Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Library Review by Kimberlyn McKoy Staff Member. Harlem's best-kept secrets! Reid's spunky account of his young life throughout sixties Harlem is an immensely enjoyable read. The detailed descriptions of characters, places, and situations that he encountered make his story that much more real. It is a colorful story of family, community, and the inevitably complex social constructs that have risen from the history of America. Everyone knows something about Harlem, but this book will make you see the city with brand new eyes! NAACP Mid-Manhattan Black History Month and Readers Favorite International Book Award 5-Star book.
Reid's first book was a work of literary genius, full of humor, which pushed the envelope. Harlem Bible is a delightfully unique and exceedingly enjoyable book. Grant reminiscences about a time of innocence growing up in Harlem and the suburbs of New York. The author weaves through his past with flashbacks and timelines assembled and chock full of fascinating circumstances of yesteryear. The impetus behind the Harlem Bible came from the author's angst as his beloved Harlem neighborhood became gentrified. With gentrification came newcomers who distorted and misrepresented the historical descriptions of his community. Grant took it personally when condescending intruders flooded onto his beloved streets and defined Harlem's glorious past to suit their one-sided cravings. Reid watched as many authentic Harlemites passed away, taking their tales with them to their hereafters. He chose to do something about it, and thus, he wrote the Harlem Bible.
Harlem Bible arranges the groundwork with corroborated verifiable information and then discharges it with reflections for the benefit of the readers. Please don't perceive the Harlem Bible with the usual pasteurized half-stepping Negro books with no basis. If you want to understand the hidden black culture that most colored people won't admit to, then this book is for you.
Harlem Bible is a look through Grant's life with his family, friends, associates, and adversaries. We follow little Grant, a student bussed to an all-white public school in the Bronx. While there, he discovers for the first time what it's like to be a black boy when white students call him Nigger. We find out the author's reaction when he goes to a black summer camp, and the "It" girl asks him for a dance. What happens to the young author when he sneaks into Jimi Hendrix's limousine without authorization? Discover what happens when the author looks into the mirror and mistakenly concludes that "he ain't got one scintilla of talent" himself. Laugh with and at him as he attempts and nosedives downward when he wants to become a black hippie. What happens when Grant visits the mixed-race Negro hillbillies called Jackson Whites and believes they want to make him their main dinner course? The Harlem Bible journeys in a world of jazz, rhythm & and blues, soul music, rock and roll, and celebrities. Take a breathtaking gallop into this world of upwardly mobile African Americans, original uptown hangouts, riots, romance, civil rights, and the underworld as this innocent young man tries to acquire a fair and equal education. The gangsters, ministers, stars, and potpourri harebrained, zany characters. Unique Vintage "Jimi Hendrix Play's Harlem" photographs.