Author and longtime seasonal resident Kevin Parham launches us into the harsh world of racism at the very beginning of his new novel, “Orange Line to Forest Hills.” It’s 1949, and 15-year-old Sadie Mae watches her father die by lynching by the KKK, hung for a crime he didn’t commit in Henderson, N.C. While it may be a challenging choice to start a book, it sets the stage for Sadie Mae’s journey of resilience.
Sadie Mae’s mother sends her to Boston to live with close family friends, affectionately referred to as Aunt Minnie and Uncle Roy. Sadie Mae doesn’t want to go, but her mother insists, “The South is a cruel and unforgiving place, Sadie Mae. It’s fraught with racism and hatred. Your Papa was murdered for no other reason than being Negro … You could do great things in life. You’re intelligent, beautiful, and, at times, a little sassy, but you’ve got what it takes.”
We follow Sadie up north to West Medford, the first Black community in Massachusetts. But Aunt Minnie warns Sadie Mae that the North isn’t a haven devoid of racism or danger. “In the South, you know exactly where you stand, and what most white folks think of you. But here in the North, you must be careful, because you’ll find that people will say one thing, but their actions contradict the words,” Aunt Minnie tells Sadie Mae, adding that she will have to feel it to understand it.
We keep following Sadie Mae’s journey as she navigates Northern racism — from dangerously overt to unsettlingly subtle — when she enters high school and becomes close friends with two girls: Stacey, who is Black, and Sophia, who is of Italian heritage. From the beginning, Sadie Mae reveals her indomitable spirit. When Stacey tells Sadie Mae she’ll get used to whites being prejudiced, she responds, “I refuse to accept that mindset, Stacey. I have too much self-worth to simply acquiesce to the demands of others, regardless of what color they happen to be.”
As the years go by, the girls, who are bonded by their love for one another, have to navigate peer pressure, their family’s expectations and attitudes, hostility at school, and summer jobs. As the back blurb says, “When relationships across racial lines begin to draw unwanted attention, the friends are forced to confront a society determined to keep them apart. Each choice they make carries consequences, not just for themselves, but for those they care about.”
The steadfast support and wise counsel of Aunt Minnie, Uncle Roy, and her mother help shape Sadie Mae’s moral compass and inner strength as she navigates the challenges of teenage life, and pursues her dream of becoming a doctor. Although “Orange Line to Forest Hills” is fiction, Parham creates a character who carries a message that extends beyond the story on the page. He writes in the novel, “Sadie Mae’s accomplishments served as a blueprint for others as to what was possible — regardless of what they were conditioned to believe, or conditioned to accept — specifically, the limitations and exclusions that the ‘haves’ levied on the ‘have-nots.’ This seemingly insurmountable barrier can be overcome by believing in oneself and working hard to achieve things that poor people are deprived of to this day.”
Parham’s family’s connection to the Vineyard began in 1938, and he started coming in summer as a child. The Island actually shows up briefly in the novel, but its primary setting is West Medford, where Parham grew up. Speaking of his title, he says, “I use the Orange Line as a metaphor throughout the story. The actual train line is a living bridge between the fractured social, racial, and economic neighborhoods in the Boston area during the 1950s and 1960s. It also represents motion and connection — the physical reality of crossing boundaries in a divided city.”
Asked what inspired the novel, Parham says, “I always wanted to write a deeply personal story about ambition, displacement, and resilience. I found no better way to do that than through a teenage Black female protagonist who grew up poor on a farm in the South and was sent up North to overcome barriers we still see today. I wanted to juxtapose what’s happening not only politically but socially in this country. Things have changed, but things really haven’t changed.”
Parham adds, “I want readers to walk away with not only the history that’s in the story — the time and place, but also the fact that no matter what your challenges or circumstances are, there are ways you can overcome them. If you persevere, you can be successful, and no matter what it is you want, no matter what your gender or race is, you can achieve your goals.”
“Orange Line to Forest Hills” by Kevin Parham, available at Edgartown Books and Bunch of Grapes.
