The Unsung Hero of Birdsong, USA by Brenda Woods

Betty Babcock, the white woman who nearly kills Gabriel, addresses Meriwether as “boy.” But Gabriel says his parents “taught me differently”-and seeks out Meriwether to offer him a job at his father’s garage out of gratitude. The word also sets the tone of the town’s postwar racial references and bigotry, along with The Negro Motorist Green Book, segregated bathrooms, and the way Mrs. The author’s use of the word “colored” isn’t gratuitous-the book’s setting is Birdsong, South Carolina, in 1946. The book opens with the event, when Meriwether, who’s begging for a job on Main Street, sees Gabriel pedal through a red light and pushes him out of the way of an oncoming car. Woods is at her best in exploring the reasons a Black World War II hero who fought in the Battle of the Bulge might keep that card close to the vest, and the closing note that observes that it took until 2005 to memorialize the 761st Tank Battalion’s valor will leave readers with plenty to think about.If Opie Taylor from The Andy Griffith Show wrote a book about Mayberry’s racism, the voice would be that of Gabriel Haberlin, the 12-year-old white boy who is saved from near tragedy by Meriwether Hunter, a “colored” man. Hardly a brief chapter goes by without Gabriel thoughtfully learning life lessons delivered by his elders, and the ending, in which the Hunter family moves from Birdsong, SC to Michigan in search of better work and the hope of less overt racism, is bittersweet but somewhat unrealistically easy.

He’s clearly chafing at the current parades for returning white veterans and holding back information on his own service, worried it might bring unwanted and perhaps violent attention that worry is confirmed when Lucas’ actions lead to near-tragedy and the shadow of suspicion falling on Mr. Hunter is a paragon of self-control, avoiding Lucas and slowly winning the professional respect of the white customers.

Haberlin’s other employee, Lucas, is a no-holds-barred bigot. It should be a match made in heaven, except for the fact that Mr.

Haberlin owns a service station and has just lost a mechanic. Hunter is a returned vet, looking for work as a mechanic a grateful Mr. Meriwether Hunter pushes him out of harm’s way and repairs the bike to near mint condition. Gabriel Haberlin celebrates his twelfth birthday in 1946 with a new bicycle, which he promptly rides into an intersection just in front of the town’s worst driver.

The Unsung Hero of Birdsong, USA by Brenda Woods