Review by Basya -- From Liberty to Magnolia: In Search o...
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[Following is a volunteer review of "From Liberty to Magnolia: In Search of the American Dream" by Janice S. Ellis.]
[rbc=4]id260560-125[/rbc]
Shortly before the onset of these events, Janice Scott Ellis, author of From Liberty to Magnolia, is born in a rural Mississippi farmhouse. As she grows, the youngster faces difficulties on two fronts: she is Black and female. There are stark reminders of the difference in status of whites and Blacks: white neighborhoods are more elegant, roads passing colored residential areas are markedly inferior, Blacks are treated with disdain at white-owned stores where they spend their hard-earned and often meager funds. The Civil Rights movement that is growing in other parts of Mississippi has not reached Janice’s corner, and women’s equality is something never discussed in the Scott household.
Janice’s school years are not happy ones, even though she is a bright and book-loving student. It is not until she is in high school that a teacher recognizes her intellectual abilities and, with his wife, makes college a reality. Tougaloo College awards Janice a full scholarship.
Yet another event during her teen years sets Janice on the road to her lifelong career. She discovers Eric Sevareid, a television columnist whose insightful commentaries help her understand the realities of life in a rapidly changing world. His broadcasts inspire the fourteen-year-old to the extent that she tells her mother, “Someday, I am going to do what Eric Sevareid does.” And, despite her mother’s claim that Negroes and women do not do this kind of work and she is building air castles, Janice does not lose sight of her goal.
College opens up vistas to the world for the dedicated young woman, but it also presents obstacles in the form of demeaning professors, both Black and white. Once again, a teacher recognizes her potential, and sets the stage for Janice to attend graduate school. She applies to the University of Wisconsin, which awards the brilliant student scholarships and a teaching position. Even Janice’s marriage to Thomas Anderson does not affect her decision; her new husband is supportive of her dreams. Unfortunately, he is not the attentive, outgoing man she dated. Janice gives birth to two sons, Joshua and Caleb, while working on her graduate degrees and supporting the family. Thomas’ law school (which Janice urged him to attend) becomes the focus of his life. When inattention turns to abuse, Janice has had enough.
After many years of juggling graduate school, teaching, and raising her boys, Janice realizes her educational goals: Master’s degrees in political science and communication arts and a Ph.D. in the latter field. Her choice of a dissertation topic—the work of prolific newspaper columnist Walter Lippman—reflects her desire to follow in the footsteps of influential news analysts. The young woman’s determination lands her a job as a radio commentator, followed by eight years as a budget expert in the Mayor of Milwaukee’s office. Rather than being in a boring position as she feared, Janice finds herself responsible for ensuring that departments providing needed services to all of the city’s residents receive adequate funding. Janice’s achievements earn her national recognition. The poor Black farm girl from Mississippi lands at an international conference of mayors as an advocate for a widely acclaimed new budget plan--and is invited to the home of her inspiration, Eric Sevareid. Her future is definitely a bright one.
Janice S. Ellis’ story is more than a rags-to-riches tale. The author weaves into the tale of her life the events that shape it and the nation. As such, this book is a valuable lesson in the factors that change American society from a time of innocence (yet injustice to minorities and women) to an era of discontent and new beginnings. Janice deftly turns her experiences—negative and positive—into opportunities to learn and meet her goals. The author’s description of the events of her childhood, adolescence, and college and professional lives drives home the realities of life and struggles she faces as a member of two groups, Black and female, from the sixties to the eighties.
Yet, through her words and insightful commentaries, the author demonstrates her concern for all residents of our world.
“Early in my writing career, I worked hard not to view every issue I addressed through a racial or sexual lens. We…face many of the same issues, have many of the same concerns…We have more in common as members of one human race, despite skin color or ethnic and cultural differences.”
“50 years have passed [since the Constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote] and, in the eyes of the law, women are still not equal with men. The Equal Rights Amendment supposedly will remedy this situation…once it becomes the law of the land…Will women really be ready to exercise its privileges?...After all, women are capable of doing more than one thing. One can be a woman in the fullest sense, and yet be an active, responsible, and productive contributor to society. Why should one be sacrificed for the other? Will becoming a politician, a doctor, a lawyer, or a banker make one any less a woman?”
And, in a chillingly prophetic commentary (considering recent violent acts perpetrated in houses of worship) broadcast on February 18, 1976, she says, “Churches and synagogues once left unlocked 24 hours a day so people could pause from this hectic life for a moment’s meditation are now closed because of the vandals, marauders, even murderers. Churches have become the victims of violence and destruction like never before in the nation’s history.”
For those who would like to read a selection of Janice Ellis’ broadcast columns in their entirety, the author has included them in appendices. A discussion guide, list of notes, and a biographical sketch round out the eye-opening volume.
There are only a few things which mar the quality of Janice S. Ellis’ remarkable memoir. They largely consist of minor errors that a little more careful editing would have caught.
The inspiration the author received from Walter Lippman during her graduate school years led her to devote many pages to the columnist’s timely and timeless commentaries. In this reviewer’s opinion, the attention she gives him is somewhat excessive and may prove tiresome to many readers. In addition, parts of the book do not always follow strict chronological order, leading to some confusion as to the timing of certain events and their place in the author’s life. However, none of the above detracts from the quality of the memoir.
By the time readers reach the conclusion of the author’s insight-filled story of her inspirational life, they will understand and appreciate the significance of the memoir’s title and how it relates to Janice Ellis’ worldview. People of all backgrounds and walks of life will find much in this memoir that speaks to them. (I am aware that this review is rather lengthy, but, in my opinion, to shorten it would not do justice to the excellence of its subject.) I give From Liberty to Magnolia4 out of 4 stars.
******
From Liberty to Magnolia: In Search of the American Dream
View: on Bookshelves |
Shortly before the onset of these events, Janice Scott Ellis, author of From Liberty to Magnolia, is born in a rural Mississippi farmhouse. As she grows, the youngster faces difficulties on two fronts: she is Black and female. There are stark reminders of the difference in status of whites and Blacks: white neighborhoods are more elegant, roads passing colored residential areas are markedly inferior, Blacks are treated with disdain at white-owned stores where they spend their hard-earned and often meager funds. The Civil Rights movement that is growing in other parts of Mississippi has not reached Janice’s corner, and women’s equality is something never discussed in the Scott household.
Janice’s school years are not happy ones, even though she is a bright and book-loving student. It is not until she is in high school that a teacher recognizes her intellectual abilities and, with his wife, makes college a reality. Tougaloo College awards Janice a full scholarship.
Yet another event during her teen years sets Janice on the road to her lifelong career. She discovers Eric Sevareid, a television columnist whose insightful commentaries help her understand the realities of life in a rapidly changing world. His broadcasts inspire the fourteen-year-old to the extent that she tells her mother, “Someday, I am going to do what Eric Sevareid does.” And, despite her mother’s claim that Negroes and women do not do this kind of work and she is building air castles, Janice does not lose sight of her goal.
College opens up vistas to the world for the dedicated young woman, but it also presents obstacles in the form of demeaning professors, both Black and white. Once again, a teacher recognizes her potential, and sets the stage for Janice to attend graduate school. She applies to the University of Wisconsin, which awards the brilliant student scholarships and a teaching position. Even Janice’s marriage to Thomas Anderson does not affect her decision; her new husband is supportive of her dreams. Unfortunately, he is not the attentive, outgoing man she dated. Janice gives birth to two sons, Joshua and Caleb, while working on her graduate degrees and supporting the family. Thomas’ law school (which Janice urged him to attend) becomes the focus of his life. When inattention turns to abuse, Janice has had enough.
After many years of juggling graduate school, teaching, and raising her boys, Janice realizes her educational goals: Master’s degrees in political science and communication arts and a Ph.D. in the latter field. Her choice of a dissertation topic—the work of prolific newspaper columnist Walter Lippman—reflects her desire to follow in the footsteps of influential news analysts. The young woman’s determination lands her a job as a radio commentator, followed by eight years as a budget expert in the Mayor of Milwaukee’s office. Rather than being in a boring position as she feared, Janice finds herself responsible for ensuring that departments providing needed services to all of the city’s residents receive adequate funding. Janice’s achievements earn her national recognition. The poor Black farm girl from Mississippi lands at an international conference of mayors as an advocate for a widely acclaimed new budget plan--and is invited to the home of her inspiration, Eric Sevareid. Her future is definitely a bright one.
Janice S. Ellis’ story is more than a rags-to-riches tale. The author weaves into the tale of her life the events that shape it and the nation. As such, this book is a valuable lesson in the factors that change American society from a time of innocence (yet injustice to minorities and women) to an era of discontent and new beginnings. Janice deftly turns her experiences—negative and positive—into opportunities to learn and meet her goals. The author’s description of the events of her childhood, adolescence, and college and professional lives drives home the realities of life and struggles she faces as a member of two groups, Black and female, from the sixties to the eighties.
Yet, through her words and insightful commentaries, the author demonstrates her concern for all residents of our world.
“Early in my writing career, I worked hard not to view every issue I addressed through a racial or sexual lens. We…face many of the same issues, have many of the same concerns…We have more in common as members of one human race, despite skin color or ethnic and cultural differences.”
“50 years have passed [since the Constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote] and, in the eyes of the law, women are still not equal with men. The Equal Rights Amendment supposedly will remedy this situation…once it becomes the law of the land…Will women really be ready to exercise its privileges?...After all, women are capable of doing more than one thing. One can be a woman in the fullest sense, and yet be an active, responsible, and productive contributor to society. Why should one be sacrificed for the other? Will becoming a politician, a doctor, a lawyer, or a banker make one any less a woman?”
And, in a chillingly prophetic commentary (considering recent violent acts perpetrated in houses of worship) broadcast on February 18, 1976, she says, “Churches and synagogues once left unlocked 24 hours a day so people could pause from this hectic life for a moment’s meditation are now closed because of the vandals, marauders, even murderers. Churches have become the victims of violence and destruction like never before in the nation’s history.”
For those who would like to read a selection of Janice Ellis’ broadcast columns in their entirety, the author has included them in appendices. A discussion guide, list of notes, and a biographical sketch round out the eye-opening volume.
There are only a few things which mar the quality of Janice S. Ellis’ remarkable memoir. They largely consist of minor errors that a little more careful editing would have caught.
The inspiration the author received from Walter Lippman during her graduate school years led her to devote many pages to the columnist’s timely and timeless commentaries. In this reviewer’s opinion, the attention she gives him is somewhat excessive and may prove tiresome to many readers. In addition, parts of the book do not always follow strict chronological order, leading to some confusion as to the timing of certain events and their place in the author’s life. However, none of the above detracts from the quality of the memoir.
By the time readers reach the conclusion of the author’s insight-filled story of her inspirational life, they will understand and appreciate the significance of the memoir’s title and how it relates to Janice Ellis’ worldview. People of all backgrounds and walks of life will find much in this memoir that speaks to them. (I am aware that this review is rather lengthy, but, in my opinion, to shorten it would not do justice to the excellence of its subject.) I give From Liberty to Magnolia4 out of 4 stars.
******
From Liberty to Magnolia: In Search of the American Dream
View: on Bookshelves |
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