Today I Met a Rainbow: A Book about the Norfolk 17

I am always attracted to books by local Hampton Roads authors -- they're almost always a must-have. When I happen to come across a book that is by a local author AND has something personal to say about the history of our area -- that's a must-have and a must-share.

Today I Met a Rainbow by Dr. Patricia Turner is set during the integration of Norfolk Public Schools in the late 1950s. After dodging the anti-segregation edict handed down in Brown v. Board of Education years earlier, NPS decided, in 1959, to close their schools entirely rather than allow 17 black students to integrate. The schools were closed for five months, displacing over 10,000 students, including graduating seniors, who became known as the Lost Class of '59.

The author was the perfect person to write this story because she lived it, as one of the Norfolk 17, a middle school student who was one of the first to integrate. The reader can follow young Patricia on her journey toward integration, from the aptitude tests she was made to take to prove she could learn at the same rate as white students all the way to the end of her own long and illustrious career as an educator. I was impressed how well her writing managed to convey a complicated legal battle and years of racial tension down in a way that even young children could understand but without sacrificing any of the emotional nuances.



Joel Kurtz's illustrations go along with the story nicely -- the stark lines, looming perspective, and crumpled paper background mirror the story's tension and grow smoother and more colorful by the end, just as Patricia's story does.

Had you ever heard of the Lost Class of '59? If you'd like to read more about it, the Old Dominion University library has an extensive collection of resources here.