Hezekiah's Journey

When a young Black boy is sent from inner-city Chicago to live with elderly relatives in the 1940s-era South, he soon finds himself ensnared in the demeaning grasp of Jim Crow.   Hezekiah “Bo” Hanson doesn’t understand why his impoverished parents send him and his little brother Avery to live with their Aunt Eliza and her husband, Kitt, in Mississippi.  Not only do Bo and Avery have to wake up with the rooster’s crow to help with chores, but their aunt also recruits them to make special deliveries of her homebrew to businesses around town. As Bo grows up under the demeaning glare of “White Only” signs, attacks from Eliza’s jealous white business rivals, and harsh rebuke of his friendship with a local white boy, he soon realizes his opportunities are linked more to the color of his skin than to his capabilities.  Even so, where Bo finds himself at the end of this tale, and how he got there, will convey positive messages promoting strong family ties and supportive relationships that transcend traditional boundaries.  Inspired from first-hand testimonials of African Americans who lived in Starkville, Mississippi in the 1940s, this saga of Bo’s extended family offers a unique perspective on the indignities suffered and triumphs achieved by black youth of this era.