Publisher's Weekly Review
When David Houze and his mother escaped apartheid in South Africa for America, a country that represented promise and opportunity, their 1966 arrival in Meridian, Mississippi proved dispiriting: the "grinding poverty" and resolute segregation that greeted them did not appear too different from that which they fled. Houze begins by exploring his rural Mississippi childhood as he tried to understand his identity-a pale-skinned "coloured" boy from Africa-during the height of the civil rights movement. Amid the chaos of the fight for racial equality, Houze found himself being treated as-and consequently viewing himself as-an anomaly, a "white nigger" with "African blood and guts." In 1992, Houze returned to South Africa, as the country struggled to form a democracy, to explore his country's changes and reunite with his three sisters. With White power crumbling and the Black majority demanding representation, Houze finds "in-between" people struggling to find their place. Those classified as Coloureds received slightly better treatment than Indians and Blacks, which forced them to grapple with a new kind of unjustice-the kind that worked, however slightly, in their favor Houze'graceful memoir is a sensitive look into racial history in Africa and America, as well as a riveting personal narrative. 8 pages of b&w photos. (May) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Booklist Review
The parallels between the civil rights movement in the South and the antiapartheid struggle continue to be the focus of many political histories. Journalist Houze not only reports on those connections; he has been there, in both countries. Born in South Africa, he left as a baby in 1966 with his Coloured (mixed-race) mother, who dreamed of a better life with her black American husband. Houze grew up poor in Meridien, Mississippi, at the time of fierce struggle. Then he returned to South Africa, to find his siblings and himself, initially in 1992, when the country was on the verge of its first democratic election, and again in 2004. The blending of the personal with the political is never slick metaphor in his account; it is fact. His own family story is a gripping way to fill in the social history and bring it close. Houze has also read the best histories and memoirs about both countries' struggles, all clearly documented in the source notes. He visits John Vorster prison in Johannesburg, the site of unspeakable atrocity, and it reminds him of the murder of Emmett Till. With South Africa undergoing revolutionary change, his eloquent observation of the contemporary scene is right on the mark. Just as compelling is the discussion of his mixed-race identity, in South Africa and here. He is honest about the history of class consciousness and shame yet celebratory about being the archetype of multiracialism. --Hazel Rochman Copyright 2006 Booklist
Library Journal Review
This first book by Columbia School of Journalism graduate Houze invites readers along on a heart-wrenching but ultimately redemptive journey that spans racial injustice in South Africa and Mississippi. Triggered by the revelation that three little girls in an old photo were actually his sisters, left behind when his mother moved from South Africa to America, Houze returned to his country of birth. His poignant narrative unravels the mystery of his roots and reveals his deep and personal feelings about family. By citing important historical events in South Africa and his hometown of Meridian, MS, he gives the story further meaning, helping readers better understand the rise and fall of apartheid in South Africa and the Civil Rights Movement in the American South. Admirably, Houze pulls no punches, admitting to his own shortcomings and stirring readers as he comes to terms with issues of love, abandonment, and, ultimately, forgiveness and reconciliation. In his search for the truth, he provides an interesting perspective on racial justice and the meaning of family. Highly recommended for African American studies or memoir collections in all libraries, as well as growing collections of genealogical narratives.-Dale Farris, Groves, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
