an escape from racism, and decides to pack up and move.

One of the topics mentioned is the societal preference for lighter skin tone which offends Nellie, hence the title. A disappointment for me, beyond the writing style, is the detached descriptions of racism. With so much evidence of the injustices to black people post Civil War, I felt like this book left a lot on the table. My recommendation is to skip this book and instead pick up any of the books in the Logan Family series by Mildred Taylor. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is her most famous, but they are all excellent.

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read the book Color Me Dark: The Diary of Nellie Lee Love, the Great Migration North, Chicago, Illinois, 1919 plenty of times before. And I must say, I cannot find any more good and positive things to say about it.

For one thing, Nellie Lee Love sounds like an awesome character, and the way she puts her thoughts into words so well (as well as the “three-nineteen” she has throughout the year) is really awesome. Her sister Erma Jean is pretty neat too.

Also, Nellie’s mother Olive Love is definitely awesome herself in her own way, and she also believes in women’s rights (while also sometimes telling Nellie and Erma Jean to behave like ladies).

In the entry titled Saturday, December 6, 1919, Nellie writes this really awesome entry:

Today Reverend Prince read us a poem by a new poet named Claude McKay: “If We Must Die.” “He wrote this poem because there have been so many lynchings, so many riots this year all over the country. After the riots here in Chicago,” he said, “James Weldon Johnson called 1919 the Red Summer because so much blood has been spilled. But yet we survived — battered and torn, but still standing.” (p. 171)

I agree; the name of the Red Summer is definitely a good one for 1919 because a lot of blood had been spilled.

Basically, I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes reading historical fiction and fictional diaries, and I give it five stars as well (although ten stars would be better).

[Fabiola · Rating 5 out of 5]

“A colored family is like a beautiful bouquet of flowers.” The book Color Me Dark by Patricia McKissack. The book Color Me Dark takes place in Tennessee, United States of the year 1919. Nellie Lee Love and her family are humble and happy of their happy life. But overtime there are experiences that involve with her color versus her sisters. Nellie Lee is a light skin versus her sister who is darker. Nellie Lee gets mad each time her older sister Erma Jean would get hate for being a different color than Nellie Lee. I did like this book because the family is always humble and happy. This book also shows that racism is an important issue to this day and needs to be stopped. My favorite character of the story is Nellie Lee because it shows her curiosity in certain situations and how she cares about her family. My least favorite would be Nellie Lee’s mother because she is strict in some circumstances but has a point in some things as well. Nellie Lee says something very important that I liked very much in page 69, she states,” Colored people think they are better than dark skinned colored people, aren’t we all colored?” This is a good point that I really liked because at the end, really, we are all just human who experience similar things and emotions. I would recommend this book who would like to know what it was like for people of color back in the day where life was difficult.

[kaotickitten · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a gripping and wonderful tale. This book tells of what it was like for on young black girl growing up in 1919.

We get to journey with Nellie Lee Love. She was a delightful character who didn’t whine. Which is what a lot of young girls do in books. She was brave yet scared. She dealt with racism and its harshness. Yet came out with a loving heart. She dealt with death due to her skin tone, but didn’t let it steal her hope.

It deals with the racism and lynching that too many people of that era experienced. Even one is one too many. It also deals with the Red Summer. Something I knew nothing about.

This is one that would be good for a book report on the early twentieth century.


This is also another Dear America book. What makes this series even better is that it introduces you to things you may never have heard about. It inspires you to learn more about events and people in the past.

[SouthWestZippy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quote from the back of the book,"Daddy won't stand for color talk, either. He says a Colored family is like a beautiful bouquet of flowers--all different colors, sizes, and shapes. But each one beautiful in his or her own way. We only need to look at Daddy's side of the family to see that he's telling us the truth. The Love family is Just like the bouquet Daddy, described."
This fiction book follows the full year 1919 of Nellie Lee Love's thoughts about what is going on with her and the world around her. She experienced a death in the family and because what might have happen to her uncle the family moved from Bradford Corners, Tennessee to Chicago, Illinois where her parents believe there is more freedom and opportunity for black people.
Diary is a good perspective from a child's eyes and mind. The nonfiction part in the back of the book is a great tie in to events and people and has a few pictures.

[Jahnavi · Rating 5 out of 5]

My rating: 4.5/5


This was such a heart warming book. I loved the beautiful and personal way it was written like a diary. Another gem from the well known Dear America series which talks about the lives of young girls during historically significant events. The thing I loved most about the book was the way the narrator views everything around her. I loved the way she values her family above every thing else and find hope during the darkest of times. I was deeply inspired and moved by her powerful story. I also liked many of the side characters for their important roles in the story and their roles in the story motivated me very much. Above all this book too taught me about another important event in American history and made me aware about what the life was like for people during the early 1900s in the US. I recommend it to anyone who would like a powerful story with great historical significance.




Happy reading!


Jan

[C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Color Me Dark is a beautifully crafted children’s book. It shares the first-hand view of Nellie Lee Love and her multigenerational enterprising family. The story is taken from her diary and sheds some light on many civil rights issues, i.e., the right to vote, colorism, the great migration, lynching, mob violence, and the 1919 Chicago race war also known as the Red Summer.

The book addresses tough issues like hate, racism, and has some violence, yet I still think it would be a great way to supplement U.S History lessons. I would have loved to have read this as a young girl. You hear the pain and sadness, but you also hear the love, friendship, opportunities determination, and triumphant moments too.

There is so much purpose in this book. I loved the flow, tone and the additional educational information included.

[Carly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book taught me about colorism and just had an honest conversation about race relations in America that I didn't see being spoken about openly in school or in public until I was at least 14. Up until then, it was all "I'm colorblind" or "racism is dead", which clearly it's not. It was so refreshing to have a story just be honest about this issue while also being a very good story within itself that had more to it than dealing with racial issues. However, this book really brought my interest in this subject to the forefront and for me allowed this conversation that we so desperately need be opened up (at least for me) and all thanks to Nellie! Can never express how much this book helped me grow as a person and realize how much I was desperately needing truth to my fiction.

[Meagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Growing up in the Southern US I feel like we did not learn about the Great Migration in school. I had a vague concept of its existence, but when I stumbled across Color Me Dark I was immediately intrigued. I was so impressed by the topics taken on in this novel. We explore colorism, racism, race riots, the birth and rise of the KKK, and the classism that sprang up between the rich and poor of all races. For someone with very limited background knowledge, I found the story to be incredibly well done and the characters to be compelling. I will definitely be on the hunt for both adult fiction and nonfiction that can help me learn more about the black experience during the Great Migration!