Although it is written with a light touch, this book hit me hard.
I had not remembered that the southern suffragettes did not include formerly enslaved black women and certainly not Chinese women.They were not even welcome at their rallies for fear that they would damage the cause. After the enslaved blacks were “freed” Chinese people were brought in to replace them in the fields using an “improved” system of coerced labor. Consequently, in 1890s Atlanta Georgia, Chinese were considered even lower than blacks. Interestingly, the main character and her adopted father lived secretly in a basement created by the abolitionists. The main character is unstoppable however, and navigates her world with courage. Her special insight leads her to write a clever advice column for the newspaper and to solve the mystery of her parentage.
I really appreciate the refresher on this painful historical period and how it must affect all our Asian American friends.
7-29-20