The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration in Retro Chapter Chicks

Jan 19, 2017 Brina rated it it was amazing

Shelves: immigration

In 1994 Isabel Wilkerson won the Pulitzer Prize for journalism, making her the first African American woman to do so. Upon receiving this prestigious award, Wilkerson, a daughter of migrants, paused to think of those who paved the way so that she could have the opportunity to earn such an honor. Listing a who's who of prominent African Americans of the 20th century, many had moved with their families during the Great Migration, north or west in search of a better life. Ray Charles, Bill Russell, In 1994 Isabel Wilkerson won the Pulitzer Prize for journalism, making her the first African American woman to do so. Upon receiving this prestigious award, Wilkerson, a daughter of migrants, paused to think of those who paved the way so that she could have the opportunity to earn such an honor. Listing a who's who of prominent African Americans of the 20th century, many had moved with their families during the Great Migration, north or west in search of a better life. Ray Charles, Bill Russell, Jesse Owens, and numerous others began their life in the segregated south with no future, and ended up famous because their parents had the foresight to leave. Yet, most Americans are familiar with the Bill Russells of the world; Wilkerson desired to introduce her readers to the average migrant who left.

The idea that became The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration had been born. Wilkerson made the decision to research why African Americans left the south, and over the next three years would interview countless migrants and their descendants to pinpoint and shed light on an often overlooked era in American history. Between 1919 and 1970 millions of African Americans left their bleak lives and ended up in northern cities, giving themselves and their children hope for the future. Wilkerson chose for her subjects three people, one each who migrated to New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles in search of attaining the American dream.

Ida Mae Brandon Gladney left Mississippi in 1937 and ended up in Chicago where she would live until her death in 2004. Living in a Jim Crow society with no hope for the future, Ida Mae, her husband George, and their two children took the midnight train north to Milwaukee, where Ida Mae's sister lived. Eventually, the family settled on Chicago's south side, where they would find life long jobs in both factories or hospitals. The children attended a desegregated school and one became a teacher. Although blue collar jobs, the Gladneys made the most of their opportunity, never missing a day of work, and even became long time home owners. Ida Mae did not regret her decision at all because she knew that she would have had little future at all in a white supremacist south. Chicago became her home and she lived as a proud citizen, never missing an election, and admired by all who knew her.

I was most captivated by Ida Mae's story because she was an immigrant to Chicago, much like my paternal family in the 1910s. Yet, Wilkerson's other two subjects lead equally compelling lives. George Swanson Starling was smuggled out of Florida in 1943 and lived in Harlem for the rest of his life, yet never quite leaving the south. Working as a porter on train routes between New York and Florida, Starling became an advocate for African American passengers, working at this profession for 35 years. Even though it was a small step up from life in the south, at least Starling knew that he was free to live his life as he pleased, without the constant fear for his life. In the end of his life, Starling still managed to straddle both worlds.

Most successful by material standards was Robert Joseph Pershing Foster who moved from Monroe, Louisiana to Los Angeles in 1953. An accomplished surgeon, Foster had no rights to practice in the south, even as the son-in-law to the president of a prestigious black college. Foster knew of many other Monroe residents who ended up in Los Angeles and he viewed it as the ultimate land of opportunity. Revered for his entire professional career, Dr Foster was the personal physician of the likes of Ray Charles and even had a song written about him. Las Vegas became a second home, and Dr Foster never shied from the limelight. Yet, despite his appearances, he still was a southerner and exhibited many insecurities during his life. He told Wilkerson that he migrated so that his daughters could enjoy an upper class life free of discrimination.

Wilkerson won the Pulitzer while a journalist for the New York Times, and her journalistic skills are evident throughout this book. While a nonfiction book detailing fifty years of history, the text read like a rich story, reeling me in from the very first pages. In addition to knowing how the history played out in time, I wanted to find out how Ida Mae, George, and Dr Foster lived in relative comfort as northerners. Wilkerson is the daughter of migrants herself and she showed both empathy and compassion toward her elderly subjects. A gem of a book and a jewel detailing an often overlooked era of American history, The Warmth of Other Suns easily rates 5 bright stars. I look forward to reading Wilkerson's future masterpieces, whenever she writes them. ...more

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Jan 06, 2015 Candi rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction, favorites

An amazing story about the mass migration of blacks fleeing to the North and West in order to escape the horrors of the Jim Crow south. Isabel Wilkerson interviewed more than 1,000 people and spent years completing her thorough research. This work of non-fiction highlights the stories of three unrelated individuals, Ida Mae Gladney, Robert Foster, and George Starling in their journeys from Mississippi to Chicago, Louisiana to Los Angeles, and Florida to New York City, respectively. The atrocitie ...more

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Aug 22, 2021 Book Concierge rated it really liked it

Shelves: library, social-commentary, concierge, strong-women, book-club, african-american, racism, audio, nonfiction

I had heard of Wilkerson’s masterful social history, but had just never gotten around to reading it. Thanks to my F2F book club, however, the time is now.

One thing I really appreciate about this work is how Wilkerson focuses on three individuals: Ida Mae Gladney who moved north to Chicago in 1937; George Starling who went from Florida to Harlem in 1945; and Robert Foster who settled in Los Angeles in 1953 to pursue the kind of medical practice unavailable to him in Louisiana.

Using these three ...more

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