The Time and Place That Gave Me Life

“Don’t ever say that you want to be white. Be proud that you're Negro!"

My mother sounded angry as she jerked me down off the couch. I was about three years old and I had just been introduced to the concept of “race.”

In The Time and Place That Gave Me Life Janet Cheatham Bell writes about coming of age in a “northern” city that felt very much like the Deep South of the era. Bell was born and reared in Indianapolis prior to the civil rights movement. In this candid and evocative memoir, the author explains how race and racism impacted and helped to shape her life. This book has been described as “the best form of social history” because it “focuses on an ordinary individual, but also illuminates the experiences of many over time.”