Leon’s Story by Leon Walter Tillage Collage art by Susan L. Roth

Leon’s Story by Leon Walter Tillage Collage art by Susan L. Roth

This book is a narrative story of Leon Tillage's life and the hardships that he encounters being an African American in the South. When I was reading the story, I felt very connected to Leon and had no idea the type of things that African Americans had to deal with during this time. I was appauled by the way people acted and thought in these days. I found myself tearing up in many parts of the story.

The biggest shock that I had in this story was when Leon's father died. I cannot believe that people would just run over other people like African Americans had no feelings. Then, the next day when the father of the boy acted like it was not a big deal at all, I was even more surprised and disturbed. I can't imagine what it would feel like to be helpless and watch my father get run over by a car. I have so much respect for Leon and his family by staying calm in this situation and dealing with his father's death with such understanding. I know that if I was in that situation I would want revenge or be very angry with the white people.

Finally, I was impressed with how courageous he was when he grew up. Even through all of his hardships growing up, he still fought for his rights by marching in front of the mayor's house. It was absolutely awful to hear about the way the white people would throw things and hurt the African Americans. It was even worse to hear about the police watching it happen in front of their eyes. I was so happy to hear that all of their hard work and protesting paid off when the mayor brought in the National Guard at the end of the book.

Overall, this book was very moving and I loved every page of it. I have a new respect for African Americans and a better understanding of the history of our country. I am glad that times have changed and that people are able to respect different races in our country. It was also interesting to read the pages in the book after the story to learn that Leon still has no hard feelings and realizes that he can only learn from the experiences and that being angry about it will do no one any good. This book and Leon are very inspiring to me.