Another Way Home: The Tangled Roots of Race in One Chicago Family

By Ronne Hartfield

Book Overview

In her prologue to Another Way Home, Ronne Hartfield notes the dearth of stories about African Americans who have occupied the area of mixed race with ease and harmony for generations. Her moving family history is filled with such stories, told in beautifully crafted and unsentimental prose. Spanning most of the twentieth century, Hartfield's book celebrates the special occasion of being born and reared in a household where miscegenation was the rule rather than the exception--where being a woman of mixed race could be a fundamental source of strength, vitality, and courage.

Hartfield begins with the early life of her mother, Day Shepherd. Born to a wealthy British plantation owner and the mixed-race daughter of a former slave, Day negotiates the complicated circumstances of plantation life in the border country of Louisiana and Mississippi and, as she enters womanhood, the quadroon and octoroon societies of New Orleans. Equally a tale of the Great Migration, Another Way Home traces Day's journey to Bronzeville, the epicenter of black Chicago during the first half of the twentieth century. Here, through the eyes of Day and, ultimately, her daughter, we witness the bustling city streets and vibrant middle-class culture of this iconic black neighborhood. We also relive crucial moments in African American history as they are experienced by the author's family and others in Chicago's South Side black community, from the race riots of 1919 and the Great Depression to the murder of Emmett Till and the dawn of the civil rights movement.

Throughout her book, Hartfield portrays mixed-race Americans navigating the challenges of their lives with resilience and grace, making Another Way Home an intimate and compelling encounter with one family's response to our racially charged culture.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0226318230
• ISBN13: 9780226318233
• Release Date: November 2005
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Race and the Emergence of Identity

Another Way Home takes the reader through a time that first seems long gone, but surprises with its current influence and meaning. At first blush the story tells of the societal strictures of the South against mulattos. Gradually, the reader realizes that the book is actually about the development of identity and the hurdles society puts in the path of individuals. The book becomes less about the tensions of black and white, and more about the importance of solid values, courage and self-confidence. Ultimately it is these three critical traits in Day Rone that enable her to create the life she wants with the man she loves, and to raise a gifted family of solidy rooted individuals. Day Rone shares everything with my Sicilain grandmother and my husband's Irish mother -- proving that we are more like one another beneath the skin than we are different. The book engages from the first page because it speaks to every family. Beautifully written, imaginatively presented, and too true to be fiction, it makes for an entertaining and moving reading experience. It's a book worth reading so that we do not forget the struggles of the past, and also so that we can see the strong women who shape our own lives.

A must read...

Why isn't this on the best seller list? Ronne Hartfield's family history is beautifully written, covering not only her family's transition from Mississippi to Chicago but black history as well. I grew up in a white neighborhood in Chicago. This book let me step into a parallel universe! Hartfield also covers women's changing roles over a century. The loving relationships among family members are a model and inspiration for all of us.

Another Way Home

Another Way Home, by Ronne Hartfield, works for me on three levels: 1) it tells the ever-interesting story of a woman (Hartfield's mother) who grew up a mulatto in the segregated South, then passed for white in Chicago; 2) it is a strong and powerful tribute by Hartfield to her mother, beautifully and lyrically told; and 3) it moves from the personal to the universal, reminding us all of the family continuum we are born into and the remarkable people our parents often are. This book is a history lesson told through personal anecdote. As it wends its way through Day Rone's journey from South to North, the reader is given an up-close look at the celebrations, achievements and tragic loss of a remarkable American family. Celebrating Day Rone's life will lead you to want to celebrate your own family, too. I strongly recommend this book.

Another Way Home

This is a wonderful read. Beautifully written, and a fascinating bio of an exceptional woman whose life spans a time of crucial transition in American history. Everyone should read this book.

GREAT FAMILY SAGE

HARTFIELD IS A WONDERFUL WRITER AND YOU FEEL THE STORY. SHE PROVIDES A FASCINATING LOOK AT BI RACIAL AMERICA