Leon's Story

 Leon's Story

Leon Walter Tillage

 Do you ever wonder what it would be like to walk in the shoes of an African American person during the 1930’s and dealing with their struggles? In Leon’s Story, Leon Walter Tillage straps his shoes on our feet for his autobiography and allows us to walk more than a few miles in his shoes.

                Leon begins his autobiography in his childhood when him and his family lived on a farm In North Carolina. They would pay rent for the land through the crops that they grew. Leon, even as a child, depicts his life as one where white people do not want black people to succeed. He talks about his relationship with the owner of the land, Mr. Johnson, and how Mr. Johnson would see Leon accompany him along for an errand as an insult. Leon also discusses his close encounters with Klansmen and how nightly he would be terrorized. As the book progresses, Leon reaches his teen years. By this time he is a teenager and equal rights are starting to be promoted for every race. By the end of the book, Leon leaves the reader during his moments of protesting, painting a picture of endurance as him and the community marched.

                This story is based on fact, especially concerning the marches that Leon attended. He speaks of his own life and how it is relevant to a major historical point in America. The author provides great detail into incidents that occurred to him. He does not dive as deep with character descriptions and setting but his ability to write detailed actions allows the reader to paint a more vivid picture of the people and places. Overall, it is hard to state if every incident truly occurred with correct details in this book because it is mainly what the author can say what happened. There is no way to find out if every little occurrence is true because this is the life of an everyday man in his own words. However, the author’s voice seems to have a tone of remembering events rather than telling a story.

                The MA Curriculum Frameworks that would apply would be 13.11 Distinguish fact from opinion or fiction. And 13.12 Summarize main ideas and supporting details.