People of Means
A Novel
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4.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
One of People magazine's most anticipated books!
“A powerful, thought-provoking saga.” —Woman’s World
"An evocative story of love and sacrifice.”—People
From the acclaimed author of The Kindest Lie, a heartrending dual timeline novel about a mother and daughter each seeking justice and following their dreams in 1960s Nashville and 1990s Chicago.
Two women. Two pivotal moments. One dream for justice and equality.
In the fall of 1959, Freda Gilroy arrives on the campus of Fisk University full of hope, carrying a suitcase and the voice of her father telling her she’s part of a family legacy of Black excellence. Soon, the ugliness of the Jim Crow South intrudes, and Freda, reluctant to get involved, is torn between a soon-to-be doctor and an audacious young activist. Freda must decide how much she’s willing to risk in the name of justice.
In 1992 Chicago, Freda’s daughter, Tulip, is an ambitious PR professional on track for an exciting career, if workplace politics and racial microaggressions don’t get in her way. But with the ruling in the Rodney King trial weighing heavily on her, Tulip feels called to action and must choose, just like her mother had three decades prior, what her role will be in the story of America’s quest for equality.
Insightful, evocative, and richly imagined with historical details, People of Means is an emotional family saga and a tour de force about the lasting legacy of family bonds and the far-reaching ways the past shapes our present.
"People of Means left me breathless! A beautifully crafted story...profound and sharp."—Sadeqa Johnson New York Times bestselling author of The House of Eve
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Johnson (The Kindest Lie) delivers an illuminating multigenerational drama of a Black mother and daughter finding their way amid America's racial inequities. It begins in 1959 Nashville, where Chicagoan Freda Gilroy arrives to study mathematics at Fisk University, an HBCU revered by her father, who, like W.E.B. Du Bois, considered higher education to be "their people's true emancipation." She's soon caught in a love triangle with premed student Gerald, who subscribes to her father's ideals, and firebrand activist Darius, who drops out to focus on battling segregation. Eventually, Freda ends up with Gerald. A parallel narrative set in 1992 Chicago follows their daughter, Tulip, a PR agent whose dismissive colleagues chalk up her presence to their firm's diversity quota. With the Los Angeles riots roiling the country, Tulip is torn between striving for professional success and fighting for justice, especially after she gets involved with a protest group whose members dismiss her for being more privileged than they are. As the alternating story lines unfold, Johnson reveals what happened between Freda, Gerald, and Darius, and the effects of Freda's choices on Tulip, offering a nuanced reflection on her characters' sacrifices and the limits of Black respectability politics. It's a satisfying tale of intergenerational reckoning.
