The Sacred Place

A novel

Daniel Black

St. Martin's Griffin

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In the summer of 1955, fourteen-year-old Clement enters a general store in Money, Mississippi to purchase a soda.  Unaware of the consequences of flouting the rules governing black-white relations in the South, this Chicago native defies tradition, by laying a dime on the counter and turns to depart.  Miss Cuthbert, the store attendant, demands that he place the money in her hand, but he refuses, declaring, "I ain't no slave!" and exits with a sense of entitlement unknown to black people at the time.  His behavior results in his brutal murder.  This event sparks a war in Money, forcing the black community to galvanize its strength in pursuit of equality.

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Chapter One

Come on, clement!” his cousins demanded. “you ain’t got no business in dat store! Granddaddy kill you if he find out you went in there all by yo’self!”

Clement smiled at the thought of his own defiance, trying to imagine what eighty-year-old Jeremiah Johnson could possibly do to him, with one bad leg and two failing eyes. Of course a whoopin’ would hurt, he considered, but the pain was always temporal. All he wanted was a soda pop, and he didn’t understand why he couldn’t simply waltz into the General Store and get one.

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Praise for The Sacred Place

Praise for THE SACRED PLACE:

The Sacred Place is a captivating art of storytelling in a time before the Civil Rights Era. This great novel serves as a time machine, helping us revisit our past in hopes of someday reconciling our differences.”--Keith A. Beauchamp, Director/Producer, “The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till”

The Sacred Place is a work of power and depth, reminding us of a recent, painful past that too many of us have tried to forget.”--Trey Ellis, author of Platitudes

The writing is splendidly mature. It ranks among our best new story-telling. In these pages we can rediscover how to be patient with the Universe and its seeming axiom: Freedom costs!”--Jeffery Lynn Woodyard, Ph.D., Independent Scholar and Researcher

“Readers will wonder, applaud, laugh, cry, and share in those intersections where living history makes lived history not only tolerable, but impressively acceptable.”--Trudier Harris, author of Summer Snow: Reflections from a Black Daughter of the South

The Sacred Place is a magnificent illustration of the power of his imagination in which the virtues of courage, sacrifice, and, most importantly, spiritual maturity jump off every page.” -Dr. Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., author, Exodus! Religion, Race, and Nation in Early Nineteenth-Century Black America


Reviews from Goodreads

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Saysha  rated it  
Aug 12, 2008
This was my second read by Daniel Black. When he writes a book..he makes you feel what the characters feel. The Sacred Place was a historical masterpeice!

This story takes place in Money, Mississippi and starts off with a fourteen year old boy going in a store to buy a soda pop. Clement ...more
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Dani  rated it  
Mar 27, 2008
I just checked this out two days ago ... I can't put it down. It's about racial tension, which is not a topic I tend to go looking for or usually read about, but it just kind of jumped out at me.

I will say why later if I remember to get back to this... ...more
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Shaun  rated it  
Jul 17, 2009
This book is full of details that make me feel a part of this story. I feel like I received a history lesson from all the historic references. This book was very well researched. I look forward to reading more from this author. . . ...more
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About the Author

Daniel Black

DANIEL OMOTOSHO BLACK is a native of Kansas City, Kansas yet spent the majority of his childhood years in Blackwell, Arkansas. He is an associate professor at his alma mater Clark Atlanta University where he now aims to provide an example to young African Americans of the importance of self-knowledge and communal commitment. He is also the author of THEY TELL ME OF A HOME.

Daniel Black

Daniel Black

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Available Formats and Book Details

The Sacred Place
A novel
Daniel Black

Trade Paperback

Trade Paperback
St. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Griffin
July 2008
Trade Paperback
ISBN: 9780312380700
ISBN10: 0312380704
5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches, 304 pages
$15.99

Hardcover

Hardcover
St. Martin's Press
February 2007
Hardcover
ISBN: 9780312359713
ISBN10: 0312359713
6 1/8 x 9 1/4 inches, 320 pages
$23.95
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St. Martin's Griffin

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