Black People

Black People on White Blocks is a riveting story that revolves around two interracial women born in the early 40's in an impoverished area on the South Side of Chicago. Jannie Johnson, white, and Shanice Ellis, black, meet in 1953 during the first wave of forced busing implemented in the name of integration. Fearing violence, white families warn their children to keep a distance from black students enrolled in their all white school. Due to circumstances surrounding Jannie's birth, Jannie insists she's magical and her belief instills a sense of bravery that enables her to override her parents mandate and secretly befriend Shanice. All is well until a white turncoat elected to preserve all-white neighborhoods sells his home to a black family. The crisis brings Jannie's bonding with Shanice out into the open, an act that shakes the foundation of her family but not her loyalty to Shanice. In a rush to salvage home equity white people are compelled to sell. The majority flee the city. But Jannie's parents become entangled in a different scenario, the secrets of which are revealed decades later when Jannie and Shanice's lives are once again woven together into a powerful and miraculous conclusion.