Red White and Black

Author's Note

This is not a racist story, let me be clear about that. It is a story about racism. Actually, the racism depicted is merely the symptom of a deeper problem, I believe. I hope that as you read, you might recognize with me that there is a way to be found that can lead us out of conflict and hate, out of petty and sometimes not-so-petty differences, and around the baggage we seem to be carrying.

I grew up in Indiana. I played a lot of basketball although I was never nearly as good as the protagonist you are about to meet. I also had family that lived in and around Gary, Indiana throughout the tumultuous 1960s and 1970s and therefore have a lot in common with the characters of this story. My own father worked at U.S. Steel and tells stories about the working conditions there in the 50s and 60s that are truly amazing. I have planted some of those into this work.

Later in the story, we run across a white supremacy group doing its best to stir up trouble. I interviewed a retired FBI agent who confirmed these kind of groups were active in this era doing the very kind of things described herein. For the most part, these groups and their adherents will not likely seek reconciliation with anyone different than themselves. But I think in the end, love and forgiveness will always conquer.

Would that we had but more of it.

If you wonder about the significance of the stark tree on the cover of this novel, I would direct your attention to a song recorded in the last century by Billie Holiday entitled "Strange Fruit." Below is just one of the verses.

Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck

For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck

For the sun to rot, for the tree to drop

Here is a strange and bitter crop

Thanks for reading.

J. M. Ford