Ms. Etta's Fast House

While reading Ms. ETTA'S FAST HOUSE by VICTOR McGLOTHIN, I have experienced all sorts of situations in St. Louis, Missouri. I had the chance to learn in an exciting way why justice must overcome injustice. In the Forties African Americans still were not treated as law abiding citizens. Those who were not law abiding also were mistreated before ever having the chance to see their case go before a judge and jury. It saddened me to read about the discrimination in the police department. VICTOR McGLOTHIN writes about what it was like for a few men who passed a test to become policemen. These men, one is named Henry, was told he was never to arrest a white man. He could only arrest a man of his color, a black man. Some of Henry's friends laughed and called his uniform just a "monkey suit" because he didn't have the right to make the law stick while on the street. He had no authority. I couldn't help but think what a terrible way for men to be treated in society. These men were definitely treated without dignity."The police academy was simply a microcosm of the outside world. There were rules, written and otherwise, to keep black men..." This book isn't biased.. There are also black men like Baltimore who have decided a gun and a fist is the best way to fight injustice. Then, there are those men and women who have succumbed to the ravages of drug addiction. The author shows through his writing that drugs can only weaken a person and take their life in the short run. I hope young people now recognize the horrors of drug addiction. I know parents and friends try their best to help their peers see no matter what life is like there isn't a reason to give your life to drugs. No one is strong enough to beat that addiction.I really liked being in a hospital setting in Misssouri of the forties too. Again, African Americans whether patients or medical personnel, doctors and nurses, were treated differently from the majority of the population. Patients were treated in cellars of the hospital. I know it's hard to believe. It's very painful. Also, people of both colors didn't really trust a black doctor.While all of the troubles go on at the police department, in the alleyways and in the hospitals, there is Ms. Etta's home away from home. She became a picture of strength for me. She never gives up even when her restaurant is destroyed. She keeps a spirit of standing tall and perserverance. People go to Ms. Etta's Fast House to find relief and release from the tortures of life. It is there where they buy a drink or drinks, laugh freely and hear songs sung by famous people like Dorothy Dandridge and Billy Eckstein. However, I didn't feel Mr. McGlothin wrote enough about the fast house to warrant it as the title. There is so much in the book about what happened between white and black people during this period in American History. He also writes about what it was like playing sports during that time. There is also the mechanics between blacks and whites who are attracted to one another during the Forties. Although this is a novel, the story is very true to life. It made me whisper thank God that we've come so much further in these same situations while living in the Twenty First Century.mcglothin

I picked this book up and had to sit it down. I couldn't believe penny let that man die. I know he was mean and nasty but it was her father. I believe two wrong don't make a right. Her father did deverse to punish through. I really like this book, I just wish that Bailtomore didn't get caught up with the white girl. Strong characters and an excellent plot.