Under the Tulip Tree

by Michelle Shocklee

  Alden laughed. “I’m sure reading Mr. Armistead’s editorial in the newspaper about you and the FWP helped change his mind. Not to mention the fact that Collier’s is set to publish your series of articles on the lives of former slaves. Everyone assumes slavery died with the war, so I doubt many people have heard of the turpentine camps in Florida. Your interview with the man who escaped from one will open a lot of eyes and hopefully bring some change.”

  I smiled and wiped the wetness from my cheeks. “I still can’t believe I’m writing for Collier’s. I can never thank Mr. A. enough for submitting my article to his friend.”

  He stole a quick glance toward the kitchen, where happy voices rose and fell, then took my hand in his. “Some of the WPA employees were talking about you the other day. They say your articles will make people stop and think. About how we need to learn from the past and make the future a better place for everyone.”

  I squeezed his hand. “Mr. Armistead received several letters to the editor from readers saying as much. Of course, he’s received some nasty letters too from people who say we need to go back to the days of slavery. He won’t let me read those, but I can imagine what’s in them.”

  He let go of my hand and put his arm around my shoulders, drawing me to his side. We’d gone on our first official date a week after Frankie’s funeral, and I smiled every time I thought about her insisting Alden was perfect for me. She was right, of course.

  “There are always going to be people who oppose change, but I think they’re in the minority. Most people desire to live in harmony with others, no matter their differences.”

  I hoped he was right. It would take more than a few articles in a magazine to bring about the changes necessary to accomplish such a feat. I felt honored to be a small pebble on the path to the peaceful existence among people of different races and socioeconomic status, beginning with my own family. Mama had been shocked to learn about Sadie Pope Hall and her treatment of Frankie. When I told her my article about my experience with Frankie would appear in a national magazine, I thought she’d be furious. Instead, she asked to read it before I turned it in to my new editor. She found me on the back porch a little later.

  “This isn’t what I expected.” She handed the pages to me.

  I waited for the lecture about the embarrassment I would bring to our family if I allowed the article to go to print, but it never came.

  “I think I see now why you admired Mrs. Washington.” A sheen of tears filled her eyes as she met my gaze. “I’m proud of you, Rena.”

  Before I could respond, she turned and disappeared into the house.

  I’d sat there, stunned. For the first time in my life, my mother said she was proud of me. The day after Mr. Armistead’s editorial about me and the FWP ran in the paper, Peggy Denny had called Mama and let her know everyone at the women’s club was talking about it.

  “We can’t imagine our little Lorena Ann has turned into such a fine reporter. Why, the whole country will read her articles when they appear in Collier’s,” she’d oozed. “Even the governor’s wife said we need to help those poor, unfortunate people down in the Acres. We’ll be discussing an initiative at our next meeting. We’d love to have you join us.”

  Mama and I shared a grin when she hung up the phone. Nothing more was said about me going down to Hell’s Half Acre to interview the residents.

  Holly and James escorted me and Alden to the table, where a feast awaited. Mama, Mary, and I had worked all morning preparing the food, laughing and enjoying each other’s company while Dad entertained the kids and kept them out of the way. It still amazed me to find my father sober these days. Having his grandchildren around worked some kind of miracle and helped him climb out of the dark pit he’d lived in for seven years. He still had a long way to go, but for the first time in a long time I saw hope in his eyes.

  We gathered around the table, Alden on my right and Grandma Lorena on my left. Mama asked Grandma to offer the blessing, and as we all joined hands, my thoughts turned to Frankie. I would always be grateful God brought me to her doorstep. She’d taught me about life, about pain and sorrow, and about courage in the face of it all.

  As Grandma prayed, thanking the Lord for his goodness to our family despite the hardships each of us faced, I silently said my own thanks for the events that led me to this place in life. Seven years ago, my hopes and dreams for the future had shattered in the wake of the stock market crash. I couldn’t see a way through it to the other side. Meeting Frankie and hearing her story changed that. Her courage to overcome the pain and suffering she endured taught me what it meant to be a survivor.

  “Thank you for Frances Washington,” I whispered.

  After the blessing, Dad carved the turkey while Mama bemoaned the lumps in her gravy. Mary tried in vain to keep Buddy from throwing peas on the floor while James and Holly fought over the basket of rolls. Grandma simply sat and watched it all with a small smile on her wrinkled face, enjoying the antics of our imperfect family.

  I glanced at Alden and found his dancing eyes on me. I gave a shrug. This is my family, like it or not, it said.

  He winked, then reached for the bowl of mashed potatoes, exclaiming over how delicious everything looked. Mama beamed from her place at the end of the table.

  My satisfied sigh went unnoticed amid the commotion, but it didn’t matter. Life might not be exactly as I’d envisioned it seven years ago, but I wouldn’t change a thing.

  A Note from the Author

  I first learned of the slave narratives, as they’re called, while researching slavery in Texas. Drawn to the word-for-word and often heart-wrenching telling of life in bondage, I wanted to learn more about the narratives and how they came about.

  In 1935, well into the Great Depression, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt established the Federal Writers’ Project as part of the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal program that put out-of-work writers, librarians, teachers, and others to work. The FWP produced thousands of publications, including the more well-known American Guide series and the Life History and Folklore project. An estimated ten thousand people were employed by the FWP in the years leading up to World War II.

  Beginning in 1936, employees of the FWP were sent across the South to interview people who were once enslaved prior to the Civil War. More than seventy years had passed since the war ended and these former slaves were aging. Their stories would soon be lost forever if measures were not taken to preserve them for future generations. The result was over 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery as well as 500 black-and-white photographs, all archived in the Library of Congress today. A handful of unforgettable recordings also exist, leaving the listener awed that the person speaking not only endured but survived one of the most shameful practices in history.

  It was during this time of research that the story of Frankie and Rena began to emerge in my imagination. I wondered what it would’ve been like to sit at the feet of a former slave and hear their story unfold in their own words. As a lifelong student of history, I’ve come to appreciate a simple truth: Everyone has a story to tell, and no one should be silenced. The stories included in the FWP narratives are worthy of being told despite the sometimes-graphic details that are difficult to read and imagine.

  Although Under the Tulip Tree is a work of fiction, bits and pieces of the lives of many former enslaved people, as well as FWP writers, are incorporated into the characters of Frankie and Rena. My hope is that their story of friendship, love, and forgiveness honors those whose lives now fill the pages of history.

  Acknowledgments

  Without courageous people willing to share the stories of their lives, the slave narratives would not exist. Reading their own words about life in bondage changed me, and for that I’m grateful. I’m also thankful for the many FWP writers who simply needed a job yet ended up creating a body of work that brings a deeper understanding of slavery that will last for generations.

  Thank you to Brian, my wonderfully supportive h
usband, best friend, field trip buddy, and so much more. I’m blessed to call you mine.

  To my amazing sons, beautiful family, and dear friends: Thank you for your love, prayers, and support through the years. Each of you holds a special place in my heart.

  To Jan Stob, Erin Smith, and all the fabulous team members at Tyndale who worked on this book in various capacities: There aren’t enough words to express my deep gratitude for your hard work and your warm embrace of this story. I’m honored to be part of the Tyndale family.

  To Bob Hostetler, my agent: Your advice, knowledge, and crazy sense of humor are greatly appreciated.

  To Paula Scott Bicknell, my prayer and critique partner: Your love and prayers are part of every book I write. Thank you, my friend.

  Much appreciation goes to the Battle of Nashville Preservation Society, the Fort Negley Visitors Center and Park, and all those who tirelessly work to preserve historical sites in and around Nashville.

  Above all, I’m eternally grateful for a heavenly Father who loves me unconditionally and for the Son who set me free. Soli Deo gloria.

  About the Author

  Michelle Shocklee is the author of several historical novels. Her work has been included in numerous Chicken Soup for the Soul books, magazines, and blogs. Married to her college sweetheart and the mother of two grown sons, she makes her home in Tennessee, not far from the historical sites she writes about. Visit her online at michelleshocklee.com.

  Discussion Questions

  Rena Leland’s life is turned upside down when the stock market crashes. What changes occur in her family after October 29, 1929? Why do you think Rena believes her father blames her for the financial crisis? Think about a time in your life when your family experienced a devastating loss. How did you cope? What, if anything, gave you hope?

  When Rena is presented with an opportunity to become part of the Federal Writers’ Project, she wonders why the government felt it was important to preserve the stories of former slaves. How would you answer that question? What can we learn when we take the time to ask for and listen to each other’s stories? What do we gain when we share our own stories?

  Rena’s grandmother encourages Rena, who admits to feeling “stuck,” to step out in faith and take the FWP job. But Rena still wonders, “How could interviewing people who’d lived in bondage decades earlier help me see my future more clearly?” What does Rena learn as she begins her new job? How does she change as a result of seeing the world with a different perspective? When have you been able to step into someone else’s shoes and view things in a new light?

  As Frances Washington begins to tell her story, what surprises you about her life? What makes you sad? How realistic does her account seem?

  Frankie’s mother has no choice but to send Frankie back into the Hall home the day after a traumatic event. Later, Frankie tells Rena that while society has improved since her childhood, “times is still hard” for Frankie, her family, and many others. In what ways has our culture grown in race relations since the Civil War? Since 1936? Where do we still fall short and what can we do to continue improving?

  What is Frankie’s secret to survival after she is sold away from her family? What does it cost her? How would you answer the questions she and Alden have about God, including “What kind of love was it to enslave people simply because of the color of their skin?” and “What’s the point of putting one’s faith in something or someone who allows slavery and evil to exist?”

  Frankie remembers her mother encouraging her, “Ain’t nothin’ you can’t do if you set your mind to it.” What was Lucindia hoping to instill in her children? What does Frankie eventually take away from her mother’s words? When has someone spoken into your life and given you the confidence you needed to take the next step?

  A trip to the library to pick up Uncle Tom’s Cabin leaves Rena meeting a sour-faced librarian who grumbles, “Literature like this only stirs up things best left in the past.” Yet this was a book that President Lincoln credited with starting the Civil War. What does that say about the power of story? Consider the parables Jesus used with his disciples. Why is story valuable?

  Frankie initially resists getting to know Sam. Why is she so hesitant? When he tries to give her a Christmas gift, why does she run away? What is she afraid of? What changes her mind about him?

  While he is recovering, what does Sam ask Frankie to do that she is adamant she will not do? Why is he so insistent she help? What does Luke 6:27 say? How does Frankie respond to that biblical instruction initially? Put yourself in her shoes. How would you feel? Have you ever had an opportunity to serve your enemies in a tangible way?

  Jael describes an incident on a streetcar. Why do you think the conductor denies a passenger’s ticket book? Why doesn’t the would-be passenger accept the help of another? How do you react when you see similar instances of injustice happening today or when they happen to you? Are there times when it’s more appropriate to stand up and fight or to sit back?

  As Frankie considers Sam’s request to help in the prison hospital, what counsel does Illa give her? What transformation does Frankie need to undergo to overcome her fear and hatred?

  Why does Rena worry about a connection between her family and Frankie’s? What does she fear? What does she learn about forgiveness? When life doesn’t make sense, how do you trust in God’s promise that in all things, he is working for our good?

  What does Frankie say about hatred? Do her thoughts line up with what you believe hatred can do to a person? Does she ever receive an apology from the people who wronged her? What does Frankie need to do to get rid of the hidden hate she is holding on to?

  At different points when both Rena and Frankie are confronted with difficult revelations, their initial response is to run. In what other ways do people react in the heat of the moment? How do you typically handle unpleasant news?

  Rena finds inspiration in the charge Harriet Beecher Stowe gives: “The time is come when even a woman or a child who can speak a word for freedom and humanity is bound to speak. . . . I hope every woman who can write will not be silent.” Rena knows her articles for the FWP are “a small pebble on the path to the peaceful existence among people of different races and socioeconomic status.” What pebble can you contribute?

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