The Yellow Rose of Texas: The Song, the Legend and Emily D. West

By Lora-Marie Bernard

A journalist searches for the truth behind the traditional folk song, and a free black woman’s role in the Texas Revolution.

The legend of the Yellow Rose of Texas holds an indisputable place in Lone Star culture, tethered to a familiar song that has served as a Civil War marching tune, a pop chart staple, and a halftime anthem. Almost two centuries of Texas mythmaking successfully muddled fact with fable in song, and the true story of Emily D. West remains mired in dispute and unrecognizable beneath the tales that grew up around it.

The complete truth may never be recovered, but in this book Lora-Marie Bernard seeks an honest account honoring the grit and determination that brought a free black woman from the abolitionist riots of Connecticut to the thick of a bloody Texas revolution. A Lone Star native who grew up immersed in the Yellow Rose legend, Bernard also traces other stories that legend has obscured, including the connection between Emily D. West and plans for a free black colony in Texas.

Includes illustrations

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Jan 20, 2020
• ISBN: 9781439668832

Lora-Marie Bernard

Called one of the state's best storytellers by Texana Reads, Lora-Marie Bernard has written several books for The History Press, including The Yellow Rose of Texas: The Song, The Legend & Emily D. West , The Counterfeit Prince of Old Texas: Swindling Slaver Monroe Edwards and Lower Brazos River Canals . She is a coauthor of Houston Center: Vision to Excellence (Green Oaks Publishing). Early in her career, she won the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award and has continued to receive numerous accolades for her public affairs and investigative reporting. A former vice-president for the Southeast Texas Museum Association, she currently serves as an international corporate board member for the Alumnae-Network for Harvard Women.

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