Writer Continues Literary Legacy

By Genoa Barrow | OBSERVER SENIOR STAFF WRITER

When most folks hit retirement age they set their sights on travel and all things remotely relaxing.

Dr. Ruth Graham Siegrist, however, has devoted her golden years to reviving and preserving the legacy of her late father, Dr. Lorenz Graham.

“He was one of the first African American writers to realistically portray Black life so that Americans could see that people are more alike than unlike, regardless of race and culture,” Siegrist said.

The Huntington Beach retiree was in Sacramento recently trying to get local bookstores to carry her father’s re-released books. Before his death in 1989, Graham published more than 20 titles. Six have been re-released in the last 10 years. Siegrist writes the afterwards in the new issues.

The daughter of two writers, Ruth
Graham Siegrist is spending her
"golden years" preserving the
legacy of her late father's, Dr.
Lorenz Graham, literary work.

These re-releases include the following: "How God Fix Jonah" (1946) was republished in a special edition with new stories and a new forward written by Graham's brother-in-law W.E.B. DuBois; "Every Man Heart Lay Down" (1967) was republished in 1995; and in 2003 the "Town" series was republished, which consists of "South Town" (1958), "North town" (1962), "Whose Town?" (1971), and "Return To South Town" (1976). The Town Series were re-released by Boyds Mills Press, based in Honesdale, Penn.

Although the "Town" series was published several decades ago, Siegrist says the stories are still relevant to today's readers.

REACHING YOUTH

“Lorenz Graham’s "Town" novels are not only fascinating fiction for young people, but they contain a lot of history of the racial conflict during the mid 1900s. They are thought-provoking novels which help the young reader understand the eras of segregation, integration, the civil rights movement, and the Black power movement,” she said. “The books inspire young people to take social action and to stand up for their rights.”

Graham made a conscious decision to write for young adults.

“He realized that the field of children’s literature was lacking good books about Africans and African Americans which portrayed them in realistic, positive ways,” she said.

“Most of the books portrayed African Americans in stereotyped ways, unmotivated, lacking educational goals, lazy, derelict."

Graham felt compelled to provide America’s youth with positive images of hardworking, strong and hopeful Black people - the kind of people whom he knew very well.

Among the fans of Graham’s books is Maya Angelou, a writer and social activist in her own right.

“"South Town" and "North Town" were the bookends to a small library which I used to raise a teenage African American boy,” reads an Angelou quote on Siegrist’s Web site grahambooks.com. “The Graham books were so accessible that I noticed those were the only two books my son refused to lend out and in fact kept privately secured under his bed.”

Angelou’s son, Guy Johnson, grew up to be a writer. He has published two novels of his own, “Echoes of a Distant Summer,” and “Standing at the Scratch Line.”

TEACHING THE LEGACY

Siegrist is making an effort to reach today's youth through educators, who can access a teacher's resource section on her Web site.

“Educators are constantly looking for good literature which young people will enjoy reading and which present people of all races and cultures in a positive way,” she said.

“These books can be used in the English and literature program, also in the social studies/history/civics curriculum because of all the topics that are embedded in the novels. They also inspire positive attitudes in youth, which this generation of teenagers sorely needs.”

Graham also had an impact on his own daughter.

“As a child, I listened to stories he would tell about African children who lived their lives enjoying many of the same things American children enjoy and having many of the same emotions,” Siegrist said. “Later, when he began to write novels he let me read his manuscripts and provide him with feedback as to my reaction to the stories."

"His writings always promoted understanding and social justice among people. They inspired me to want to achieve high educational goals, to contribute to social and racial justice, and to love humanity," she said. "At the same time he rejected injustice and hatred man against man. I wanted to be like my father in many ways - to speak several languages, to travel widely and get to know other cultures, to write for children, and to speak out against injustice."

Siegrist’s mother and namesake, Ruth Graham, was also a writer.

“I am currently reviewing some of her manuscripts which were never published but may be important in understanding African Americans who were influential,” she said.

“Eventually I hope to write more about my parents’ inspiring lives as missionaries, teachers, world travelers, ambassadors for peace, and writers.”

While based in Southern California, Siegrist has strong Sacramento connections. Her maternal grandfather, Dr. Charles Satchell Morris, founded a church in Sacramento in the early 1900s. Her uncle, Dr. Charles Satchell Morris, Jr., along with her parents, was frequent visitors and speakers in churches, schools, and writers groups in the Sacramento area. Her sister Joyce Johnson is an active member of the Les Belles Artes Club. Her nephew, Ray Johnson, is a photographer for The OBSERVER.

Graham’s books are available at Carol’s Bookstore in Sacramento and in major bookstores across the country, as well as amazon.com.

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