Rules of the Race

About the Book

“Racism is a two-way street, and integration is a long and bumpy road.”

With a harmonious blend of both secular and spiritual perspective, Rules of the Race is an inspirational coming-of-age story about teenage racism in the turbulent decade following the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The story begins in the relative innocence of 1962 on the day the Cain family is relocating from Weirton, West Virginia, to Indianapolis, Indiana. Johnny Tommy is only six years old when he misunderstands his father’s words. He envisions purple people, as his father advises that there will be “colored children” in his new school.

Johnny Tommy Cain is an athletically aggressive child, but he is plagued with self-doubt as his mind is troubled by repeated errors in judgment. He learns about many of life’s unwritten rules through playing sports, but he learns about sensitivity to others from his exposure to the differences created by race, religion, and gender.

Johnny Tommy evolves into the adolescent known as JT. Beginning in 1968, he is victimized by a series of racial assaults, and his childhood boldness gives way to fear. He stays put for several years as the phenomena of white flight takes place around him. Ultimately, a climax occurs shortly after the last-straw incident, causing his mother to make the heartbreaking decision to send him back to Weirton to live with his grandparents.

JT returns to Weirton feeling like a coward and suffering from depression. Through sports, however, he befriends two black students at what is an almost all-white school. And it is through these relationships and a visit from his cousin Karen that JT’s perspective becomes balanced, his confidence is restored, and he finds the courage to forgive both others and himself.

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