Seeing Red

by Kathryn Erskine

Several years later, in the early 1970s, the same time as the setting of this book, we were living in Alabama. There I witnessed racial slurs as well as the genteel cover-up of racism, both of which stunned and angered me. By then I knew it was a part of my world, but it still upset me, especially the feeling of powerlessness. What could a kid do? Except maybe share and explain one’s beliefs and stand up for people who were being wronged. I didn’t know it at the time, but those are actually very important and powerful things that a kid, or anyone, can do.

  I wrote this book so that readers might see that, no matter what your age, you can make a difference. If you think something is wrong, change it. If you think people are being wronged, change that. You have the power to change things about your world. That doesn’t mean you’ll always win – often, you won’t – but even making an attempt to “fix it right” does have an effect. Above all, you have the power to be whatever kind of person you want to be. No one can take that incredible power away from you.

  I also wrote this story so readers would know that it wasn’t very long ago that people routinely judged one another by the colour of their skin or by their ethnicity. While we have come a long way, there is still a long road ahead of us. To the travellers on this road: Be brave; be strong; be leaders. As Red’s father would say, I hear ya. We all hear you.

  Seeing Red's Characters

  George Freeman represents the African Americans who were run off their land, some of them killed, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Early in the twenty-first century, the Associated Press researched and reported on murders and subsequent land theft, revealing huge losses of African American land between Reconstruction and the civil rights era.

  Howard Carwile was a real-life white lawyer in Richmond who tirelessly represented many African Americans from the 1940s through the 1960s. White lawyers like Carwile and Judge Frank Johnson of Alabama fought for justice and equality, chipping away at a segregated South. African American lawyers such as Oliver Hill, Samuel Tucker, Henry L. Marsh III, and Constance Baker Motley, to name just a few, were particularly brave and stalwart in their efforts to achieve social justice. Any one of them is worthy of many books themselves.

  Bill Reynolds is modelled after J. Sargeant Reynolds, lieutenant governor of Virginia, who died far too young in 1971. Among other forward-thinking actions, he attacked Massive Resistance; supported the election of Doug Wilder, an African American, to take his senate seat; and appointed the first girl page to the Virginia General Assembly.

  Miss Miller is modelled after my sister, Jan Molnar, who is the best kind of teacher – the type who believes in and respects her students enough to hold them accountable for their actions and encourage them to question and think for themselves. Her surname, Molnar, is Hungarian for Miller.

  Philip Walter is modelled after Leon Walter Tillage, author of Leon’s Story, about growing up in a sharecropping family under Jim Crow laws. After participating in civil rights marches, he became a janitor at a school in Baltimore, Maryland. He always maintained a spirit of optimism and dignity.

  Miss Georgia is an amalgamation of strong women I’ve known over the years, from many races and cultures, whom I respect deeply, including my mother. I named her Fannie Mae in honour of Fannie Lou Hamer, a brave woman in Mississippi who never gave up being a civil rights activist despite death threats and beatings.

  The story of Emmett Till, horrible as it is, is real. In this book, set in 1972, Red wonders how something so hideous could have happened as recently as seventeen years before. In fact, there have been many lynchings since the death of Emmett Till. We now call them hate crimes. One recent hate crime resulted in the beating and death of an African American man, James Anderson, in Mississippi in 2011 – thirty-nine years after Red wonders how such things could still happen.

  Finally, Red’s last name is Porter for two reasons. Pullman Porters were early leaders in the civil rights movement, successfully creating a union and organizing events leading up to and including the March on Washington in 1963. I wanted to pay tribute to them. Also, a porter is a person who carries burdens and, symbolically, all of us are like Red, carrying the burden of our history and the responsibility for our current society. Red Porter is the hope for our future. He is modelled after you.

  Kathryn Erskine

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  There are people I’ve never met and many I’ve never heard of who have inspired this book. Certainly, there are heroes such as Martin Luther King Jr., Fred Shuttlesworth, Shirley Chisholm, Barbara Jordan, Aretha Franklin, Fannie Lou Hamer, even Nelson Mandela, Bishop Desmond Tutu, and Helen Suzman, but so many more who were and are extraordinary people who deal with adversity – unspoken, unseen by some, but still present – every day of their lives. Their courage, patience, strength and spirit move me.

  On a personal note, there are many people I’d like to thank for their help with this book, but I will name jusw a few: my mother, for teaching me tolerance and kindness and that you make the world the way you want it to be; Jan, for always being my big sister, protector, champion, friend, teacher, and first reader (who caught my typos); Keith Bruce, for help with Thomas, and for his laughter and life insight – we will always miss you, Keith; Shirley Parrish, for help with Miss Georgia, in particular, and for friendship in general; Mary Frances Bruce, Amy Stearns, and Laurie Stearns, for reading early drafts and being my friends and supporters for many wonderful years; my agent, Linda Pratt, who should become a diplomat if she ever changes careers, because she can deliver pointers and suggest changes with such grace and good humour that you want to rush back to the table and rework things to make them right; my editor, Andrea Davis Pinkney, whose vision, determination, and encouragement drove me to take this novel to a higher level and delight in its improvement; and, of course, my family, for believing in me, supporting my work, and becoming fans of “fend for yourself” dinners. Bill, thank you for your constant love and laughter on this beautiful journey.

  Without all of these people, and dozens of writer compatriots, I wouldn’t have succeeded in publishing a work of which I’m proud. This book has taken a long road from its first draft over a decade ago. It has grown, faced hard facts, dealt with realities, and finally matured into an authentic story. There may be flaws or places where it stumbles, but it picks itself up and keeps going, heading for the truth. I hope it succeeds. I’m happy with its journey. I wish a similar path for all of us.

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  Discuss the significance of the title. Did the first person narrative help you see from Red’s perspective? Do you think the title has any other meanings?

  Miss Miller says to Red: “Red, sometimes change can be mysterious and complicated but it can be good. Change is just a new chapter in your life.” How does Red change during the book? Which events do you think are particularly important for him, and why? Where do you think his new chapters come?

  “And you want to cry, too, except you’re the man of the house now and you know your daddy said he could always count on you, so you can’t let him down.” Using this quotation as a starting point, discuss how Red comes to terms with the loss of his father, and how the relationships between Beau, Red and J change across the course of the novel.

  A major theme in Seeing Red is speaking out against popular opinion. Why do you think this is important? Have you ever had to speak out against something? How did it make you feel?

  What do you think about the relationship between Darrell and Rosie? What motivates Darrell to behave the way he does? How do you think the way that Mr Dunlop treats him affects Darrell’s behaviour?

  The Freedom Church altar is found under Old Man Porter’s desk. Do you think this is significant? What might it symbolize? How does Red feel about the desk itself?

  Seeing Red also addresses the issue of women’s rights, and there are several strong female characters in the book, such as Miss Georgia, Miss Miller and Betty – Red’s mother. In which ways do these women show themselves to be equals to t
heir male counterparts?

  Red describes: “Thomas hadn’t been friends with me since the first week of summer, right before Daddy died. Mama said it was his age, being a teenager and all, and Daddy said Thomas would come around. But I knew better. There was a reason. And it wasn’t even my fault, which made me real mad.” Why do you think Thomas stops being friends with Red? Discuss how their friendship changes in the book, and which events impact their relationship.

  Miss Georgia tells Red: “It’s hard breakin’ into a community. You always the outsider.” The theme of “outsiders” is explored in many of the different strands in the novel including race, gender, age and geography. Which characters do you think are made to feel “outside”, or like “outsiders” in the book, and why? Have you ever been made to feel like an “outsider”?

  Before reading Seeing Red, how much did you know about the civil rights movement in America during the 1950s-1970s? Did the book help your understanding?

  USBORNE QUICKLINKS

  For links to websites where you can find out more about the civil rights movement in America during the 1950s to 1970s, with eyewitness accounts, film clips, photo galleries and sound clips, go to the Usborne Quicklinks website at www.usborne.com/quicklinks and enter the keywords “Seeing Red”.

  Please make sure you follow the internet safety guidelines displayed at the Usborne Quicklinks website. We recommend that children are supervised while on the internet. The recommended websites at Usborne Quicklinks are regularly reviewed and updated, but Usborne Publishing Ltd is not responsible for the content or availability of any website other than its own.

  www.usborne.com/fiction

  www.kathrynerskine.com

  If you’ve enjoyed Seeing Red, you might also enjoy…

  by Kathryn Erskine

  American National Book Award Winner

  “Erskine’s moving and insightful masterpiece delivers a compelling message for all.” Publishers Weekly

  Caitlin misses her brother Devon. Since his death, she has no one to explain the world to her. And for Caitlin, the world is a confusing place, full of emotions and colours that she can’t understand. Dad tries to help, but he also spends a lot of time crying in the shower.

  So when Caitlin reads the definition of “closure” in the dictionary, she decides that’s what they need. And as she struggles to find it, she learns how to let a world of colour into her black-and-white life…

  A bittersweet story told in the unforgettable voice of a young girl with Asperger’s syndrome.

  ISBN: 9781409538585

  ePub ISBN 9781409541677

  YANKEE GIRL

  by Mary Ann Rodman

  “Moving and powerful.” The Bookseller

  Valerie’s voice is as sweet as honey. She’s the obvious choice to star in the Nativity. But this is Mississippi, 1964. Things are far from simple. There is uproar when Valerie is picked to play the angel…because she’s black. As one of the first black children to attend Parnell School, she has to face violent protestors outside and vicious bullies inside the classroom.

  Alice is torn between standing up for Valerie, and being popular with the in-crowd, especially as she’s found it hard to make friends since moving to the Deep South. Struggling between guilt and fear, it takes a tragedy for Alice to find the courage to act.

  A truly resonant story about racism and doing the right thing, based on the author’s own experiences.

  ISBN: 9780746067499

  First published in the UK in 2014 by Usborne Publishing Ltd., Usborne House, 83-85 Saffron Hill, London EC1N 8RT, England. www.usborne.com

  Copyright © 2013 by Kathryn Erskine. All rights reserved.

  First published in the United States by Scholastic Press. British publication rights arranged with Wernick & Pratt Agency, LLC.

  Cover photograph of garage © iStock / Thinkstock

  Cover photograph of boys © Image source / SuperStock

  Cover photograph of car © Bill Brooks / Alamy

  The right of Kathryn Erskine to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

  The name Usborne and the devices are Trade Marks of Usborne Publishing Ltd.

  All rights reserved. This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or used in any way except as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or loaned or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  ePub ISBN 9781409579304

  Batch no. 03251-02