Randall Robinson (1941–2023)

Makeda tells the story of an African-American man who becomes increasingly interested in his roots to Africa, especially in regards to stories told to him by his grandmother. He eventually travels to Mali to uncover the truth behind the incredible stories. Along the way we learn about the oppression of African Americans in the US in the 1960s and the depth of separation from their African ancestry. The book is sprinkled with historical facts about Africa, including the prideful history of show more the Ethiopian civilization and the ahead-of-their-time planetary knowledge of the Dogon people of Mali. At times the writing is overly tedious, but it picks up in the second half and is much more enjoyable. This is a great read for those interested in the ancestral history of African Americans and learning more about other cultures. show less

A beautifully conceived novel with two main characters: a young black man coming of age in the south during the civil rights movement and his blind grandmother - a woman who worked all her life as a laundress for white families but wears breathtakingly bright African-inspired muumuus at home. Makeda has another secret - she dreams in color even though her world has been without since she was born. She also dreams of past lives and shares these only with Gray.

Gray is a troubled young man. He show more seems to not understand his mother, feels inferior to his achieving brother, and is ostracized from his father. More than once he states that Makeda is the closest person to him and most like a mother. Obviously, it is through the woman that lives in the dark that Gray will learn to allow color and life into his "gray" world.

The pace of revelations from Makeda to Gray were done with skill and kept me hanging on to see what else we would learn about her past lives. Gray researches these as he goes and Robinson weaves some historical facts into Makeda's dreams and lives. While learning a great deal about African history, Robinson never came across as hard-fisted with his facts.

The cover of the book states that it is "part coming-of-age, part love story and part spiritual journey". I think Robinson's only downfall in this book was being a bit over-zealous in attempting to do justice to each of these three parts. Yes, it is a spiritual journey and I believe this is where Robinson shines the most and puts the bulk of his effort. He also does justice to Gray's coming of age story - mostly through his spiritual journey. However, I felt the love story had the most holes left to fill. Jeanne's character was not as developed as I would have liked to have seen and because of Gray's journey toward spiritual and emotional maturity, the richness of the love story was not there as I read it. It seemed more of an aside to me. I would have also liked to see Gray's father developed more fully.

Makeda herself was an incredible character and someone I found myself wishing I could spend a Thursday afternoon sitting in the parlor listening to her tell her colorful stories. show less

Randall Robinson fairly describes the legatic shadow of racist defamation: "No nation can enslave a race of people for hundreds of years, set them free bedraggled and penniless, pit them, without assistance in a hostile environment, against privileged victimizers, and then reasonably expect the gap between the heirs of the two groups to narrow. Lines, begun parallel and left alone, can never touch." [74]

This book is beautifully written and thought-provoking, an interesting read that entertains with an excellent use of visual imagery. Robinson's writing is steady and engaging, and I enjoyed the questions and possibilities that his novel suggests.