theblackbottom

Just wrote novel about black/white interracial experience and racial tolerance: What sets The Creole apart from any other story, ever done like it before, is it shows how far we’ve come in racial relations, and suggests that African Americans ought to be grateful for this progress, as well as, appreciative to all those who contributed to our plight for equality, i.e., whites, Asians, Latinos, Gays, Lesbians… In this vein, The Creole takes the reader on a journey that spans four decades.
The Creole also acknowledges the contributions made by women, particularly white women, because they (white women) could have remained quietly on the sidelines, but instead they were often very vocal in their opposition to segregation. I feel they did so because they felt, as I do – that racism is for the most part, based on sexism, i.e., men viewing women as man’s property; and not wanting to share that property with other men.
Case in point, when integration was implemented in Louisiana in 1969, we had “boys only” and “girls only” integrated elementary and middle schools – which led me to believe – what white men truly opposed was the idea of black boys being with white girls.
Lastly: The Creole is a two-book series, with Book One being a completed self-published 336 page novel, listed on Amazon.com. Book Two is being edited. The gist of it is to show how all cultures have evolved to the point they can see and appreciate the unique subtle beauty and handsomeness in each other's features, nuisances, music, food...
I realize agents and publishers are reluctant to take on unknown writers. In my defense, I’ve worked on dailies, published a paper, a guidebook; drove a cab, sold cars. In short I’m salesperson who knows who his focus audience is and how to get their attention.
THE STORY LINE
Book One: Lucien Pichon is half African American and half Creole. He grew up in Louisiana in the 1960s. It was a time when color meant every thing. In short, the lighter, more (fair) complexioned it you were, the more superior in intellect and more beautiful/handsome you were perceived to be. It was Louisiana’s color hierarchy system, and although not as prevalent, it still exists till this day.
The story begins in 1973, with Daddy dropping Lucien off in Naleans, to go in the Navy. Integration had been in effect less than four years. Lucien reflects back on growing up in his native Toopalo, under the chaste system. In his case, he wasn’t light enough for the Creole “free-jacks” or dark enough for the blacks.
His father, a white looking Creole, met his “blue-black” mama in Los Angeles in 1955. His dad said he liked his women the color of his p-coat. He met Johnny Mae, fell in love with her, and shortly after, Lucien was their unwanted pregnancy.
Uncomfortable and distrustful of the African American community in Watts, where Johnny Mae grew up, especially the men, Lucien Jr., carted Johnny Mae and their three children off to Toopalo, Louisiana, where he grew up.
Being a product of the Watts community where everyone was dark complexioned black people, Johnny Mae was accustomed to thinking of her self, and being viewed by her contemporaries, as being quite a catch, very beautiful. In Toopalo though, she is made to feel like less than zero. Her husband’s family and friends refer to her as that “ugly black bitch.”
Her mother-law hates her – because Johnny Mae is as Grandma Ticha Vigano says, “as black as the darkest night” and too boot “as ugly as they come.” She often jokes, “You could’ve searched the world over and not found an uglier, blacker, woman. To compound worst, Mama’s “Junior,” becomes physically abusive. Between the constant physical and psychological mistreatment, Mama has a nervous breakdown and ends up in the mental institution.
The Mama angle is but one. There is also the Creole culture, the implementation of integration (and all that entailed), post integration, and just all the humorous situations associated with Louisiana being one of the poorest, most illiterate states in the nation. For example, Daddy builds his own tarpaper shotgun-shack and forgets to put a foundation in and the house sinks into the ground! So, he builds another one around it, and knocks the inner walls out. This time though he forgets to put in electricity and plumbing.
Yet, another vignette is when a white woman, recently moved to Toopalo from the West Coast, goes to pickup her maid and the maid’s neighbors escort her back into a dense forest to an old broken down, dilapidated, shed. The lady fears the worst and wonders if her guides intend to axe-murder her or something.
To her amazement, as she approaches the shed, she hears voices coming out of it. The door opens and she sees several people gathered around a wood heater, drinking coffee. It’s not a shed; it’s the maid’s house!
Stunned, she pivots and makes haste back to her car. But before she can do so, a dog peeks up through the front door steps and snaps at her heel. It is then that she recalls her neighbor telling her to always watch out for dogs under the steps, because that is where dogs live in Louisiana.
Book Two: As fore-mentioned, Book One is completed and Book Two, being edited, begins with Lucien’s sister being a rare exception to the Katrina rule, in that benefited from the hurricane, because just as Katrina wrecked havoc upon the Crescent City, Glenda was renovating her historical home in the Garden District and was got awarded a $170,000 in Katrina relief to make improvements.
Another byproduct of Katrina is that because the federal government gave away so many free trailers to residents of Louisiana, Lucien comes to regard the “Pelican State” as being the “largest trailer park in the world.” “I swear there isn’t a home in Louisiana that there isn’t a trailer parked out front of it,” he jokes.
The lady in the fore mentioned maid scenario told her mother in California: “Mama, you know how people aspire to own their homes where we come from? In Louisiana they dream of someday being able to afford to own their own ‘doublewide.’ … What’s a doublewide … Mama, it’s a trailer. It’s two trailers glued together with holes cut out inside of them for doors.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Like the main character, I too grew up in a small Louisiana town; and like fictional Toopalo, the Mayberry-like town he’s from is also in midst of a pine forest, surrounded by swamps and marshlands, on the mouth of “bayou” that dumps into Lake Ponchatrain.
As is the antagonist, in The Creole, I too am of African-American and Creole ancestry and have experienced Louisiana’s “color hierarchy,” as well as, grew up during the implementation, emersion and post-integration years. Because of my southern racial upbringing, I can say, without reservations, we’ve made unprecedented progress in black/white relations in the U.S. The election of Barrack Obama points this out.
I believe in integration’s infancy there was a real need to “level the playing field,” for blacks, “i.e., make special provisions in the areas of housing, employment and education, to ensure access and equality. However at this juncture in history, we’ve evolved beyond that and there is no longer a need for it. Bravo for that!
I’m also of the opinion that it was vital for Americans to go through the Right Wing Conservative and “Hippie Peace and Love” eras. The “division and hatred” we endured was as necessary as learning to “love our fellow man, because by experiencing both, we Americans were afforded “the liberty to hate one another,” and by doing so, of our own accord, we’ve come to the conclusion: we don’t want to hate and distrust one another.
To the contrary we realize we’re sick of the division and hatred tactics put upon us by the powers-that-be and are ready to embrace peace and co-existence.
The way I see it: we’ve evolved to the point we can “acknowledge” past injustices we’ve perpetrated upon each other, and as human beings (who make mistakes), only desire to “forgive” each other so we can finally “ move on” and truly co-exist in peace.
I part ways with many African Americans on the “It’s Because of My Race Blame Game,” as I see it as being a crutch many African Americans cling to out of habit than actual belief, because they’ve been saying it so often and for so long.
I recall two older black gentlemen schooled me in 1986: “Young bloods like you gotta pick up ‘the struggle’ (fighting racism) where we left off.”
Twenty years later I heard three older black men telling two black youth the same thing: “You young brothers need to continue the struggle…”
These people have been saying this for so long that if you took this conversation away from them they’d have nothing to say. I know people who spend their entire existence, 24 hours a day/seven days a week, harping on endlessly about racism. They see racism under rocks. A woman friend of mind thinks white food servers dole out smaller portions of food and drinks to blacks than whites!
Sincerely,
Charles Augustine

Link: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dus-stripbooks-tree&field-keywords=The+Creole+by+Charles+Augustine&ih=20_9_0_2_0_0_0_0_0_1.33_213&fsc=-1

I moved into my brand new 4 bedroom apartment,( Ujima Village )with my 7 children in 1972 or 73. I lived there for 11 years
with my baby and other young children.I got terrible headachs,and my baby girl got ashma bad, one daughter got bad nose bleeds. This was over the years of living there.I need to know how to get in on the law suit because I had no idea the ground was bad,real bad. Tell me how. I lived there for 11 years.
from 1972 to 19 83 or from 1973 to 1974.I dont remember the exact year, but I'm telling you the truth.

Doris J. please send us your email at theblackbottom@gmail.com. We will try to inform where you can get information.

Great site DRjelks
Please add (The Arts or Art) to your Categories list. So must is happening locally and worldwide. Will keep you updated.