 | Elizabeth and Hazel Subjects: Eckford Elizabeth 1941–; Massery Hazel Bryan 1942–; School integration -- Arkansas -- Little Rock -- History -- 20th century; Central High School (Little Rock Ark.) -- History -- 20th century; Interracial friendship -- Arkansas -- Little Rock; Little; Who were the two fifteen-year-old girls from Little Rock--one black, one white--in one of the most unforgettable photographs of the civil rights era? In this gripping book, David Margolick tells the remarkable story of two separate lives unexpectedly braided together. He explores how the haunting picture of Elizabeth and Hazel came to be taken, its significance in the wider world, and why, for the next half-century, neither woman has ever escaped from its long shadow. He recounts Elizabeth's struggle to overcome the trauma of her hate-filled school experience, and Hazel's long efforts to atone for a fateful, horrible mistake. The book follows the painful journey of the two as they progress from apology to forgiveness to reconciliation and, amazingly, to friendship. This friendship foundered, then collapsed--perhaps inevitably--over the same fissures and misunderstandings that continue to permeate American race relations more than half a century after the unforgettable photograph at Little Rock. And yet, as Margolick explains, a bond between Elizabeth and Hazel, silent but complex, endures. David Margolick is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and a frequent contributor to the New York Times Book Review. |
