Not the whitest, says
by Justin Jest
The panel that chose The Friendly Persuasion, an account of 19th century rural Quaker life, as Indianapolis" shared reading assignment for the "One Book, One City" program has responded to criticism that the book is the "whitest" text possible. Not true, says panel spokesperson Ivory Snow. "Of the three finalists for the "One Book, One City" choice, representatives from the Mayor"s Office and library selected the book with the most multicultural resonance," Snow says. Snow would not confirm reports that the other two finalists were a compilation of Dukes of Hazzard scripts and Grete, the memoirs of a young girl who grew up in Oppdal, Norway. Meanwhile, Snow reports, The Friendly Persuasion has shown that its themes know no historical or cultural boundaries. The Martin Luther King Multi-Service Center hosted a lively discussion devoted to the book"s chapter on the travails of dealing with a particularly ornery goose, and youth at the Eastside Coleman Middle School have taken to calling each other "thee."
