Zenetta Henchman lives in the small rural town of Buzzardville, Alabama, in the early 1990s. Like many small Southern towns, its residents are caught between the old-time ways of segregation and the more modern ways of integration.
When Zenetta experiences firsthand the dark side of the racial conflicts that bubble beneath the surface of her hometown, she chooses to keep silent out of fear for her family. The Price We Pay dives into the steep price her friends, her family, and even her community pay for that silence.
In what is being called a modern-era version of To Kill a Mockingbird told from a Black perspective, Nikki T. Anthony’s novel paints a painfully accurate picture of the challenges faced by many Black Americans today. Going a step further, it challenges all sides to examine the way their own silence contributes to this picture.
The reasons for that silence are many times the same as Zenetta’s: fear. Fear of not being heard. Fear that we’ll cause problems for ourselves or our families if we speak up.
Unfortunately, as in Zenetta’s case, the silence that we thought would protect us and those we love often becomes the instrument through which people are hurt. It can seem easier to stay silent than it is to speak up, but it isn’t safer.
Too often that silence becomes toxic. It leads to bottled-up anger that explodes out onto innocent people. That’s why we are committed to crowdfunding a movement that encourages people to engage in the conversations that can dispel the misunderstandings and equip Americans on all fronts to enter into open and honest conversations around the issues that matter most.
To discover more about Nikki T. Anthony, her book, and Path To Publishing’s novel approach to changing the conversation around race relations, visit our crowdfunding campaign’s page at https://ptppress.com/taking-a-novel-approach-to-change. Sign up to #JoinTheConversation.
You can also visit www.ptppress.com to learn more about Path To Publishing’s traditional publishing imprint.