Rejected by his race. Hunted by the Klan. Yet, standing up to hatred is still the only choice.New York, Early 1900s: Jimmy Montgomery comes from old New York money and grows up among the Manhattan elite. At the age of eighteen, Jimmy discovers he’s been living a lie. He follows his roots back to Tulsa, Oklahoma to answer the burning questions in his life. Who is he? What is he? Where does he … Where does he belong? He finds love and friendship along the way, but full acceptance from either the White or the Black world eludes him. When trouble pits the White population of Tulsa against the Black community of Greenwood, Jimmy must finally make a choice—he can no longer live in the middle. His decision will alter the course of his life and those he’d come to love. What will he decide? Pick up a copy to find out.
LIVING IN THE MIDDLE is a powerful African American historical novel based on the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921. If you like passionate heroes, no-holds-barred history, high-stakes emotional tension, then you’ll love A. Robert Allen’s eye-opening story.
LIVING IN THE MIDDLE is a stand-alone story connected by theme to the other volumes in A. Robert Allen’s Slavery and Beyond series.
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This is the second book in the series, The Slavery and Beyond Series.
Based on true events, the story swept me away into the lives of Jimmy Montgomery III and the choices he had to make as an eighteen-year-old. On the brink of a new life, he faced a devastating truth about himself, a truth that was sending him on a different path from what he had planned.
During this turmoil, he faced life-threatening situations while figuring out who he truly was. He could no longer hide his race and took a bold step. That boldness, however, almost cost him more than his life.
Tulsa, Oklahoma was a boiling pot in 1921. Though Greenwood flourished financially they were always seen as Darkeys who were bad. There were quite a few incidents that let to hostility between whites and blacks and Jimmy’s appearance was the final straw.
A tormenting story of cruelty, misunderstanding and greed on both sides of the tracks. Jimmy and his friends had to find the middle ground as well.
The book’s honest narrative points out the suspenseful time in a very quick flow dialogue as you go deeper within the plot.
The author’s account really emphasized the nature of every person involved.
Living in the Middle is the story of James (Jimmy) Montgomery III, son of the New York City Montgomerys. Never close to his high society mother, Jimmy hardly misses her when she doesn’t attend his high school graduation. But when he returns home, he soon learns that he is unwelcome in the house where he grew up. Suitcase still in hand, he follows Benjamin, a trusted employee of the Montgomery family, back to the servant’s house. It is a far cry from the way of life he was accustomed to. Benjamin hands Jimmy a letter from his deceased father who informs the lad of his true parentage. Jimmy is indeed the son of the white Mr. Montgomery but his mother is a black woman from Tulsa, Oklahoma. When his stepmother makes him a deal – she’ll fund his college tuition but only if he does not reflect badly on the family name. Upon his graduation she’ll give him a cash settlement; in return he is to never ask for anything more.
Four years later, with his diploma from Columbia in hand, Jimmy sets off for Tulsa to find his true mother. For over twenty years he has passed as a white man and enjoyed all the privileges associated with the race at that time. He travels south and west, Jimmy soon learns that he has been living in a cocoon and knows almost nothing about how the Black Community lives. As Jimmy’s journey unfolds, he begins to associate himself with the community of Greenwood, Oklahoma – considered to be the other side of the tracks in Tulsa. A self-sufficient community of black who work hard and have found some success in the fifty or so years after the Civil War. But the blacks there are wary of Jimmy and don’t accept him into their midst, seeing him as a trouble-maker from New York. And the White Community, at the urging of those KKK leaders in charge of government, see Jimmy as an uppity Darkey who needs to be taught a lesson.
Torn between two worlds and belonging to neither, Jimmy must make a choice.
Living in the Middle is the raw, earthy depiction of living in the early 20th century as a Black Person. It is also the depiction of life in the era of the White Community. One is full of privilege while the other is struggling to prove their equality. Living as both may have its benefits but the reader soon learns that a hard choice must be made. Author A. Robert Allen has once again successfully given us an historical story based on facts. He has given us the characters of Jimmy Montgomery – the conflicted youth who is living in the middle, Glory Turner – his black mother who welcomes him into her world, Mercy Brown – the woman who ultimately fulfills his world, and Milton – his schoolmate and his business partner.
This is the story of the prosperous black community of Greenwood that was destroyed by a group of people who feared something they couldn’t, or wouldn’t, understand. Stir up the tension with a strong dose of the KKK and watch the pot simmer then explode!
Living in the Middle is the fourth book in the Slavery and Beyond series by this author. Each book is a stand-alone story although this one has a Prequel – Ticket to Tulsa – that sets the story up.
Living in the Middle is a thriller, a romance, a family saga, and an historical fiction story all wrapped into one. The story flows smoothly and the characters jump off the pages and immerse you in their story. Looking forward to the next book in this series.
This is the latest book in this authors, Slavery and beyond series. I have read all of them so far, and love the way the author tells us the history of the period through his main characters eyes.
This story begins in the early 1900’s .
The main character writes a poem called:
Life in the Middle by James Montgomery
My father died in a penthouse
My Mother lives in a shack.
Can I live in the middle?
I’m neither white nor black.
This to me sets the tone for the story as young Jimmy Motgomery, tries to find out where he belongs after his father dies,and he finds out the truth about his birth.
Having gone through a life of affluence in NYC and even attended Columbia College, he now has to go out on his own and find out where he fits in society.
He decides to go to Oklahoma, where his birth mother lives, and here he hopes to find out what race he can identify with, and to start off his life and career.
A few years after arriving there and settling down in Greenwood, the black district of Tulsa Oklahoma, also known as The Black Wall Street ,as it was one of the wealthiest black neighborhoods in the USA. The people in Greenwood, who would work in Tulsa, always brought the money they earned to their side of the city, shopping only in their local stores, thus creating a strong financial district.
We see the growth of the Klu Klux Klan, and the injustice and fear that they would create.
One day after an incident between two people from opposite sides occurs, everything got out of hand and in June of 1921 the Tulsa Race Riot took place, and much of Greenwood, was destroyed, burned and looted.
This story works up to the riots, the cause, and the consequences. A very sad part of history.
There are some wonderful characters in this story both fictitious and real.
Another very interesting look at an important piece of history.
I would like to thank the author for the ARC of this book. I really enjoy his writing. .