Segregation. It sparked the Civil Rights movement within the African American community in the 1960’s. The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon focuses on three fictional characters struggling and fighting for equality during this time. Roland Childs, a peaceful protest enthusiast, is a speaker and a close friend of the famous Civil Rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. At first his sons, Stick and Sam, both attend his demonstrations and do their parts in the peaceful aspect of the Civil Rights movement. Stick and Sam are not only brothers but also best friends that do everything together. But then Stick joins the sometimes violent Black Panther group and Sam is left feeling betrayed. Sam is confused does not know if he should follow Stick’s ways or his father’s. When Sam and Stick find themselves too far in what will Sam decide to do? Will he choose the Rock or the River?
Kekla Magoon wrote this book to show what it truly takes to achieve equality. It could be thought that it is just a glimpse of how hard it was for minorities. There is more to the story, though, and I discovered that from the ending being so traumatic. She shows all of the different actions people take starting with the Panthers and the other civil rights activists. There is also the contrast of ages and ethnicities that play a part of the movement and the importance of her message. Roland does not want Stick and Sam getting as involved as they want to because they are young boys. Her main message would be that equality and freedom cannot be achieved easily, and it takes participation from everyone in different ways to truly make a change.
I enjoyed The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon thoroughly because it was a very eye opening book. This book would be found interesting by someone who loves to learn about America’s history or the Civil Rights movement. I have not ever been one to enjoy these types of books but it was written and delivered in such a way that it was very pleasant to read. The Rock and the River taught me a lot about the Civil Rights movement that I previously had little knowledge of and is very eye opening in terms of how emotional this time was for the African American community.