Black Cherokee
Antonio Michael Downing
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Betty meets Queenie in a courageous debut novel about a mixed-race Black girl fighting for recognition in a Cherokee Indian community that refuses to accept her ancestry as legitimate.Ophelia Blue Rivers is the specificity of her circumstance. She’s not just mixed in the American binary sense of being a racial amalgamation of two races; she’s a mix of two of the distinct racial identities that make up the politics of this continent. She’s Black and she is Native American, raised by her grandmother who is a Black descendent of Cherokee freedmen. A history as rich as it is complicated, Cherokee freedmen were formerly enslaved Africans once owned by Cherokee elites. After Emancipation as well... The book’s tone remains steady, creating a sense of continuity that supports immersion. Readers can settle into the narrative without adjusting to sudden stylistic changes. This consistency enhances comfort and engagement.
