The Warmth of Other Suns

Isabel Wilkerson

"The story of the Great Migration is among the most dramatic and compelling in all the chapters of American history- So far reaching are its effects even now that we scarcely understand its meaning" (as cited by Wilkerson, 2010, p. 10).

The Great Migration was a term I had never heard before until I read this book, and I am a little ashamed to say that.  There are many other details of the history of black America, that I had never known before I opened this book.  Though that is partly my fault, I also think it is the fault of our Education System which failed to convey this side of our country's history.  This, too, is one of the long lasting effects of the Great Migration.

The Warmth of Other Suns is not on Amazon's list (I promise my next one will be- I've already started it) but it was as life changing as it was informative.  For the start of the school year, my employer had required all of us to read one of three books to help us better teach the minority youth in our classrooms.  By chance I picked this book because it happened to be the only one that the Denver Public Library actually carried... and it ended up being a great choice.

The Warmth of Other Suns follows the stories of three migrants from the Jim Crow South to the "free" North.  They traveled from Monroe, Louisiana to Los Angeles, California from Chickasaw County, Mississippi to Chicago, Illinois and from Eustis, Florida to New York City, New York.  It interweaves these stories with the history of the movement all the way from 1910 to present day.  It reads like a work of fiction, and at times the horrors within are so unbelievable and heartbreaking that you wish it was, but it is in fact nonfiction.  All of these people were seeking, as Richard Wright stated, "the warmth of other suns" (as cited by Wilkerson, 2010, p. 13).

The book is stirring, emotional, and informative.  It is a commitment- 622 pages- but it is so captivating that I plowed through it in five days.  The book ends with a powerful statement about the brave souls who left their lives and family behind to seek opportunity: "They did not ask to be accepted but declared themselves the Americans that perhaps few others recognized but that they had always been deep within their hearts" (Wilkerson, 2010, p. 538).  Wilkerson is an evocative and vivid writer who's book will leave you with a different view of the America you know today.  I recommend buying a copy, or checking one out from your local library, today.