7-10 Split:: My Journey As America's Whitest Black Kid - Softcover

Bennett, Michael Gordon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0986416207 ISBN 13: 9780986416200

Publisher: Bennett Global Entertainment, 2015

Synopsis

This compelling memoir examines the life of a military brat juxtaposed against the ugliness of America's original sin. In a country so racially polarized, belonging is a matter of survival---but Michael Gordon Bennett suffered the ultimate identity crisis. Who was he? Where did he belong? His ignorance of all things black and white proved his undoing leading to a period of homelessness. It begins in Madrid, Spain during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, where Michael is so far removed from the struggle, he thought himself more Spanish than a black American. He eventually migrates to a junior high school in the Deep South suffering through the first year of "forced busing" in the name of desegregation. That was followed by graduation from a Colorado high school with him as the only black male in his senior class. Those disparate circumstances left Michael ostracized and alone.

About this title

Review:

5-Stars Says Readers' Favorite

"Michael Gordon Bennett's non-fiction memoir reads as fluidly as good fiction does. I marveled at his descriptions of the church services he attended and closed my eyes at one point, picturing in my mind the joyous service he described...This is a grand tapestry of a tale, a triumphant story of a young man's dedication and hard work set amongst the backdrop of racial injustice that presists in this country to this day. This coming of age story is remarkable; Bennett's stories about mentors who helped him along his way and the triumphs of the group he was, albeit briefly, a part of, are memories I won't be forgeting anytime soon." --- Jack Magnus, Readers' Favorite

"Bennett's story of growing up as a black boy in a racially fractious time is certainly not a typical one. In fact Bennett's viewpoint on the subject is groundbreaking. Bennett contends with a bout of homelessness, loneliness, and completely justifiable anger---all in intimate, emotional detail. Ultimately, though Bennett's memoir isn't a treatise on rage, but a tribute to resilence and the power of the human heart...his writing shows him as a passionate, thoughtful, and eloquent author...In a year where hateful bigotry has dominated the presidential election cycle, the words and stories that Bennett shares are more important than ever." --- Craig Manning, Independent Publisher

"Bennett writes boldy of his intense confusion in his racial identity, alienation within his black community and unease with his white classmates in every new location. 'Was I a white kid in black skin, or a black kid with white sensibilities?' Bennett writes, "Or did any of it matter?' When his battle fatigued father returns from Vietnam with an alchholism problem, the family tries to adjust to his erratic behavior, his conduct pushing each member to an emotional breaking point, but they never succumb to his failings. Mastering self-doubt, cultural inertia, and parental miscuse, Bennett asserts in his quiet, unforgettable way that presistence and courage will always pay off." --- Publishers Weekly (Book Life)

About the Author:

MICHAEL GORDON BENNETT is founder and CEO of Bennett Global Entertainment (BGE), a consulting and Hollywood production company with an expertise in travel, tourism, and myriad forms of entertainment programming. His professional accomplishments include: computer programmer, television and radio news producer, actor, host, author, speaker, advertising sales, and magazine writer. He’s produced programming for the Travel Channel, NBC, and BET. He was appointed to BrandUSA as part of the Travel Promotion Act signed into law by President Barack Obama. Bennett is a graduate of California State University, Northridge and an Air Force veteran. He has one adult son, Michael and currently lives in Las Vegas.

About this edition

• Publisher: Bennett Global Entertainment
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0986416207
• ISBN 13: 9780986416200
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 330