Growing Roses

Endemic abuses of power cannot be relegated to only being of the past. Racism still has a major impact on the life chances for people of colour and the fight for liberty is far from over. This story begins in South Carolina at the turn of the nineteenth century, where increased racial atrocities force young Rose and her family to flee. They move north to Harlem but within a year disaster strikes and her mother is dead. Ten years later, her father is brutally murdered in a racially motivated attack. Rose tells of her experiences in the 1920's and 30's at the infamous 'Cotton Club' and of how she gained insight into the criminal underworld there. She actively played her part in the period known as the 'Harlem Renaissance' and became a local activist. Shunning the ideals of enforced segregation that existed in America during her lifetime, she promoted the rights of people of colour to be able to access formal education and a reasonable standard of living. Rose often had to dig deep to find her inner compassion in a world that seemed so full of hate. A true survivor and upon coming face to face with racism, she challenged it head on.This is a fictitious story that is set in real time America, that aims to highlight that racism is never OK. Many women are likely to relate to Rose as they strive on a day to day basis to be who they are, without the fear of racial prejudice and also, sexism. Unfortunately both are still prevalent in Western Society, if not indeed the whole world. A world that is waiting for more Roses to grow so they can actively tackle these elements of endemic inequality.