She Made a Way: Mother and Me in a Deep South World
Ebook
She Made a Way is a memoir of survival and growth under the twin threats of white supremacy and male dominance. It is an intimate story of perseverance and coming of age: how a single, white working mother and her only son made their way in the patriarchal and racist world of postwar Helena, Arkansas, a Mississippi river town. It is also a story of transformation: a lifetime of journeying together out of captivity to white supremacy and toward the deeper truth of compassion and liberation. In an era saturated with forces of racism and sexism, we find here a mother and son struggling in their relationship to each other and to America, maintaining love while living toward a new vision of themselves and the world.
“This is a memoir of a man and his mother, but it is also the story of a journey away from the racism that still dominates our country. Although we often imagine people as either bad or good, racist or ‘woke,’ Nibs Stroupe understands racism to be deeply embedded in caring people, even those who start to move away from their prejudice. This rich and honest account moves beyond the simplistic binaries to help us understand the American South—and ourselves—in new ways.”
—Susan E. Hylen, professor of New Testament, Emory University
“This startlingly honest memoir is essential reading for white folk in the USA, and for anyone struggling to understand the intractable power of racism and white supremacy in our personal and social lives. At the heart of this story is the mystery of how the destructive forces of racism—and sexism and homophobia—can reign in hearts and lives that are also full of genuine, life-giving familial love and loyalty. The book’s stark promise: transformative change is possible, but only as a lifelong journey accompanied by heartbreaking division and conflict. Nibs Stroupe’s gospel is one of truly redemptive power—that also divides like a sword.”
—Chris Boesel, associate professor of Christian theology, Drew University
- Title: She Made a Way: Mother and Me in a Deep South World
- Authors: Nibs Stroupe, John Blake
- Publisher: Resource Publications
- Print Publication Date: 2024
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9798385208562, 9798385208555, 9798385208548
- Resource ID: LLS:9798385208562
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-06-12T20:43:23Z
Nibs Stroupe grew up in the Mississippi River Delta in Arkansas. He retired in 2017 after thirty-four years as pastor of Oakhurst Presbyterian Church, a church nationally known for its leadership in multicultural ministry. He is the author of five books, including the award-winning Passionate for Justice. In 2007 he was inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers at Morehouse College in Atlanta.