Author Dan W. Pruitt has done a community proud in researching and shining a light on past accomplishments and contributions of a Black village and its main employer, a brickyard.
Reading this book was a true treat. Anyone who loves not just Black history, but American history, will enjoy its well-researched, chronological narrative. Maybe I am biased, being a descendant of some of the folks mentioned. But I find narratives like this help bridge a gap in my understanding of the rough times and discriminatory practices my peoples somehow survived. It also shows the love and comradery of families that made up an isolated and disenfranchised community. Brockway, New York.
The story of Brockway is a story of migration driven by industry and economic opportunity. It is peopled with southern black men and women who traveled north to settle in this little New York enclave with hopes of building a better life for them and their children. Brickmaking was hard work. But these men were conditioned to hard manual labor from generations of working the southern agricultural fields.
What they likely were not expecting was the frigid climate along with bouts of hardship and poverty due to low pay and economic crisis such as the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression that followed. And yet these humble black folks found ways to adapt, overcome, provide for their families and answer the call of military duty and such when its country came calling. All at a time when America's "separate but equal" doctrine perpetuated a system of racial inequality and discrimination that lasted for decades. For blacks it was a time where the saying "one becomes what one's society allows them to be" applies. Although mostly poor, this Black community thrived in family love, lasting friendships and communal responsibility.
What I took away from reading this engaging book is not that strong efforts were likely made to keep these peoples and their stories from ever rising to the top, but how the strength and fighting spirit of such peoples cannot be hidden, brushed aside or silenced when it continues to beat in the hearts of their descendants. For even out of a pot of poverty and oppression, the cream rises to the top.
The author's chronicling of the untold Brockway story before, during, and after his family's arrival, is testament to the unconquerable spirit of a people who have not surrendered to past injustices nor current gentrification. As long as stories are being told of once predominantly Black communities succeeding in spite of challenging environments and unequal incomes, their legacy of pushing onward toward accomplishing and contributing great things to society will feed those marginalized today who continue the struggle against injustice and unequal practices. It's their fighting spirit and love of community that lives on.
Bravo Dan!
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