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Truevine

Two Brothers, a Kidnapping, and a Mother's Quest: a True Story of the Jim Crow South
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May 18, 2017PimaLib_NormS rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
“Truevine: Two Brothers, a Kidnapping, and a Mother’s Quest: A True Story of the Jim Crow South” by Beth Macy is a fascinating look at the story of George and Willie Muse, who were sideshow freaks for various carnivals and circuses from 1914 to the 1960’s. “Truevine” is not a full-on biography of the brothers, it is more the tale of a poor African-American family in the South, using the story of George and Willie as a prism. According to family lore, 9-year-old George and 6-year-old Willie were working in a tobacco field, when a white bounty hunter for a circus snatched them up and took them away. Why? The boys were albinos. Their skin was very white, they had watery blue eyes, and straw colored hair, with African-American features. In that time, they were considered freaks and the circuses were always on the lookout for the unfortunate, deformed, and unusual for their freakshows. Sounds deplorable now, but that’s the way it was then. George and Willie were told that their mother, Harriett, had died, and they were not allowed to go home or to see any family members for more than a decade. However, Harriett was not dead and her quest to find her sons is at the heart of “Truevine”. Being poor, black, and female in the 1910's and 1920's, Harriett’s options were terribly limited. But, amazingly, she persevered and the boys were reunited with their family. However, the boys had become men and things had changed. “Truevine” is an interesting, poignant, uncomfortable look at the South, race relations, and circus life a hundred years ago.