Southern Crosses: a novel set in the Jim Crow south

Growing up in Tallahassee, Florida in the 1950s, Toolie suffers at the hands of the whites, but also at the hands of her own people, due to her mixed heritage. With black musical artists becoming all the rage, even with white folks, the talented girl hopes to escape to a better life through her singing.

The mystery of her parentage haunts her, but her family will not reveal the secrets of her birth. Toolie makes friends with Hedy, a spirited white girl, when she goes to work for the girl's wealthy father. The ties between the two turn out to be deeper than either could have ever imagined when Hedy discovers the shocking secret behind her mother's death.

Toolie's story revolves around historical events that unfolded in Tallahassee, Florida in the 1950's, including the Bus Boycott of 1956-57, inspired by Rosa Parks.

The relationships in the book show that despite the prejudicial attitudes of their elders, people of all races can indeed live together in friendship and harmony. The story also serves to illustrate, by contrast, the great strides that have been made in America since the days of Jim Crow.