Forgot to stop until I was near the end of the book. Not quite there yet, though, so I'll give it a shot. I'm enjoying this book more than I originally thought I would. It's very interesting to look at racism from a point of view that is not really aware of civil rights and nonviolence, but identified more with the black power and liberation movement and grew up hearing about Malcolm X and 'the revolution'. The author grew up in a neighborhood where the liberation colors were often painted on nearby trees and public monuments, in a time when the younger generation wanted to rise up and rebel. In fact, Helen, the second-oldest sister of the twelve kids "became a complete hippie before our astonished eyes, dressing in beads and berets and wearing sweet-smelling oils that, she said, gave you certain powers. A folk guitar player named Eric Bibb followed her everywhere...She sat up late at night with my elder siblings and talked about the revolution against the white man...My little sister Kathy and I would creep to the top of the stairs... as the Big Kids had animated conversations about 'changing the system' and 'the revolution'..."You have to fight the system!" she'd yell. "Fight the Man!"
The other kids were eventually inspired by Helen's rebellion, and one by one, began to sow their own wild oats, especially when their mother lost control of the household after the death of their stepfather. The author admits to spending a period of his life hooked on pot, running wild in the streets, during this time.
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