The Golden
Cadillac
by Mildred D. Taylor
Taylor,
M.D. (1987). The Golden Cadillac. New
York, NY: Dial Books.
Multicultural
Literature; Historical Fiction
The Golden Cadillac is an amazing book that illustrates the segregation and discrimination that took place in the South back in late 1800's and early to mid 1900's. 'Lois, the young girl and main character in the book, is excited when her father comes home with a brand new gold Cadillac, even though her mother was very upset about it. The family lived up north in the state of Ohio, and her father was very proud of his decision with purchasing the vehicle. The family took a trip down South to visit family members in the new gold Cadillac. Back in those days, a black person driving a brand new Cadillac down South was almost unheard of. With the discrimination so challenging there, the family was stopped and questioned based on the fact that it was a black man driving the nice car in the South. The father ultimately decided to get rid of the car when the family returned back to Ohio, not wanting to cause any problems that would disconnect their family.
This book has many underlying concepts including discrimination, segregation threw the Jim Crow Laws, and Civil Rights. I've seen fifth graders reading this book and questioning the negative actions that took place throughout. I would love to have my students read this book and discuss what happened and analyze why those things happened. I would also want them to look at the types of discrimination happening back in those times and the targeted groups, comparing it to the types of discrimination and targeted groups of this day and age. I believe students can and will have a deep and meaningful discussion centered around this book and the issues highlighted in this book.
The Golden Cadillac is an amazing book that illustrates the segregation and discrimination that took place in the South back in late 1800's and early to mid 1900's. 'Lois, the young girl and main character in the book, is excited when her father comes home with a brand new gold Cadillac, even though her mother was very upset about it. The family lived up north in the state of Ohio, and her father was very proud of his decision with purchasing the vehicle. The family took a trip down South to visit family members in the new gold Cadillac. Back in those days, a black person driving a brand new Cadillac down South was almost unheard of. With the discrimination so challenging there, the family was stopped and questioned based on the fact that it was a black man driving the nice car in the South. The father ultimately decided to get rid of the car when the family returned back to Ohio, not wanting to cause any problems that would disconnect their family.
This book has many underlying concepts including discrimination, segregation threw the Jim Crow Laws, and Civil Rights. I've seen fifth graders reading this book and questioning the negative actions that took place throughout. I would love to have my students read this book and discuss what happened and analyze why those things happened. I would also want them to look at the types of discrimination happening back in those times and the targeted groups, comparing it to the types of discrimination and targeted groups of this day and age. I believe students can and will have a deep and meaningful discussion centered around this book and the issues highlighted in this book.
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