Social Commentary - Fiction. Problems encountered by a black family moving into a white neighborhood. Read in late 1950s to mid 1960s.

[Carol]

Read in the late 1950s or early to mid-1960s; I was between 14 and 17 years old. The book is about the problems encountered by a black family moving into a white neighborhood. The cover was dull yellow/mustard yellow and had a drawing/picture of a black ball and chain

[Rosa]

Do you remember any details of the plot?

[Carol]

My father gave me the book a long time ago and in thinking about him I only recently realized how greatly this book (along with other things) had impacted my life and my feelings about justice. I guess this is why I remember the overall theme to this day but as far as details only that the black family was not wanted in the neighborhood and that the family experienced horrible prejudice. I would love to read the book again.

[Rosa]

The House at 12 Rose Street? Maybe it was published too late.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Carol, is this fiction or nonfiction? You should add that to your topic header, along with plot details if it's fiction (or subject details if it's nonfiction). Please read the Group Rules about what needs to go in your topic header.

[Rosa]

Actually, The House at 12 Rose Street was first published in 1966. The first edition doesn't have a cover like what you described, though.

[Becca]

Some possibilities based on description - I haven't been able to track down old editions to see if the cover matches:

A Different Drummer by William Melvin Kelley, first published 1962

Boy at the Window by Owen Dodson, first published 1951

Trumbull Park by Frank London Brown, first published 1959

... I will keep looking for more options!

[Becca]

Another maybe, very little information about it:

Family of Destiny by Charles Lewiss Tarter, first published 1954.

[Kris]

Carole, I added plot details to the topic header. This will help searchers and moderators. Feel free to update it by clicking the small "edit" link after the header. This only works on the full Desktop website - not the Mobile website or app.

[Carol]

Thanks so much for your help, everyone. Although not sure if it's actually the one, because the cover doesn't match, Trumbull Park comes the closest so far. As in that book, I now recall that at the conclusion, the black and the white neighbor walked down the street together. I also believe the story took place in the Northeast U.S. ... possibly even Chicago as in Trumbull Park, I did think, however, that the black family moved into a single family home in a residential neighborhood. I could be wrong though.

[Kris]

Here's another cover of Trumbull Park by Frank London Brown - Becca's suggestion - on AbeBooks (but don't see a ball and chain):

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Book...

[Becca]

One of the frustrating things in my search is the lack of information about some titles. Do you think the title or author's name might ring a bell if you saw it?

I found those suggestions via a search on WorldCat for Book - Subject: African Americans - Date: 1950-1959 and Book - Subject: African Americans - Date: 1960-1969 and picking out ones that seemed likely, but there were lots of results that had no description either there or elsewhere on the internet, as far as I could see. For example, The Clutches of Circumstances by Thomas Playfair Ward. So, as tedious as it might be, it might be worth browsing through those search results just in case.

I am crossing my fingers that we'll be able to find it for you!

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Can you rule out A Raisin in the Sun, which was a play?

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

I feel like this book (or a similar plot) has been searched for and found, but I can't find the thread.