SUSAN CAROL McCARTHY
EDUCATORS Tell Me A Good Book To Read, below, was published in the Florida English Journal, Winter 2005. (Ethnic) Food For Thought appeared in the California School Library Association Newsletter, April 2006. Tell Me A Good Book to Read Ginny White, English Teacher Past President, Florida Council of Teachers of English Ever since I sat next to Susan Carol McCarthy at the Amelia Book Island Festival luncheon in October, 2002, and then read her book Lay That Trumpet in Our Hands, I wanted to teach/ At last year’s FCTE conference, I purchased a class set of Trumpet from Elise Gold at Books Unlimited (booksunlimited13@ Before we began our reading, I gave a synopsis of the story – that it was based on the true experiences of Susan’s family, that it dealt with harsh times in central Florida when the KKK exercised great power, that Thurgood Marshall and Harry T. Moore were real people, and that attitudes in those times were quite different from what is considered acceptable today. We established the desire to learn about all this before we began reading. We created an atmosphere of safety for talking about things often not discussed so openly and honestly in school. As the students and I read, we kept Reader’s Response Journals to record our reactions, comments, questions, confusions—all the things we thought we should talk about. In class we discussed what we had read, sometimes reading passages aloud. We also made a list of people, groups, events we wanted to know more about, which then became research questions. In each class a person took a question to research (e.g. polio/ Finally, here again for Amelia Book Island Festival with her new book True Fires, Susan was our Authors-in-Schools speaker on September 30, 2005. Her story of how Trumpet came into being is on her web site at www.susancarolmcarthy.com, but hearing Susan tell the story in person was even more powerful. The three fictions in the book are these: 1) the narrator, Reesa, is the older sister Susan always wanted, a fictional creation, the person she deemed best to tell the story; 2) Marvin Cully, the young man murdered as a result of being mistaken for someone else, is based on Melvin Womack whose personality is woven from Susan’s relationships with many bright, storytelling pickers who worked in her family’s groves, and 3) the names of the towns and their citizens have been changed to protect identities as Susan felt it their right to tell their own stories. Susan’s father, fictionalized as Warren McMahon, however, did assist the FBI, Harry T. Moore, and Thurgood Marshall during the “Florida Terror of 1951.” The records were sealed and opened 40 years later. And recently on August 15, 2005, Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist announced a $25,000 reward for resolving the murders of Harry T. and Harriette Moore (http:/ As part of a Book Island Festival panel discussion, Ben Green talked about his book Before His Time: The Untold Story of Harry T. Moore, America’s First Civil Rights Martyr (University Press of Florida, 1999). Susan’s book had led to my students’ wanting to know more of their fellow Floridian Harry T. Moore, so I shared what I was learning from reading this book. As a result, my students have become activists. We have written letters to the NAACP and to the Southern Poverty Law Center, expressing our admiration for Harry Moore and asking them to consider what Green suggests in the title of his book – that Harry T. Moore was indeed America’s first Civil Rights martyr. We would like to see him recognized as such. This book study was powerful. It was not an easy experience for my students as readers nor for me as their teacher. The truth is often difficult, harsh, and embarrassing. Please read it for yourself before you decide to teach this book; however, I believe the process of discussing Lay That Trumpet in Our Hands will be a learning experience of great meaning for your students and for you. © 2005 All rights reserved by the Florida Council of Teachers of English. (Ethnic) Food For Thought Sandy Schuckett, Leadership For Diversity Committee California School Library Association At the CSLA State Conference last November, author Susan Carol McCarthy presented a stimulating session on Racism, which raised many very thought-provoking issues. As much as we would choose to ignore the fact, racism still rears its ugly head - even today in the "enlightened" 21st century. It may not be overt racism, as evidenced by the KKK actions in the 1930s and 1940s. But there is still large evidence of covert racism throughout our society. Much of this is due to economics, class, the politics of power and privilege, or just to a complete lack of knowledge, awareness or sensitivity on the part of many Americans. We have the responsibility to provide the truth to our students. We also have the responsibility to model behavior that is inclusive. Let's think about what this means. In your library, do you feature African-American-themed books and Chinese artifacts in February, Latino-related stories at the beginning of May, and a menorah in December? Or, do you include these materials throughout the year as they pertain to whatever units or lessons you are teaching? Does a biography lesson on scientists include scientists of color? Is a unit on American History inclusive of how the particular issues of that time affected ALL the people who lived through it? Do you give books with black protagonists only to black kids, or books with Asian heroes or heroines only to Asian kids? Or do you give these same books to white kids also, so that they can perhaps learn what it feels like to live in another's skin by reading a moving piece of fiction? Our deeply ingrained attitudes govern our actions. Often, as much as we would like to believe something intellectually, our actual behavior is the biggest indicator of how we really feel. Think of your own life and how you react in different situations. If you hear a student or teacher use a racial slur or perpetuate a stereotype, what do you do? If you want to measure your attitudes regarding not only race, but also gender, politics, or even guns, go to https:/ © 2006 All rights reserved by the California School Library Association. Are you teaching or group reading Lay That Trumpet In Our Hands or True Fires? Please share your questions, comments or experiences. Click and type in a question or comment Thank you for visiting Andrews High School on Wednesday, May 10. My ninth grade students wrote about your visit today. Every student had positive comments and each shared something he/she learned from you. Several students commented about the fact that you responded so well to them and to the other students, and they liked the fact that you seemed comfortable with them. Another student said, "She looked so emotionally attached to what she was saying." Several others thought your father had to be the bravest man in the world. Others didn't realize that South Carolina had such a large number of hate groups, and we had quite a discussion about that. Some are intriqued enough to want to do a little research. Your comments about prejudice struck a chord that will resonate for a long time. Although I did not ask about interest in reading True Fires, nearly every student commented on the fact that he/she would like to read another book by you. That fact thrilled this old English teacher's heart. Sincerely, Sharon Strickland |
AUTHOR NOTE TO TEACHERS & LIBRARIANS: Is your classroom or book club reading Lay That Trumpet In Our Hands or True Fires? Would you like to schedule an "author visit" via speaker phone? Please email me at SusanCMcCarthy@ |
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