Test Ride on the Sunnyland Bus: A Daughter's Civil Rights Journey

by Ana Maria Spagna

Test Ride on the Sunnyland Bus chronicles the story of an American family against the backdrop of one of the civil rights movement’s lesser-known stories. In January 1957, Joseph Spagna and five other young men waited to board a city bus called the Sunnyland in Tallahassee, Florida. Their plan was simple but ride the bus together—three blacks and three whites—get arrested, and take their case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Fifty years later Ana Maria Spagna sets off on a journey to understand what happened and why.

 

Spagna travels from her remote mountain home in the Pacific Northwest to contemporary Tallahassee, searching for the truth of the incident and her father’s involvement. Her journey is complicated by the fact that her father never spoke of the Sunnyland experience and died unexpectedly when she was eleven. Seeking out the other bus riders, now in their seventies, Spagna tries to make sense of their conflicting stories. Her odyssey becomes further troubled by the sudden diagnosis of her mother’s terminal cancer.

 

Winner of the River Teeth Literary Nonfiction prize, Test Ride on the Sunnyland Bus deftly weaves cultural and personal history, memoir, and reportage in this fascinating look at a family and a nation’s past.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, History

286 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Ana Maria Spagna is the author of nine books including PUSHED: Miners, a Merchant and (Maybe) a Massacre forthcoming from Torrey House Press, UPLAKE: Restless Essays of Coming and Going and the poetry chapbook, MILE MARKER SIX, as well as THE LUCKIEST SCAR ON EARTH, a novel about Charlotte, a 14-year old snowboarder. Previous books include RECLAIMERS, stories of indigenous people reclaiming sacred land and water, the memoir/history TEST RIDE ON THE SUNNYLAND BUS: A Daughter’s Civil Rights Journey, winner of the River Teeth literary nonfiction prize, and two previous collections of essays, POTLUCK, finalist for the Washington State Book Award, and NOW GO HOME, a Seattle Times Best Book of 2004.

Reviews

[John Treat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spagna tells the story of her father’s participation in the 1957 civil rights bus boy-cott in Tallahassee, Florida, a white man “looking for trouble ” (p. 38). She struc-tures her narrative roughly as a detective novel: Why did her father, Joe, skip bail and head out of town afterward, while others served their time for their convictions? Along the way we learn just what a “rolling stone” Joe had been, and who like oth-er men in the book “dropped out” at some point in their lives. On this “ride,” we al-so encounter Spagna’s siblings and the black and sometimes white witnesses to the Tallahassee boycott at its fiftieth commemorative anniversary. We see that a long road trip with Laurie can come across as delightfully Thelma and Louise-ish-- by the time Spagna is done with Test Ride, the reader feels he or she has seen all of America. On the level of craft, what I appreciate most in Test Ride is Spagna’s abil-ity to move forward and backward across many past and present time lines, from events that occurred before she was born to those unfolding contemporaneous with the book’s time of writing. I had worried in the last pages, busy with the details of the Tallahassee reunion, that the other threads of the book had been shoved aside, but the last two chapters gratefully return us to them. Test also manages to be Spa-gna’s autobiography, a kind of Bildungs Roman that finishes with her being left in a good place to write (more).

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This personal journey to discover the truth about her deceased father as a young civil activist during the late 50's, is full of the roller coaster emotions of life both in the past and in the present. The author brings the reader through the process of discovery where small bits of truth and information from various sources all provide pieces of a puzzle whose picture changes as new pieces are found. Each participant experiences a slightly different "truth", touched and shaped by the interaction with others. History cannot be understood through numbers and dates, history needs the real faces and the individual stories of the people who were there and who were impacted by the events. As the author quotes from "War and Peace": " It is only un-self-conscious activity that bears fruit, and the man who plays a part in a historical drama never understands its true significance."

[Diane Gottlieb · Rating 5 out of 5]

As readers of Test Ride on the Sunnyland Bus, we bear witness to Ana Maria Spagna’s powerful journey through history—both public and personal. Not only do we learn about unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Movement, but we walk with Spagna as she learns about her own father, who died when she was eleven years old, and who was one of those very heroes. Moving and inspirational, Test Ride provides needed hope for our times.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not as much history as I had expected, but it worked for what it was.

The author's father volunteered to ride a bus to test a segregation law. He was arrested, but it was not something he spoke to his family about, and he died while she was young. The adult Spagna finds out and begins trying to learn more as the 50th anniversary of the ride approaches.

It was a very timely read this week, as the Supreme Court struck down part of the Voting Rights Act while also overturning DOMA. (Spagna is a lesbian, and she often correlates the fight for civil rights then with gay rights now.)

Along the way the story is often frustrating as connections are missed and dead ends are encountered, at least some of which can be attributed to Spagna's hesitance, as she has doubts about her own courage, and racial attitudes, and how she should feel about her father's role. However, this makes the ending more uplifting, because it does end on a positive note. There is frustration, because there does not seem to be enough progress - the fight is not over and the fighters get tired - but the value of what has gone before is evident, and there is a definite feeling of reconciliation.

There are two things that are clear overall. One is that history is easily lost. Memories fade, people die unexpectedly, and perceptions of participants may be different. So it is important for people to record their experiences. Also, those experiences will almost certainly not seem as significant to the participants as to those who come later. We don't know where things will lead. So act with integrity, and then move forward, but record it, and talk to your loved ones about it.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should have loved this book. It asks interesting questions about what is a hero, what is courage, why do some people step forward and others not, how does our family background influence our actions. It is about a time and subject that fascinates me - 1950's-1960's civil rights. It is about people who are not the big heroes. So why did I find the book annoying?

I suspect the author's style is the answer. It was more like reading a blog than reading a book. I simply found her run on thoughts about her personal life intrusive.

The final 60-80 pages are better though. The author attends the 50th anniversary celebration of the Tallahassee Bus Boycott. She is able to get outside of herself long enough to be interesting.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a good read, the story of a daughter finding her father--assembling the available pieces of information through research, interviews, and retracing some of his steps--long after his death. The author finds hope and affirmation in what she discovers. And so will you, reader, especially if you are one of the many people now wondering, anxiously, if resistance is futile. It is not. Let Ana Maria Spagna's book show you why.

[Linda Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling narrative by my dear friend, Ana Maria. Moving, informative, wonderful.

[Haines Borough Public Library]

View in catalog here: http://haines.evergreencatalog.com/op...

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

If civil rights and social justice interests you, you should pick this one up. A sweet, but also difficult, story.