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Born and raised in
poverty, little Maxine Carr had one thing most kids in the
1930s and 40s didn't have: she had the certainty that if she
didn't open her mouth to speak up, there'd never be any food
in it. With 13 children in the family and just an
overwhelmed mother raising them, Maxine and her siblings
scrabbled for whatever they got, and they learned to stand
up for themselves because nobody else was ever going to do
it for them.
Perhaps because of this,
Maxine was always a fighter and never let an opportunity
pass her by. She landed a job at age 13, so she could buy
her own clothing. She worked hard to graduate from high
school, knowing that an education was important. At 18, she
was married, became a mother shortly afterward, and worked
to help support her family. When she was 28 years old,
someone told her about Head Start, a program for children
who needed a boost, and she applied to be a teacher.
"Head Start changed my
life," she said later. It opened up a world for her and gave
her the opportunity to use other talents to become a
community advocate for the people of Southern California,
following the Watts riots. Her roots gave her an innate
ability to use the power of connections, which led her to
volunteer work in local politics and later, to office.
In 1976, she made the leap
to state politics with her election to the California State
Assembly. She became Maxine Waters when she re-married in
1977.
And in 1990, she became
the second Black woman to represent California and just the
sixth Black woman in the House...
Cinderella did it. So did
Andrew Carnegie. We love it when someone moves decisively
from poverty to pinnacle, and Reclaiming Her Time
tells the next story in line.
And yet, with side-bars,
lots of colorful illustrations, and enough fuss-free
slanguage to keep information accessible, authors Thomas and
Andrews-Dyer have done more than just write about
Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who they insist "is not a
celebrity" and "is not your typical politician." No, in
addition to Waters' lively and meteoric story, the authors
also fully explain how their title words fit into
Congressional hearings, firmly promising readers that
"reclaiming" is no-nonsense and not rude. This, and other
such information here makes this book like having your own
personal tour of Congress.
Younger readers will enjoy
it, as will adults who like things solidly informative but a
little on the lighter side. If that's you and you love
politics, is worth yours.
* * *
For more light reading,
check out Queens of the Resistance: Maxine Waters by
Brenda Jones & Krishan Trotman. It's a small, pocket-stuffer
book that's perfect for taking a good story on the road.
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