Historical novel’s modern-day echo
When New Zealander Robyn Pearce set out to write this book, she never would have expected the relevance of the story right now, with racial riots and the Black Lives Matter movement rocking America. But as she says, “People of colour in America might be free from iron shackles, but they’re still not free of injustice”.
ItHappenedonFifthStreet is based on new research and a vivid mix of fact and fiction and brings back to life a forgotten story about real people and real events who put their lives on the line every day to save others.
We ask Robyn some questions:
What inspired you to write this story? I’ve always found it easier to learn history through story. When an aunt gave me four volumes of transcribed letters she’d received from another relative, I realised they contained a story that begged a wider audience.
Joseph and Mary Ann Burnett (distant ancestors of mine) emigrated to Whanganui in 1856. One of the exciting stages of their lives, while they lived in the 1830s and 40s in the US, was the family’s deep involvement in helping slaves escape to Canada.
Were you surprised, once releasing this book, of the relevance of the story to what is happening right now? Yes. It was scarily relevant. The Black Lives Matter movement didn’t occur until this year, yet I’d begun writing three years earlier. Many believe that curse of slavery is the root cause of the current BLM movement. Sadly, there are still a significant number of people in the States infected with wrong thinking about people of colour, but let’s hope the current focus will speed up true integration.
What kind of research did you do for this book? Apart from reading the materials I’d been given, I read widely around the topic and also travelled to Cincinnati three times. I also met Carl Westmoreland, a senior historian attached to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. He said, ‘Cornelius Burnett was a friend to our people. He is not forgotten.’ Shivers went down my spine at his words. The next two visits were in 2010 and 2017, when I looked for locations the Burnetts had lived in, sought out places relevant to the Underground Railroad in the surrounding areas, and dug for details that would bring the story to life.
Based on the history of this book and what is happening right now, do you feel anything will change for people of colour in America in the near future? I believe it will continue to change, but it’s too slow. Of course things have improved since the days of slavery – America has had a black president, inter-racial marriage is legal, official segregation is illegal, and many people of colour are in positions of influence and authority. But – talk to any person of colour in the US and it’s clear there’s a long way to go.
While researching this book did anything affect you deeply? Every time I read another report of cruelty to slaves I felt the drive to get the story out. I was distressed by everything to do with racial hatred, the shocking inhumanity of many slave owners, and the fact that laws in a number of Southern states perpetuated the evil.
Are the main characters Alf and Abi based on anyone in particular? Absolutely. As close as I could get him, Alf is as I imagine the real Alfred Burnett was, based on how his mother talked about him in the family letters. Abi – well, I must admit to a small degree of autobiographical modelling. I’m certainly not 15, but I could imagine chatting to Alf, based on what I’d learnt about him and his family.
Do you have another book in the pipeline? Sure do – this current one is only the first of the Freedom Series. Almost every reviewer and reader has said, ‘What happens next?’ so Alf has two more books to feature in. Then I’ll turn to other dramatic tales of people who fought for the right to live life on their terms.