Moonrise Over New Jessup by Jamila Minnicks

Alice is on the run in Alabama headed to Chicago to search for her older sister and not at all certain how or when she will get there. A chance bus stop leads her to a welcoming town where everyone shares the same skin color and missing are the back entrances, not welcome signs and separate and not equal issues of her past. She falls in love with the town and soon with a son from a founding father making New Jessup her home. Alice is still eager to find her sister but is more focused on her new home and caring for her family. It would be paradise if not for the secrets of clandestine activities her husband and friends are involved in and the ever present threat of messing up their hard fought independence from the town on the other side of the woods. A quiet but profound look at the beginnings of Civil Rights and the less talked about issues of chosen segregation as seen through the eyes of a woman yearning to escape the violence and heartbreak of her youth. Fans of THE VANISHING HALF as well as books about Greenwood and other all black communities will enjoy.  4 stars