19 June 2001  Witness by Karen Hesse, Scholastic Press, September 2001

"lenora sutter

willie pettibone handed me an article in school

torn from the town paper.

it said:

...any person to whom an evening of hearty laughter is poison

had better keep away from the community club minstrel show

Friday evening at the town hall. all others will be admitted

for a night of fun brought to you by 22 genuine

black-faced "coons."

felt like skidding on ice as i read,

felt like twisting steel.

why can't folks just leave me alone?

daddy says:

how alone do you want to be, leanora?

you're already nothing but a wild brown island."

***

"harvey and viola pettibone

harvey says:

the ku klux are here, vi.

there's not a thing to stop them. we might as well join them.

why not?

they're not low-down, like some folks say.

they're good men,

100 percent american men.

and they might bring us some business..."

WITNESS, written in the same poetry style as Karen Hesse's Newbery Medal-winning OUT OF THE DUST, is a riveting and disturbing story whose ending inspires hope for the future. It is based on a true story in which a small Vermont town was infiltrated by the Ku Klux Klan in 1924. Told through the voices of eleven characters it is sure to garner acclaim for Hesse's beautiful writing as well as attention for its powerful subject matter and important message.

It is essential for young adults to realize that towns in the North, as well as the South, have their dirty little secrets. In my case, growing up on suburban Long Island in the '60s, the only crosses I saw burning were on the evening news. But with undisguised mortgage redlining taking place there well into that decade, I recall a nearly-finished home in my newly-constructed neighborhood burning to the ground in 1964. It had to be totally rebuilt, thus delaying its occupation by a family of color (the second and last in the neighborhood) for six additional months. Was it just a coincidence that that particular house burned?

But don't misunderstand me. WITNESS is far from being a dispiriting story. It turns out there are more "good guys" than "bad" here. And while, as we know, prejudice wasn't stomped out, we see reason, redemption, and community triumph throughout this uplifting tale. An 18-year-old we utterly despise is given a second chance, which completely impacts the course of events. The character with the greatest vision is a nearly-blind Civil War veteran. And, on top of that, readers are treated to the delightful wisdom of a transplanted six-year-old Jewish girl (whose speech is reminiscent of Opal Whiteley):

"esther hirsh

bossie did stray from the pasture

into mr. hobarts' garden where she had eatings of all the good green stuffs

and she did have goings up and down the garden rows.

when mr. hobart did have wakings up,

he did see our bossie

in his garden,

and he did take his gun and fire at

bossie.

bossie is a smart cow

and right away she had runnings home to us.

the animal doctor did make a good promise that

bossie does not have the living coming out of her.

and i am having big glads to hear this

because i do like it better to play with

bossie with the living in her."

Richie Partington

Richie's Picks

BudNotBuddy@aol.com