BLACK PEOPLE - ON WHITE BLOCKS

“Black People: on White Blocks” is a riveting story revolving around an interracial friendship as seen through the eyes of Jannie Johnson, a Caucasian child born and raised in a low-income area on the South Side of Chicago, in a section of the city where poor white people felt superior to the Black Race and real estate investors feared the rise of the Negro. Jannie, rescued from a death at birth, insists she was born magically and her belief instills a sense of bravery that enables her to secretly befriend Shanice Ellis, a Black child bused to her white block school in the name of integration. All’s well until a turncoat, elected by homeowners to preserve their neighborhoods, sells property to African Americans. A rush begins for white folks to salvage home equity, compelling them to sell low. The housing crisis brings Jannie’s bonding with Shanice out into the open, an act that shakes the foundation of her family, but not her loyalty to Shanice. White people flee the city, however, Jannie’s parents become entangled in a different scenario, the secrets of which are revealed decades later when Jannie and Shanice’ lives are again woven together and Jannie is swept into incredible events that unearth the inhuman truths of racism, greed and subjugation that lead to our present day “where black blood lines the streets” and where Shanice life once more twists away from Jannie and then back for a powerful and miraculous conclusion.