Mississippi

January 29, 1996
At 30, Walton, a black man raised middle-class in Illinois, found himself questioning his identity and his heritage. So he took a journey both southerly and inward, through Mississippi, where his parents grew up and where American racism has been most entrenched. His tale meanders, combining travelogue, interviews, meditation, even his own poetry (awkwardly used to punctuate sections); one section consists of a chorus of voices, including those of Faulkner, Ellison and bluesman Robert Johnson. Certain moments resonate, such as Walton's visits to a historically preserved plantation and to the Ole Miss campus, full of Confederate memorabilia. He comes to appreciate the enormous effort of his ``taciturn, often remote'' father to give his son the privileges he himself never had. Walton's conclusion: we must learn the history of Mississippi to understand America's racial dilemma. His book is one of deeply felt inquiry, but it suffers from its poor organization. Photos.