Foreword Uncut

The 1915 film, The Birth of a Nation, depicted Black men as savages that would do anything to have the affection and intimacy of white women. These women were portrayed in the movie as fearful, uninterested damsels in distress who needed white men’s protection from the Black man by any means necessary. After the release of the film, lynching increased in astronomical numbers.

Early civil rights activist Ida B. Wells and many others, even to this day, believe that many Black men accused of raping white women were actually caught having consensual secret affairs and sexual encounters. These encounters (forced or consensual, depending on whom you ask) caused many thriving Black communities to be burnt to the ground. Countless lives and revenue were lost.

Blacks and whites frowned on these unions for many reasons. Blacks did not want the trouble these unions brought to their communities, and whites believed Blacks to be inferior to them. Most Caucasians also feared being shunned by their own and becoming outcasts.

Despite the deadly consequences, it seems that some Black men have always risked life and limb to have the affection of a white woman. The character revealed in this novel, Bonnie Thompson’s father, Lee Glenda, was one of those risk-takers. Consequently, he was ousted from the family business and his middle-class status because he impregnated and then married Bonnie’s mom Millie against his father’s wishes. A white woman, Millie, was also disowned by her family. They both risked everything for this forbidden love/lust.

Bonnie came into the world in the 1950s, a few years before Emmett Till was murdered for supposedly whistling at a white woman—an unfortunate event that propelled the civil rights movement into full gear. Her early life mirrored the violent turbulence that wreaked havoc upon America’s soil. This turbulence would beget a tragic trickle-down effect on generations of families, including Bonnie’s.

Born into a world of dysfunction, Bonnie suffered severe mental and physical torture at the hands of her mother, who was abused by her struggling, sometimes jobless husband, who regretted the life-changing choice he had made.

Because of racism and the illegality of interracial marriages, being a part of a mixed relationship often meant a pushback from society—to each person in the relationship, the relationship in general, and the children brought forth from the union. Bonnie hadn’t asked to be born into such a dark time in America’s history, but because she was, her childhood was marred by the abuse from her white mother, who had a hard time navigating the world with a mixed child in tow. Eventually, thankfully, Bonnie’s paternal grandmother stepped up to raise her.

Unlike the ’50s, the 1960s were a time of optimism for Blacks. Those who worked hard and strived for upward mobility had well-paying jobs, owned homes and nice cars, and sent their children to college, for example. At last, it seemed Blacks were moving on up! And Ebony and Jet magazines were there to document all of it.

Bonnie took to this world of upward mobility very well. She thrived in school and became accustomed to the finer things in life. The champagne taste that was afforded her by her grandparents, however, would later get her caught up.

Having that “good” long hair and that mixed-race complexion put Bonnie at the top of the food chain in her upwardly mobile Black world. She was the beauty queen, the darling dancer fronting one of the Black college marching bands featured in Ebony magazine, the girl that every guy dreamed of having. She had the figure of life and personality to spare. She let it be known to all suitors, “You gotta pay if you wanna play.”

In the ’70s, a great time of promise and achievement for Blacks, Bonnie pulled up stakes from Texas and moved to Hollywood. She was determined to be a star. This was during the time of blaxploitation films with incredible soundtracks. Blacks also thrived in television and sports; you name it, they thrived in it. Bonnie found her touch of fame as she stumbled into being a pre-fame member of the all-girl band Klymaxx after befriending its founder, Bernadette Cooper. Although Bonnie would have her day in the sun as a model and actress, darker days were just around the corner.

The conservative government of the ’80s made many within the Black community believe that their gains from the civil rights movement were being taken back. Darkness descended over Black America, and many would get caught unaware of the myriad of ailments that would befall society. The HIV/AIDS virus became a health crisis, and crack cocaine decimated the community, destroyed families, and wiped out generations. The effects are still felt to this day.

Unfortunately, Bonnie got swept up in this wave of the ’80s and right into the mass incarceration of the ’90s. From law school to being in trouble with the law, Bonnie went from having the world at her fingertips to complete devastation and addiction.

At the close of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century, Bonnie renewed her faith and belief. She snatched her life back out of the darkness and survived a treacherous journey that took many out. She is here to tell the tale.

From her birth in the segregated ’50s to the civil rights era of the ’60s, through times of good fortune in the ’70s, Bonnie Thompson then walked right into the community devastation of the ’80s and ’90s. Fortunately, in the new millennium, she reemerged victorious. However, most recently, Bonnie passed away, leaving behind a cautionary tale. Many landmines that she stepped into can be avoided.

Please listen, but most importantly, HEAR.

Raina Shaw

Historian of Black American Culture