In Review of Fantasy Five by Harold Michael Harvey
I’ve seen and heard enough during the last 10 years not to be surprised by what happened in Macon, Georgia. I didn’t expect that prejudice would still be going on and getting worse rather than continuing to improve! God help us all.
I think I’m an average American. Most of us have spent our early years just trying to establish who we are and where we belong, and then, as I did, moving into a career, hoping to continue to move upward in the bureaucracy of any organization. Had I known what I know now, I would have become much more conscious of the political environment here in America. From what I’ve seen, Black Americans have not had that luxury of just being. Perhaps it was because I lived in the north and had known Black neighbors for most of that time–but I don’t even know that for sure… What I do know is that the President’s DEI activities… are…just…wrong!
In the book “Fantasy Five,” even the title was extraordinarily telling, don’t you think… Hundreds of years had gone by, and even in the year I was graduating, Black people in Macon, Georgia, and probably most of the South and even further across the nation, were continuing to fight against the bias of White people! In the next chapter, after the election was over and Black Councilmembers were finally elected into office, we, for the first time ever, can see just how underhanded people can be. Even at the same time, they talk the talk that implies that they want to work together with “all” people. Frankly, I was proud of the new Black Councilmembers, who, when given their first chance, did precisely what they had been fighting for-work for fair representation!
The issue of paved roads might, for some, seem trivial because while my memory might take me back to when not all backroads may have been paved, it was not seen as a form of bias against Black people. Yet, in the 1970s, that was the case in Macon, Georgia. And that one issue continued to be unresolved… What does that say about the political environment when White men are in the majority? And everybody else understands there is a constant struggle for the freedom the nation’s constitution guarantees all of us! When does this nonsense stop?
But not all White men are like that, thankfully… Within a very short time, when President Biden took office, he succeeded in garnering support for a major infrastructure bill to be passed, and he signed it into law!
How did we get to the point where those who have made millions based on the sweat of our brows now have control of our government? Money is their only reason to act against others. The soul of America is indeed being fought over! I have faith that God is still in control, and Truth will once again reign here in America! God’s Truth! No Lies!
My purpose in exploring sections of this one book was mainly to allow readers to realize just how long our Black neighbors have been forced to fight for everything! History must not go backward! I have purposely compared this historical presentation based on just one location, Georgia. But now, it is rampant across the nation! ALL OF US must read America’s history, including what has been done to those who were once bought and sold as slaves! And how some have retained that hate through generations… And I have to stop and remind those who try to claim that America is for the White man… that Jesus was… not White!
It was the horrible death of Eric Grander on video by a standby individual that shocked me to realize just what was happening still in America… From then on, I’ve been alert to know precisely what is happening to Black people today. Noby should accept what is being done, at least if they care about all God’s children.
Folks, I don’t know about you. Still, I’d rather watch any BLM protest, hopefully without violence, than watch White kids do drugs as occurred during that Byron Rock Festival and which continues in many White neighborhoods, including a town very near my home, which is completely taken over with drugs… Where is the outcry by White citizens about the proliferation of street drugs?
Yes, I’m upset with what is happening in America. Nobody can convince me that drugs could not be eradicated with proper police action. Yet we know that the rich “use” drugs to pull in young girls and boys with lies of success in some performance venue. We have heard about those older men who use sex as part of their control pleasure. When I heard that a Supreme Court Justice just overruled other judges and gave Trump the right to hold off payments authorized by Congress, we all must face the fact that corruption controls our government.
Our Black neighbors have been fighting, it seems forever, to have the fundamental human rights that we, as White people, have held since the beginning of our country. We also learned about what White people did to the Indigenous people who had lived in America for generations before being invaded by Europe. What makes White men, mostly, believe they are better than anybody else? What I do know is that knowing the history of what White men have done to others should have prevented where we are today. However, it has gotten worse for nearly half of the country.
Readers of all races need to wake up and look at what has been steadfastly done to our younger generations. Lies seduce them, promises that never come to fruition, given drugs, and not worrying about anything. Yeah, history and current events constantly point out these failures within America. Remember that it was Republican politicians who decided to start allowing people to call “BAN” of books that related to being “WOKE”? Give me a break! First, White people decided to confiscate the word “dope,” which was used by Blacks differently… Now, I proclaim I am indeed Woke-Only because some White man in Florida decided to try to be elected president by making a mockery of what history is all about. We were meant to continue to move forward. White men who bought the first slaves have chosen money and power over common decency toward others.
I recognize that this is more an opinion piece than a review. Having seen for yourself over the serialization of the book, I hope you have determined that this book is worth buying and adding to your home library for your use and for generations to come. We must never, never go backward!
God Help us all.
Gabby