Legacy Lost. And regained.

 My pretty constant stream of flower-focused blog posts is pausing for a timely (I think) change of pace. I have been accused of being monomaniacally focused on the Plant Kingdom in both my personal and professional lives. I'm not sure that this is something I should be ashamed of...

But if you truly KNOW me you know I have quite a few other interests that possess precious little chlorophyll: I listen to music a lot: the soundtrack of my life is a tad peculiar--I love baroque music above all, but all the classics to boot. I grew up listening to folk music (Greek and American) and just bought tickets for the Denver Symphony's Dvorak concert next month (and Jan and I are regulars at the Met Opera HD Cinema series)...I'm not above enjoying Country Music (a big part of my soundtrack during my first marriage of 23 years). Bluegrass in particular has been a lifelong love. Doc Watson is one of my heroes--I went to a LOT of his concerts over the years. Ditto Earl Scruggs and Hot Rize. I even went to Taylor Swift's "Eras Concert" movie... Point proven?*

Let's not even start talking about my obsessive curiosity about Medieval and Ancient history--as well as a handful of other non-horticultural pursuits...(Literature for instance). Don't ask. You'll regret it.

But one of the deepest and widest streams in my life has been a commitment to social justice and progressive politics in general. My first name (Panayoti) was given to me because my mother's eldest brother (Panagiotis Kornaros) was one of the 200 leading Greek labor leaders and intellectuals who were imprisoned in the Concentration Camp at Haidari and executed at Kaiseriana on May 1, 1945. I have never blogged about him. But then there are thousands of blog posts I've yet to write....let's see how many I get done! The legacy of my uncle's life was never lost on me.

S. Barbara Hilyer

I haven't had the privilege of meeting the author of the book I'm reviewing (the picture above is on the jacket of her book---but also in a fine interview and review of her book in the Ashland News). But she is friends with a dear friend of mine of over 40 years--Baldassare Mineo--who was hawking her book at his house when I visited. OK, Baldy happened to have been a great nurseryman and is still a fabulous gardener--(who I must still blog about)--but this isn't about plants I promise.

It's about the profound racism that permeates the United States of America. Although Greek American  my skin has enough melanin that I've been refused service twice at restaurants--albeit this was a long time ago. The sting of those experiences was a nasty surprise at the time--and of course like a thimbleful of pain compared to the oceans of prejudice faced by those perceived as "Black" or Mexican--or whatever ethnic or skin-color group is unpopular in whatever circles. I have had enough close friends of many shades of color, and I've read enough and possess sufficient intellect and heart that I believe I "get it".

And I also get that most "white" people don't. Since we are a few months away from an election which will be (admit it or not) a bit of a referendum on just how racist America really is**. Yeah, yeah, I know--there are all these OTHER issues--the border. The economy. Immigration. Don't scratch those too hard--you're apt to find a hint of racism lurking there too. 

I found Hilyer's book to not ONLY be a thoughtful description of her amazing life, but a veritable treatise on the complexity and ambiguity of race. It has a timely resonance, considering one of the candidates for the Presidency has had her race already challenged by her opponent. This book provides a fascinating context for that and other peculiarities with America's obsession with skin color.

The plot is simple: Hilyer grew up in Seattle as an integral member of a white family (although she recounts a few instances in her early life where her racial identity was questioned--to her annoyance and indignation). 

When her father dies, she discovers she in fact is (also!) African-American: the book then traces her systematic search for an extraordinary family tree she had no idea existed. The Black legacy she reclaims is remarkable, including a Nobel Prize winner and outstanding professionals, as well as some who were fatally bruised by America's searing racial double standard.

I am not sure that truly racist Americans will ever read this book. I suspect most of them don't read books (to reveal one of my own little nasty prejudices). Since the book's tone is expository rather than polemical, they might not get it even if they tried.

But they are the ones I wish would read it. I doubt many of them read Prairiebreak. But since I suspect that anyone who follows my blog is pretty enlightened, I know the book would further clarify your own concerns about race in America. It only costs about as much as a few cups of Starbucks or a two meals (or less) at McDonalds. If I were you I'd buy it!

It can be ordered from any independent bookstore or purchased on bookshop.org

P.S. Baldassare just told me about a wonderful VIMEO video talk Barbara Hilyer delivered in Sun Valley, Idaho recently:  “Legacy Lost” with Barbara Hilyer on Vimeo. Hillyer is a born story teller and teacher--and charismatic to boot--the 45 minutes listening to her talk are time well spent.

The cover of Ebony magazine featuring Hilyer's aunt Helene Hayes that she mentions in her talk can be accessed Here.

*I should have mentioned that I love Jazz, South American folk music...I could go on...

**Racism compounded by misogyny I might have added.