Queen by Alex Haley and David Stevens

"A child of the plantation," Queen looked as white as her father but was "nigra." This piece of narrative historical not really fiction covers the period between around 1820 to the late nineteenth century while the fabric of Southern plantation society and its dependency on slavery unraveled. In the epic style of a Michener book, the authors assume various perspectives over the course of the book to demonstrate that at our core we need to be loved for who we are and not for what we might represent or possess or accomplish. Poignant in its ability to express the deepest emotions, the authors force us American readers to own our own prejudices. As the characters develop many of the white people lose touch with their original values becoming more entrenched by the drive to maintain and expand the land and the privileges they received by enslaving one population at the same time that they were expelling another. Like Pres. Obama, Queen was forced to struggle with her double heritage and found both groups unwilling to fully accept her. The book is a fascinating window on the socio-cultural history of race relations in our nation. It is difficult to read from an emotional point of view and compelling from beginning to end.

Haley, Alex, and David Stevens. Queen. 1993. William Morrow & Co. New York.