I read this book and I SOBBED. I haven't cried so hard since I watched Dancing with Wolves. So much to think about!! I will be thinking about this book for a very long time. I am "White". I am looking forward to hearing from my African-American friends their perspective. I hope some of them read the book. This would be a very good book to use as a basis for discussions of race & racism consisting of a mixed group of people----Black & White--young & old--from the South & not from the South. I'm sure my reaction probably would differ from my friends. And I'm sure I would have a WHOLE different view of things afterward--with MORE things to think about.