Bridging the Mississippi: A Memoir of Racial Injustice and Missed Beads

by Sandra Baker Baron

A memoir of racial inequality and missed beads  Sandi and Denny Baron both were delighted they landed their first job with ease. Joy turns to surprise when they drive across the nation to find themselves the only White teachers in an all-Black school in New Orleans. Naïve to the strong cultural divisions in the South, Sandi teaches her students to read and write, and they school her about the realities of their life. Then, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is killed by a White man. How will the staff and students at school respond to Sandi in the wake of their shock and grieving? To process the event, Sandi assigns her students to write about their feelings. Forty-five years later, the retired teacher reconnects with her former students and returns their eighth and ninth-grade essays written the day after Dr. King's assassination. Bridging The Mississippi is the compelling story of ordinary people building extraordinary bridges across racial tensions. Told from both sides, their story shows the best of the human spirit. "Bridging the Mississippi is a rich and valuable unveiling of how brave Americans crossed the racial divide, despite tensions and tightropes to bridge their cultural differences. With great storytelling savvy, Sandra Baker Baron shows us how to strengthen such diverse relationships, in order to reach vital realms of reconciliation and resolve. How important this book is for our times!"-Dr. Yolanda Powell, President & CEO, W.A.I.L. Worldwide Inc.

370 pages, Paperback

Published October 4, 2022

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Read

I have known Sandi for a long time, as she and my daughter have been friends for years. I never knew any of her early years. I'm so glad that I have had the opportunity to read this book. It affirmed what I believe and realized that we as a nation have more work to do to make every skin color know that we ALL are made in the likeness and image of God and we all should have the same opportunities. I cried and laughed reading this book but was encouraged to continue dreaming for an end to discrimination.

[David Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating

The author paints a visual picture of her life as a first year, white teacher in NOLA. She brings the students and colleagues to life and her words paint a picture in words, as clearly as her actual paintings...a rich tapestry of life. I have known Mrs Bayronne for over 30 years...the name she was called by her students in New Orleans befits she and her husband, gracious, adventuresome, and dedicated. Dedicated to each other and public education .

[Mariam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the premise of this book, and there were some really sweet chapters. Overall, though, the writing was choppy, probably mostly due to the fact that the book was written many years after the events took place, and it was hard to recreate the events so far in the past. I also had the impression while I was reading that this would end up being a long-term experience in racial reconciliation, but it was just one year (and a mention at the end of unspecified later work on the same theme).

[Margie Deal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating glimpse of a teacher just out of college, transported to an inner city school with a culture opposite of her own.