Rachel Eliza Griffiths' "Promise": Racism as a Legacy

"In our families, we can pass on suffering, just as we pass on life." The words of Ginny, Hyacinth and Ezra's grandmother, could sum up the first novel by poet and artist Rachel Eliza Griffiths, married to Salman Rushdie . From generation to generation, the Kindreds have been victims of racism and segregation in the United States. The resulting traumas form a painful legacy. The parents of the two young girls tried to stop the spiral in the 1950s by leaving their hometown for the state of Maine, further north. There they found a community that was suspicious of them but at least not violent. The father was able to teach at the high school and his daughters attended classes alongside the white students, including Ruby, a friend