The Grace of Silence: a memoir by Michele Norris

Michele Norris is a journalist best known for her work on NPR's All Things Considered.  She initially planned to write a book about the various conversations on racism taking place nationwide following President Obama's election.  However, she soon realized that much of the circumvention and avoidance of truly open discussion about race and racism that she had observed as part of her work were equally present in her own family.  There were stories that had directly affected her own parents and grandparents which were hushed up or sidestepped.  Norris decided to explore her family's experience to better understand how and why they dealt so calmly with the disrespect and violence visited upon them.

Since her father never spoke of the incident, Norris struggled to uncover the story of his being shot by a white Birmingham policeman. She describes the difficult process of locating any public records--from newspapers or the police, particularly since crimes against blacks weren't considered noteworthy.   She frames the event with a description of how black soldiers in WW II were initially limited to noncombatant, frequently menial roles in segregated units. Having sacrificed to obtain freedom for others, many veterans came home to Jim Crow laws and high unemployment, and denied the right to vote.  Those who challenged such treatment risked physical harm or death, even when in uniform. In the case of her father,  injustice was met with  flight to the Midwest.

Indignities existed on her mother's side as well.  The second great family secret that Norris discovered was that her maternal grandmother worked for Quaker Oats portraying Aunt Jemima, with all the accompanying and humiliating stereotypes.  Clearly there were  moments of great discomfort within her family when considering events such as these in the past.

The author takes a look at her own upbringing to appreciate how her parents protected her and encouraged her to excel.  Norris's stories of her family are moving and instructional--providing a necessary reminder of both the overt and insidious forms of racism.