Saving Our Sons - Hardcover

Marita Golden began her writing career with Migrations Of The Heart, a memoir about living with her husband in his native Nigeria. In Migrations, Golden tells how it was only with the birth of her child -- a son -- that she was truly respected, for in that culture males are held in highest esteem. Ten years later, Golden presents, in essence, her son's story. Michael is now in his teens and he, his mother, and his stepfather are haunted by this statistic: The leading cause of death among black males under 21 is homicide. The boy who was surrounded by a warm, loving African tribe is now the kid who arrives home horrified by shootings in his school hallways, and reports that friends are stopped by police for no other reason than that they are black. The son who was revered in one country is, in the U.S., looked upon with scorn by whites and a deep, aching fear by his fellow African-Americans that his life may be casually taken. Through the story of raising her own son, Golden confronts the explosive issues. In her search for the causes of the violence, Golden reassesses the legacy of her own generation's struggle for civil rights. She interviews psychologists, leading African-American thinkers, as well as young black men -- criminals and scholars alike. She asks Lonise Bias, the mother of Len and Jay Bias, how she became an indelible symbol of many parents whose suffering has been transformed into public action. Marita Golden infuses this sociological drama with the hope only a mother's love can engender.

Marita Golden is on the faculty of the MFA Graduate Creative Writing Program at Virginia Commonwealth University.