Blood Done Sign My Name: A True Story

Tyson sheds a new light on the struggle for racial justice as he weaves together childhood memories with the realities of present-day Oxford, North Carolina--his hometown--where a young black man was killed in the town square by a Klansmen in 1970. High school & older. nThe riveting* true story of the fiery summer of 1970, which would forever transform the town of Oxford, North Carolina--a classic portrait of the fight for civil rights in the tradition of To Kill a Mockingbird n n*Chicago Tribune nOn May 11, 1970, Henry Marrow, a twenty-three-year-old black veteran, walked into a crossroads store owned by Robert Teel and came out running. Teel and two of his sons chased and beat Marrow, then killed him in public as he pleaded for his life. n nLike many small Southern towns, Oxford had barely been touched by the civil rights movement. But in the wake of the killing, young African Americans took to the streets. While lawyers battled in the courthouse, the Klan raged in the shadows and black Vietnam veterans torched the town's tobacco warehouses. Tyson's father, the pastor of Oxford's all-white Methodist church, urged the town to come to terms with its bloody racial history. In the end, however, the Tyson family was forced to move away. n nTim Tyson's gripping narrative brings gritty blues truth and soaring gospel vision to a shocking episode of our history. n nFINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD n nIf you want to read only one book to understand the uniquely American struggle for racial equality and the swirls of emotion around it, this is it.--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel n nBlood Done Sign My Name is a most important book and one of the most powerful meditations on race in America that I have ever read.--Cleveland Plain Dealer n nPulses with vital paradox . . . It's a detached dissertation, a damning dark-night-of-the-white-soul, and a ripping yarn, all united by Tyson's powerful voice, a brainy, booming Bubba profundo.--Entertainment Weekly n nEngaging and frequently stunning.--San Diego Union-Tribunen