Enslavement to
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On Marian Cannon Dornell's Poem
From Carole Ripka, September 19, 2003
I am truly moved by this poem. So many things Ms. Dornell mentions (Ma Perkins, Young Dr. Malone, Rinso, Super Suds, wringer washers, etc.) were a part of my childhood as a young white girl growing up in rural Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I also faced discrimination. I was puny, bookish and scared and was the obvious butt of all the rough and tumble farm kids. My parents were also loving and protective and, in the end, couldn't do much about my situation. I didn't know a single African-American person in the 1940's. Ms. Dornell has so effectively opened her world to me in both its similarity and difference. I don't want to minimize the difference. I grew up and became more or less indistinguishable from everyone else in the power structure. For Ms. Dornell it was not so simple. I am greatly enriched by this glimpse into her world. Thank you for publishing it.
Carole Ripka
Lamplight Bookshop