The Black and White House

By Robert James Bridge

THE BLACK AND WHITE HOUSE.
Racism and Terrorism ,two words that were to remain in the hearts and minds of many people.Although it has to be said by the time Joshua Jenks was born Racism had been almost eradicated and folks were living in harmony until Terrorism reared its ugly head and the fear factor returned!.
Joshua Jenks was born into a poor coloured family in Memphis, poor family that found themselves somewhat better off than most folks when his mother and father gained employment with a local rich white family who had inherited a whisky company in Scotland.Big Sam McLeod and his wife Julia had a daughter the same age as Joshua ,but it was a son they longed for and Julia insisted she was too old to have another child.So Joshua was taken under the wing of the McLeod family and given an education the envy of his friends. As Joshua and the Mcleods daughter grew closer and closer as they both got older ,it came about that a vacancy for Senator came up and even after big Sams suggestion Joshua insisted he was far too young at the age of twenty to even think about applying,but big Sam insisted Josh put his name forward?. To his surprise and shock Joshua Jenks was voted in as Senator for Memphis, a job he never thought possible.Ths is where Joshua faces a small amount of resentment as he entered the Senate. But this was only the start of a life he never dreamed of. Review recieved today from https://bookreviewuniverse.com/the-black-and-white-house-by-robert-james-bridge/

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert James Bridge
• Release date: Feb 14, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463157602

Robert James Bridge

The Black and White House has been reviewed by [e-mail] and a small section is attached to this intro!. Just been informed A Bolt From The Blue-The Halifax Explosion is to be published alongside Sealed With A Loving Kiss and The Black and White House at penitpublications.com or https://www.smashwords.com/ I am a prolific author of many books, books that may never see the light of day or indeed get published, but I love what I do and that gives me the hope that one day I see one of books in the stores. I do not write one specific area, infact my books are mostly diverse for instance. A Bolt From The Blue is historical fiction woven around a true story.A story that has mostly been erased through the sands of time . Un coup de bleu L'explosion de Halifax Available at penitpublications.com A Bolt From The Blue-The Halifax Explosion . The bells ring out in Halifax Nova Scotia Canada each and every year on December 6th at 9am to remind folks of the tragedy that happened in 1917 when two ammunition ships collided in the Harbour of Halifax and Dartmouth. A tragedy that took almost 2,000 lives. Kinmel Revisited is another of historical fiction woven once again around the fascinating story of the Kinmel Camp Riot in 1919 in North Wales. This book is also available at penitpublications or blazingheartpublishing.com The Black and White House is a on the edge nail biting thriller that will leave readers maybe thirsting for more of the same as Joshua Jenks a poor coloured boy from Memphis goes on to defy the odds by becoming a Senator and this is where his troubles begin!. At this stage I would like to introduce adult readers to my series of adult fictional crime. I say adult simply because each book contains explicit references suitable for adults. I have four books in the series and the first is now on Smashwords entitled Hell Bent on Murder,followed by Hell Bent on Revenge and if this has wetted your appetite then to come shortly is Hell Bent on Corruption followed by Hell Bent on Blackmail, all featuring ex met cop turned private eye Jim Bent. It is my hope one day to continue with Hell Bent on Collaboration, but at this juncture please by all means read of Jim Bent and his adventures when he leaves the met after fifteen years and takes on the role of a private eye.If you have enjoyed the first two in my series then Hell Bent on Corruption and Hell Bent on Blackmail will leave you thirsting for mor...

Book preview

The Black and White House.

BY

Robert James Bridge.

CHAPTER 1

Racism and Terrorism, two words that were to strike fear into the hearts and minds for many many years. Spreading like a cancer they were to be the most forthright two words on folks minds and Memphis had its fair share of racism that the Jenks household were well aware of. This was of course before my arrival but some of the stories I heard made me feel sick!.But please allow me to take you back to 1950 and slavery was almost non existant at last folks were able to live together even though Joshua found the odd occasion when his colour was to hold him back!. With three brothers and two sisters the Jenks household was in every sense overcrowded but happy.

Many times as Joshua got older he wondered how his mother managed ,but she had lived through a generation that faced up to racism and this made her a very strong women. From Joshua’s early days he knew life was to be one long struggle and although he had three brothers and two sisters he was to be the one his folks pushed hard to gain an education, even though they could not afford it they would buy books for him to study.

Even though he had younger siblings and was the oldest in the family he could be seen coming home from school with a black eye and each time it happened his mother would ask how it happened?. to which Joshua would reply I fell on the sidewalk . So it went straight to your eye? she would reply with a sly grin Ok son if you say so, you fell on the sidewalk and it went straight in your eye?.

We were kind of lucky as a coloured family since my father Johnathon and my mother Mary had both managed to obtain employment with a local rich white family who lived in a large house on the outskirts of the town , we only knew them as the master and his wife but that was soon to change as they insisted we call them Sam and Juli You call me Sam, Johnathon I am not your master and you are not my slave. Sam Mcleod had Scottish connections and had inherited a fortune from his father who owned a large brewery in scotland. His wife Julia had given birth to a daughter called Jilly who was almost the same age as myself. My father was infact a very sick man but was employed as Sam’s butler gardener and general help whilst my mother became a constant companion to his wife and daughter thanks to them we always had food on the table.

Mr Sam told my father to bring us children up to the house since his daughter was lonely and in need of other children to play with.That day was to be one I would never forget as my eyes and my brothers never left Jilly. Sam said he had an announcement to make and it kind of shook us all as he said, Mary we would like to offer you the job of housekeeper and nanny if you agree of course?. My mother felt tears in her eyes as she replied, I would glady accept your kind offer but will the maids and the staff object?. . Nonsense Sam replied you have earned that promotion Mary and along with it of course you would be paid extra money.

I understand you have your own large family to look after and of course Johnathon is a sick man , but Julia insisted you get the job so lets celibrate by all of us except the children having a glass of my Scotch Whiskey which is brewed in my very own distillery in Scotland?". Since Jilly and I were about the same age we could be seen playing together on the Mcleods lawn whilst my mother and father attended to thier chores. At that time I was completely unaware of the color of my skin since it was not an issue ,but it soon became apparent that the white folks did not like the idea of Jilly and I getting close.

We became like brother and sister forming a bond that we hoped would last forever, as we both approached out Fifteenth birthdays I found myself looking at Jilly in a different light, and it was during a kiss on the cheeks we both seemed to realise we wanted more , It was about this time I got a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach a nice feeling but one I was unable to explain! It soon became apparent my mother and father were aging fast and were more and more insistant that I study. My mother came home one day with what looked like a large book and as she lay it on the table she said, joshua I got this book for you and I want you to study it since it is of American history and you should be reading of our past and how slavery was completely abolished?. Boy I thought " Just what I need whilst my friends are out playing? but after reading the first chapter I found myself engrossed in its content infact it became clear to me that the Indian nations were persecuted long before us coloureds and it struck me at that time why we did not have that many of my own coloured folk in the Senate?.The book was by some guy called Martin Luther King?.

My descision to stay on at school, even though I kind of knew my mother needed the extra money was a descision I found easy since I knew I had fallen in love with Jilly and another reason was she was seeing a senior white boy who was tipped for higher things, a white boy I envied because of his looks and money!. Tragedy hit our family when my father was brought home by mr Sam and taken to his bed in a lot of pain. The doctor said it was something called Cancer and that he had only a short while to live. As my mother returned from the bedroom with tears in her eyes I asked her what this Cancer thing was and she replied Joshua you are the eldest so maybe you best tell your brothers and sisters its an illness we have no cure for and the lord has decided its his time ?, please understand there is no cure for what your father has, perhaps one day they will find a cure?.

The next six months would remain with me for the rest of my life as the pain my father endured got worse and worse. His weight went down ,and each time my mother would try and feed him he would be violently sick and we would take turns to read from the Bible,this was until the day my brother Mark came out of the room holding his head.As I reached the room I saw my mother place her hand over his eyes saying "lord take care of this