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NORTH CAROLINA L I T E R A R Y R E V I E W
Fall 2023
be the case, and it isn’t. The remainder of the story details Henry’s encounters with the many teachers, school staff, students, and cousins, all of whom know – or are – his “people,” which quickly solidifies his deep, immediate connection to the Robeson County Lumbee community and puts Henry increasingly at ease. Hunt includes names in the story that are familiar to all Lumbee people, including Henry’s teachers, Ms. Locklear (who may or may not be related to the Locklears of Locklear’s Collards in Locklear and Pacheco’s book) and Ms. Oxendine. The janitor, Mr. Sam, tells Henry he knew Henry’s Grandma Hazel (who “sewed the finest quilts”), his Grandpa Jerry (who “made the best cornbread”), and that once a long long time ago, I took your Aunt Rhoda on a date.
ARTWORK ©2020 BY BEA BRAYBOY
But please don’t tell your Uncle Earl, boy, he might kill me out. But son, it’s sure good to see you. You’ll do good here, I have no doubt.
Aunt Rhoda, Hunt told me, is named in honor of Henry Berry Lowry’s wife, Rhoda Lowry, another historical reference Lumbee people will recognize.11 In this scene with Mr. Jim and Henry, illustrator Bea Brayboy depicts Mr. Sam talking to Henry while mopping the school hallway. The illustration is framed on two sides by four thought clouds with scenes of Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Rhoda and Mr. Sam on a date at the Pembroke McDonald’s, and Aunt Rhoda with Uncle Earl, his weightlifting biceps bulging, letting readers know that Mr. Sam has a point about keeping his long-ago date with Aunt Rhoda a secret. These image clouds are not directly connected (as thought bubbles often are by a succession of smaller bubbles) to either Mr. Sam or Henry, making readers wonder whether these are Mr. Sam’s memories or Henry’s imaginings of what Mr. Sam is describing. That these images are likely both is an effective visual device for strengthening the growing ecosystem of relationships we see Henry coming to understand as he learns who his people are. The last page of Henry’s story shows his nuclear family, Lumbee historical figures, and the new relatives and friends he met at school that day in an arch behind his smiling, blue-eyed face. He is “so amazed” reflecting on his day, thinking to himself, “these really are my people, / they know me and I know them.” Like Locklear and Pacheco, Hunt’s book emerged to address a lack of representation – and also out of personal academic frustration. Hunt recalls “a very specific moment” that spurred her to write the book. She explains that “I actually had to write it because I took
These image clouds are not directly connected (as thought bubbles often are by a succession of smaller bubbles) to either Mr. Sam or Henry, making readers wonder whether these are Mr. Sam’s memories or Henry’s imaginings of what Mr. Sam is describing.
ABOVE Mr. Sam and Henry,
illustrated by Bea Brayboy for Whoz Ya People?
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Personal interview with Brittany Hunt, 3 Jan. 2022; all unattributed quotations from the author are from this interview. See Lowery, The Lumbee Indians for details about Henry Berry Lowry’s reputation, resistance to conscription, and the formation of the Lowry Gang.