A Stronger Kinship: One Town's Extraordinary Story of Hope and Faith

by Anna-Lisa Cox

Book Overview

In the heartland of the United States 150 years ago, where racism and hatred were common, a community decided there could be a different America. Here schools and churches were completely integrated,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316110183
• ISBN13: 9780316110181
• Release Date: February 2006
• Publisher: Little Brown and Company
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.94 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.1" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Inspiring story of a small Michigan community...hope for the future!

The story of the people in Covert, Michigan in the 1860's is inspirational. In the midst of institutionalized racism and discrimination of African Americans across the Mid-West, Covert chose to follow a path of inclusion and equality. This was truly revolutionary for the time and an experience we can learn from today. As a mother of a beautiful bi-racial child, I am often discouraged by racism as it still exists today. In the midst of the "dark ages" of racial relationships in the Mid-West, a beacon of light shone in rural West Michigan. People can make a difference! I highly recommend this book!

A Stronger Kinship review

The book is well researched and well written. I live in Covert (the town depicted in the book) and my husband was raised there. I am involved in the community and have spoken to several of the residents interviewed for the book. They felt it was an accurate depiction of life in Covert, and my husband's recollections of the stories told to him as a child cofirm this. I met Ms. Anna-Lisa Cox this summer and was impressed with her dedication to telling Covert's story accurately and her continueing interest in the community. I was personally interested to read about an otherwise obscure village that was a beacon of hope to African -Americans looking for a place to be treated with dignity and respect in the 1800 and early 1900s.

An excellent Story

Ms. Cox has provided a window though which all of us can view the promise of America and what could have been. It is my hope that this well written and solidly researched "little" book can be widely distributed and read. I would recommend that it be sent to Oprah. Her book club would really have something to talk about. Dr. James O. Jackson, Principal Emeritus

A Stronger Kinship

I was drawn to this book because I was born and raised in the Toledo Ohio area...I was amazed at the history and facts as they were presented by Ms Cox..I had seen her interview on C-Span. I enjoyed the way she tired together the families and the communtiy. She also brought alive the struggles of the era. Like walking form North Carolina to Michigan!! The strength and fortitude of these people; the losses and the rewards for risk...I thought it was an amazing book and a very insightful look at the times

A wonderful book!

Defined as "concealment and shelter," Covert, Michigan is an aptly named place. American history lessons taught in the 1960s never mentioned the fact that this town existed as a fully integrated community in the 1860s. Now nearly 150 years later, as we strive for racial equality, it is enlightening to know that it is part of our American heritage. Anna-Lisa Cox has completed exhaustive research of the people and events that converged in a time that racism was so prevalent, three million Americans went to war to defend their beliefs. A Stronger Kinship is filled with the names and histories of the people who created this concealed community founded on acceptance. In a time when education was not readily available to many whites in the unsettled frontiers of the Midwest, black and white children learned side-by-side in Covert. Interracial marriages and an equal distribution of wealth and property were normal. At times it is a struggle to keep track of the names and dates, particularly when more than one person has the same name. Ample footnotes help guide the reader. More than a novel, this book is a historical depiction of important and relevant events. Armchair Interviews says: Seeming too good to be true, it's hard to believe that such a wonderful legacy has not been widely honored and celebrated by history and all Americans.