Southern Crosses

a novel set in the Jim Crow south

By: Victoria Laurienzo

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Gold medalist in the 2024 FAPA President’s Book Awards!

Excerpt:
It seemed the daughter, at only eight or nine years old, had more wisdom than her mother and all the others involved, including the deputy, all the witnesses at the scene of the accident, and the judge.

That blessed little child bravely hopped up to the witness box and told her story.

“I was asleep last night and heard a woman calling me. She said ‘Wake up, Dora, wake up!’ When I opened my eyes, a beautiful angel with long, blonde hair and blue eyes was standing by my bed. I knew she was an angel because she had wings on her back, and she was all lit up, like a bright light was shining on her. She told me a good man was about to be punished for doing a good deed just because he was a Negro. Then I saw me lying in the ditch. She said I was not breathing, and she showed me floating up to heaven. Then I saw my mommy and daddy crying and crying because I died. That made me really sad. She said that’s what would have happened if the nice colored man hadn’t come. She told me to tell my mommy and daddy to let the man go home, because he saved my life. When I woke up, I remembered my dream, and I begged Mommy and Daddy not to punish him. Please, Mr. Judge, I don’t want him to go to jail!” Her face contorted and her voice trembled as she pleaded with the judge to let Gordon go.

We had still one more surprise in store. The little girl ran up to Gordon and held out her hand.

“Thank you, Mr., for saving my life.”

Gordon took her hand, and looking down at her with a big smile, said, “You’re welcome, Miss Dora. I would do it again if I had to.”

The expression on her parents’ faces was grim. Neither had been fast enough to keep their daughter from running up to Gordon and they were not happy she had done so.

Her story was so compelling that the judge released Gordon immediately after hearing it. I remembered the Psalm that had come to me as I walked up to the jail. Out of the mouth of a babe, the enemy had been stilled!

Caught between the two races
The Jim Crow era was a cruel time for those of African descent. Biracial Toolie Walker suffers racial discrimination at the hands of blacks and whites alike. The talented girl feels her singing will be her way out, but fate throws her one curveball after another.

Social injustice
As a young teen, Toolie is victimized by an older man who she thinks is in love with her Toolie becomes pregnant and is forced by the father to abort the child, which nearly kills her. Raped by a white boy, Toolie dares not report it, knowing that the white justice system will only put the blame on her. The rape results in profound loss for the girl when she finds herself again pregnant and feels she must give up the baby for his own good. She never stops grieving his loss.

Horrifying truths
When the shocking secrets surrounding her parentage are revealed, Toolie's life changes forever. Her new best friend, a sassy white girl, discovers that her mother, long thought to be dead, is alive. The two friends' lives become intertwined as neither could have ever foreseen.

Toolie joins the bus boycott
Two FAMU coeds initiate the Tallahassee Boycott when they dare to sit in the front of the bus. Toolie gets involved in the peaceful demonstrations, getting seriously injured in the process by an angry white, affecting the rest of her life.

Coexistence
The girl proves that blacks and whites can get along, as she is destined to have people of both races in her life. She learns that not all white folks are bad, nor are all black folks good.

Toolie's story revolves around actual historical events that unfolded in the southern capital Tallahassee, Florida in the 1950's.