Exploring Generational Impact: Kathya Alexander's Journey Through the Civil Rights Era in debut novel “Keep A' Livin'”
Photos by Jordan Somers
Kathya Alexander stopped by "The Day With Trae" to discuss her debut novel, "Keep A' Livin'," with host Trae Holiday. Her novel was released in April 2024 by Aunt Lute Books. In addition to her remarkable achievements as an author and playwright, Kathya has received numerous awards from organizations such as 4Culture, the Office of Arts and Culture, Artist Trust, and Seattle Parks and Recreation.
“I’ve actually been a writer pretty much all my life,” Alexander said. “I have focused more on plays, and also short stories. I am a storyteller, and the novel I have been writing seems like all of my life. It's about 20 years from the time that I originally started it to the time of publication. It certainly wasn't all of a sudden decision to start writing; it's just what it has evolved into.”
"Keep A' Livin'” is set during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, in Arkansas. The Civil Rights Movement greatly influenced Alexander’s life, and it still influences her writing today.
“What I want people to understand is that I've kind of been on this mission to teach the generations coming up and current generations about the Civil Rights movement,” Alexander said. “I talk to kids in schools all the time, and I'm actually quite horrified that most people don't really understand or know any of the specifics of the most successful social justice movement that has existed in this country.”
She talks with students to teach them about Rosa Parks on the bus and Martin Luther King’s speeches. Her goal is to teach not just students but people in general about the equal rights movement and the decades of work that happened before Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King to make those moments possible.
“[The students] know about Rosa Parks, they know about Martin Luther King, but they had no context to put them in, even if they knew what slavery was,” Alexander said. “There's this huge push to get our history erased in schools. And exactly, you know, my heart mourned for 20 years that it didn't come out. But it seems like this is the perfect time that a book like this would be on the market now.”
"Keep A' Livin'" covers the critical period from 1963 to 1968, a transformative era in the American Civil Rights Movement. The book begins with the Children's Crusade of 1963, marked by iconic images of children facing police dogs and water hoses, and spans to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.
“The story is about this family. It's a coming-of-age tale about this little girl who's living during a time when everything is changing all over the country, let alone in her own family,” Alexander said.
Alexander explained that the book goes in-depth to explain significant national events, such as the murder of four little girls in a church bombing, the shootings of Meredith Matthews and Medgar Evers, while also highlighting the grassroots activism that fueled the civil rights movement across the South. The narrative provides an in-depth look at local efforts and resistance, illustrating how various communities worked to bring about change.
A key theme of the book is the divided perspectives within the Black community regarding Martin Luther King Jr.'s leadership. Through the character of Belle, a mother who is skeptical of the movement and fearful for her children's safety, Alexander portrays the internal conflicts and differing opinions that existed among African Americans. The novel sheds light on the courage of those who participated in the movement, as well as the understandable reluctance of those who chose to protect their families from potential harm.
“Because [the novel] is told from the perspective of a little girl, kids can relate to the book, and if they're hurt when she's treated mean because of her race,” Alexander said. “They can empathize in a totally different way than if they were just getting the facts.”
Learn more about Kathya Alexander and her debut novel “ Keep AʻLivinʻ” at auntlute.com.
For more on local authors you can support in Seattle, tune into Trae every weekday at 11 a.m. on all Converge Media platforms and The Day With Trae YouTube Channel.
