Away from My Mother's Watchful Eye

This Is A Coming Of Age Story That Chronicles My Early Years Growing Up In Inner-City, Brooklyn, New York Amidst The Turbulent, Racially And Socially Explosive 1960S. The Civil Rights Movement Was In Full Swing And While Many Older "Negroes," As We Were Called Then, Supported Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. And His Calls For Peaceful Protests, Many Young Blacks Gravitated To A More Militant And Confrontational Approach To Winning Freedom And Equal Treatment Under The Law.. When The New York City Board Of Education Decided To Promote Busing To Further Achieve Integration In Its’ Public Schools In 1965, I Was One Of The First African-Americans From The Inner-City Bused To A Junior High School In Lily-White, Predominantly Jewish, Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. Viewed By Many In My Own Community As Being A “Traitor,” “Uncle Tom” And “House Nigger” For Going To School With "Whitey," For The Next Six Years I Navigated Between Two Distinct Worlds, Excelled, Forged Friendships And Found Acceptance In The Most Unlikely Of Places; The White Community I’D Been Warned To View With Fear And Distrust. . "Away From My Mother’S Watchful Eye," Describes My Experiences Being A Precocious Child Growing Up In An Inner-City Housing Project Where “White Flight” Left Behind A Black Ghetto Complete With A Colorful Array Of Inhabitants, Mostly Decent And Hardworking And Others, Dangerous And Downright Predatory. Feeling Out Of Place In A Community Where Daily Rites Of Passage Demanded Confrontation And Aggressive Posturing, I Found Solace In All Things Academic And Artistic Thus, Further Alienating Myself From A Community Where An Ever Increasing Black Militancy Demanded That All Young Blacks Be “Down With The Revolution.” I Also Share Humorous Stories About My Struggling, But Happy Family While At The Same Time Seriously Addressing My Mother Clara Being Diagnosed With A Debilitating Disease And My Father, “The Colonel’S” Gambling Addiction And Emotional Alienation; He Couldn'T Say The Words, "I Love You." . The Book Describes My Family’S Joy At The News That I’D Be Bused To A White School In The Fall Of 1965 As Well As My Parent’S Fear And Apprehension About Sending Me Twenty-Five Miles Away To A Potentially Hostile Community. Concerned Friends And Family Members Took It Upon Themselves To Bestow Upon Me All Manner Of Advice In An Attempt To Encourage And Fortify Me But While The Social And Historical Implications Of Busing Were Obvious, I Simply Struggled To Just Be A Kid. . "Away From My Mother’S Watchful Eye" Is Informative And Historical And Readers Will Not Only Be Taken On A Nostalgic Journey To An Exciting Time Gone By, But Also Educated Along The Way About The Civil Rights Movement, President Kennedy’S Election And Assassination, Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, President Lyndon B. Johnson, The Vietnam War And The Healing Effects Of The Beatles’ Music On A Post-Assassination America. . Unlike The Usual Sad And Ugly Stories About Busing That We'Ve All Heard Before, "Away From My Mother'S Watchful Eye" Is Uplifting And Inspiring; A Real "Feel Good" Story. It Will Not Only Entertain You But Also Make You Laugh, Cry, Think, Reminisce, And Laugh Some More.