Defiant: Growing Up in the Jim Crow South

In this absorbing, conversational memoir, writer and cofounder of Just Us Books Hudson (b. 1946) begins in media res, starting with his jailing over fabricated evidence “a little more than five years” after moving from Mansfield, La., to attend Southern University in Baton Rouge, where he and fellow community activists attempt to “deal with conditions in the Black community caused principally by racism and discrimination.” From there, Hudson jumps further back to his youth, detailing childhood “shenanigans” with his close-knit family as well as personal reflections on significant events, such as how the successes of Jackie Robinson and other Black athletes encouraged Black youth to consider sports stardom a viable dream. The colloquial narrative effectively offers a glimpse into a segregated civil rights–era Southern experience, while gently surveying figures in Hudson’s community. On his father serving in WWII, Hudson writes gracefully, “My father had risked his life for democracy, but, for him, freedom remained just a stale hope, a wishful thought, an unfulfilled dream.” Adroitly providing cultural references and historical context, Hudson traces his life through young adulthood, discussing his education and involvement in the civil rights movement within a powerful framework and conclusion. Front matter features a preface; back matter includes an afterword, notes, sources, and a timeline. Ages 10–up. (Oct.)