Segregation In Timothy B. Tyson's Blood Done Sign My Name

The novel, “Blood Done Sign My Name: A True Story” by Timothy B. Tyson highlights a time when segregation was a major issue in areas such as Oxford, North Carolina. Although segregation had been outlawed due to the court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, KS and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, whites still viewed African Americans as lesser people. The town of Oxford is a very racist town that does not want to integrate blacks into their every day lives, but they get a new preacher at their church who had different plans. The closed mindedness of whites is seen throughout the novel based upon the views they have, the actions of the characters and the consequences of their actions. As the events in the book play out some things work out …show more content…
Vernon Tyson, the new preacher at the church in Oxford who supported integration of blacks, had mentioned had that if the whites in the community continued to be harsh towards black, “the dam” holding back the retaliation and emotions of blacks would burst. He was correct in this regard because this metaphorical dam burst several times leaving whites enraged and blacks empowered. One instance of this was when civil rights movement leader Golden Frinks came to town as a result of the murder of Henry Marrow. His presence in town brought out a vibrant pride of black power. His presence not only encouraged the pride of African Americans, but it also influenced them to make a stand. After Henry Marrows funeral service attendees began to get in their cars but Frinks said “Now, wait, we don’t want to ride here, we want to march” (Tyson, 155). This march was not just a simple march through town, but they marched all the way to Raleigh to talk to government officials about how blacks are treated. Although they walked all the way there and did not even have a chance to meet with anyone, it was still recognized that blacks were ready to stand up and demand better treatment of their race. This was the most peaceful protest led by the blacks in this …show more content…
Tyson is a very credited author with a great deal of impressive education. He graduated from Emory University with his B.A. and earned his Ph.D at Duke University (“Tyson, Timothy B. 1959–.”, 1). Tyson has “joint appointments at Duke University and the University of North Carolina” (“Humanities Writ Large.”). Also being a part of the Organization of American Historians describes his love and passion for history. Having obtained multiple awards organizing history clubs, having great success as an author and earning awards for lectures, it is safe to say that Timothy B. Tyson is a very educated and qualified man who is very appropriate to be the author of this wonderful novel (“Tyson, Timothy B. 1959–.”,