美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Midnight Without A Moon' Fictionalizes Civil Rights Moment Through Eyes Of A Teen

 

play pause stop mute¹ unmute max volume 00:0006:20repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser² to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. AILSA CHANG, HOST: 

One of the most tragic³ moments in civil rights history unfolds through the eyes of a 13-year-old girl in Linda Williams Jackson's new young adult novel. Jackson weaves together two stories, a historical one about the murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till and a fictional⁴ one about Rose Lee Carter, a sharecropper's granddaughter struggling to make sense of life under Jim Crow laws in the 1950s. Linda Williams Jackson joins me now to talk about her new book "Midnight Without A Moon." Thank you so much for being with us.

LINDA WILLIAMS JACKSON: Thank you for inviting⁵ me.

CHANG: So why did you choose to center this story on the murder of Emmett Till? Why did you want to revisit that particular piece of history?

JACKSON: Initially⁶, I wanted to write a story about my own family's life in the Mississippi Delta⁷. And some years ago, maybe about 10 or 11 years ago, my mother mentioned Emmett Till. And she was in her 70s then. She had never mentioned Emmett Till before. And she actually didn't even say his name. I think there might've been something on the news about him, but for the first time, it just really struck me that, wow, this happened right here. And my mom was just a young woman then, and I wanted to explore for myself what it might have felt like for them to have this happen so close to home.

CHANG: So where do the two stories of Emmett Till and Rose Lee Carter intersect in this book?

JACKSON: Papa, who is the grandfather of Rose Lee Carter in the book, is a sharecropper in a fictional town called Stillwater, Miss., which is located in Leflore County which is also the location of Money, Miss., where Mose Wright, the great uncle of Emmett Till was a tenant⁸ farmer. So to combine the two stories, I had Papa being an old friend of Mose Wright.

CHANG: So how does Rose react to the murder of a boy who's about her same age in a nearby community? How does she process that?

JACKSON: She thinks about her own brother so - and the killing⁹ of Emmett Till - her emotions run high because this could have been my brother or this could have been my best friend, Hallelujah Jenkins, especially seeing that Emmett Till is accused of whistling at a white woman and her best friend, Hallelujah Jenkins, is kind of girl crazy. So, you know, Rose is thinking this could have been Hallelujah.

CHANG: So you had mentioned that your mom had not ever talked about Emmett Till until way later in life. Did your family back then ever want to play a role in the Civil Rights movement?

JACKSON: I doubt it. And that was another reason why I wanted to write the book. I wanted to explore why they weren't concerned. I grew up knowing nothing about the NAACP or I've heard of Martin Luther King, didn't know a whole lot about him. And, frankly¹⁰, I was kind of embarrassed as an adult when I realized how little I knew about the Civil Rights movement. That's why I have Rose curious to learn about the NAACP and the upcoming Civil Rights movement because I didn't have that opportunity.

CHANG: And what's interesting is you have her surrounded by characters who don't want to rock the boat. For example, Ma Pearl¹¹ - she doesn't want Rose to learn about the NAACP because she didn't want her relatives to be demanding for progress and change. What was Ma Pearl supposed to represent in this story?

JACKSON: She's supposed to represent those people who fear the upcoming Civil Rights movement, those African-Americans who were like my family who were afraid of things changing. I remember just probably about 15 years ago visiting my aunt in Memphis - there was my mom, my aunt and another aunt. And they were talking about how much the white people loved Papa, who was my grandfather, how they, you know, didn't want him buried at the church cemetery¹². They didn't think that was good enough.

And it got me into thinking why did they love him? Did they love him because he was such a good man or did they love him because he was so complacent¹³ and because he stayed in his place and because he didn't make trouble? I don't know the answer to that, but it was something that I wanted to explore as well. So Ma Pearl would represent that group of people who were afraid to see change because if - change meant a fight, and they didn't want that fight.

CHANG: Part of the backdrop in this book is what's known as the Great Migration¹⁴ North. Many African-Americans wanted to flee to the North in search of better jobs, a better life. Rose herself is tempted¹⁵. She wants a brighter future. Explain how come Rose is so incredibly conflicted about this decision whether to go up North or remain in Mississippi.

JACKSON: She doesn't want to leave Papa. She doesn't want to leave her brother Fred Lee because he's already been abandoned enough. There's a sequel coming out in 2018, and you will find that there is some fear also in roles of starting new. The sequel explains a little bit more why she chooses to stay.

CHANG: Well, I can't wait for the sequel.

JACKSON: Thank you.

CHANG: Linda Williams Jackson - her book is called "Midnight Without A Moon."

1 mute   

n.哑子，默音字母，弱音器；adj.哑的，无声的，沉默的；vt.减音，减弱；vi.（鸟）排泄

参考例句：

• He is mute on the subject of social system.他对社会制度的问题保持沉默。
• Her daughter was mute after a serious illness.她的女儿在一场重病之后失去了说话能力。

2 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

3 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

4 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

5 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

6 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

7 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

8 tenant   

n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用

参考例句：

• The tenant was dispossessed for not paying his rent.那名房客因未付房租而被赶走。
• The tenant is responsible for all repairs to the building.租户负责对房屋的所有修理。

9 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

10 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

11 pearl   

n.珍珠，珍珠母

参考例句：

• He bought his girlfriend a pearl necklace.他给他女朋友买了一条珍珠项链。
• The crane and the mother-of-pearl fight to death.鹬蚌相争。

12 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

13 complacent   

adj.自满的；自鸣得意的

参考例句：

• We must not become complacent the moment we have some success.我们决不能一见成绩就自满起来。
• She was complacent about her achievements.她对自己的成绩沾沾自喜。

14 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

15 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。