(Vol. 114 No. 1) Text (PDF) - Spelman College: Home

A NGELA B ROWN T ERRELLLanterns: A Memoir ofMentors.by Marian Wright Edelman(Beacon Press)Marian Wright Edelman — Spelmanalumna, past president of Spelman’sBoard of Trustees, founder and presidentof the Children’s Defense Fund— knows how to give credit wherecredit is due. As the nation’s leadingadvocate for children, Mrs. Edelmanwrites about the people who helpedher realize her dreams. “I did notcome into or get through life alone.Neither did you,” she writes. It’s a“Thank You” note of the first order.In the beginning, she gives tributeto her parents, who raised their fivechildren in the small segregated townof Bennettsville, S.C., and instilled inthem a sense of caring for others,using common sense and a love oflearning.“I do what I do because my parentsdid what they did and were who theywere. I first saw God’s face in the face ofmy parents and heard God’s voice intheirs as they cooed, read, told stories,and sang to me,” Mrs. Edelman writes.Books&PapersBOOK REVIEWSThroughout the book, names ofthe famous as well as unsung heroesare given credit for their influence onMrs. Edelman’s life.Of special interest to Spelmanreaders will be the chapters dealingwith Spelman and the Atlanta blackcollege community during the earlyCivil Rights Movement days.The memoirs are elegantly writtenand insightful. The book finishes with“A Parent’s Pledge and Twenty-FiveMore Lessons for Life.”No Crystal Stairby Eva Rutland. (Mira Books)Another Spelman alumna, Eva Rutland,puts a fictional spin on love andvalues in this saga of a black Americanfamily. The Carter family ofAtlanta is wrapped in its cocoon ofmiddle-class trappings, seeminglyremoved from the struggles of segregation.But Ann Elizabeth inherits toomuch of her doctor father’s compassionto be blind to the struggles ofblack people, especially those less privilegedthan her associates. The storycovers the late 1930s through 1999,following Ann Elizabeth’s life throughschool, her marriage and travels, asshe grows in awareness of the largerworld around her. It includes insightinto World War II and the TuskegeeAirmen, the desegregation of housingand other facilities across the countryfollowing the war as well as the CivilRights Movement.Ms. Rutland’s novel looks squarelyat the color and class consciousnessthat pervades the black community,and it tackles interracial relationshipsas well. There are mentions of wellknownpeople and true events woveninto this well-written and intriguingstory. While the book includes severallove stories, it also covers the strugglesand triumphs of black people in the20th century.“They’re singingsongs of love, but notfor us...”TaRessa and Calvin Stovall“Where is the Love?” sings RobertaFlack. It’s a question often asked byblack people when they look for a positivereflection of their relationshipsmirrored in the media.It’s not there.We can see at best, slapstick comedyand psyche-cutting jokes evidenced inmany television sitcoms and at worst,abuse and depravity. When there ishappy representation, critics scoff thatit’s not real.TaRessa and Calvin Stovall “getreal” in their new book, A LoveSupreme: Real-Life Stories of BlackLove (Warner Books, $23.95). A blackcouple nearing 10 years of marriage,they’ve searched out and written thetrue love stories of 20 happily marriedcouples, ranging from longtimersof 50-plus years to newlywedsbeginning their marital journey. Thecouples represent a cross-section ofage, economics, social status andprofessions. They range from highschool and college sweethearts whomarried young to some enteringmature alliances. There are firstandsecond-timers.Why this tribute to black love?“We are still starving for inspiration,examples and a sense that happilymarried love is attainable,” the Stovallswrite in the introduction. “Ourgoal is to reveal one of the best-keptsecrets of our time: that, in the midstof racism and other stresses of beingblack in America, our men andwomen are...surmounting all kindsof hurdles to build strong marriages.”The Stovalls share their ownromantic beginnings. TaRessa, fromSeattle, Washington, a writer, playwright,publicist and former PublicRelations Director at Spelman College,met journalist Calvin at the1989 National Association of Black8 S P E L M A N M E S S E N G E R