Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • Home
    • About Us
    • Digital Subscription
    • Advertisement
    • Contact Us
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    The Tennessee TribuneThe Tennessee Tribune
    Advertise With Us
    • Home
      • COVID-19 Resource Center
        • Dr. Henry Louis Gates’ PSA Radio
      • Featured
    • News
      • State
      • Local
      • National/International News
      • Global
      • Business
        • Commentary
        • Finance
        • Local Business
      • Investigative Stories
        • Affordable Housing
        • DCS Investigation
        • Gentrification
    • Editorial
      • National Politics
      • Local News
      • Local Editorial
      • Political Editorial
      • Editorial Cartoons
      • Cycle of Shame
    • Community
      • History
      • Tennessee
        • Chattanooga
        • Clarksville
        • Knoxville
        • Memphis
      • Public Notices
      • Women
        • Let’s Talk with Ms. June
    • Education
      • College
        • American Baptist College
        • Belmont University
        • Fisk
        • HBCU
        • Meharry
        • MTSU
        • University of Tennessee
        • TSU
        • Vanderbilt
      • Elementary
      • High School
    • Lifestyle
      • Art
      • Auto
      • Tribune Travel
      • Entertainment
        • 5 Questions With
        • Books
        • Events
        • Film Review
        • Local Entertainment
      • Family
      • Food
        • Drinks
      • Health & Wellness
      • Home & Garden
      • Featured Books
    • Religion
      • National Religion
      • Local Religion
      • Obituaries
        • National Obituaries
        • Local Obituaries
      • Faith Commentary
    • Sports
      • MLB
        • Sounds
      • NBA
      • NCAA
      • NFL
        • Predators
        • Titans
      • NHL
      • Other Sports
      • Golf
      • Professional Sports
      • Sports Commentary
      • Metro Sports
    • Media
      • Video
      • Photo Galleries
      • Take 10
      • Trending With The Tribune
    • Classified
    • Obituaries
      • Local Obituaries
      • National Obituaries
    The Tennessee TribuneThe Tennessee Tribune
    Books

    “Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution”

    Terri SchlichenmeyerBy Terri SchlichenmeyerSeptember 8, 2022No Comments3 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Telegram Pinterest Tumblr Reddit Email
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email
    Advertisement

    You know this truth: The curl’s the thing.

    Short and close to your head, wound around your finger, standing tall in a pineapple, you love how your hair curls around your face, over your shoulders, and down your back. The curl’s the thing – it might even be something you’re known for – but in “Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution” by Sherri Winston, it’s a thing to get someone in trouble.

    Everything was fine before the paper airplane.

    Well, maybe it was more like fine-ish. On her first day at a new magnet school near Miami Beach, Lotus Bloom had to walk past her old school with her BFF, Rebel, who’d be staying at MacArthur. Rebel wasn’t happy that the two girls would be in different schools for the first time ever. She hated that MacArthur’s building was falling apart. Rebel couldn’t be happy that Lotus was over-the-moon happy.

    And oh, Lotus was happy! Her big dream was to play violin in a major concert hall with a full orchestra in front of a big audience. She’d been playing violin since she was four years old and music “was life” – and so when she was singled out by a celebrity teacher at her new school in the first week and she was chosen as first chair in the school orchestra, she was so excited!

    But the boy she replaced as first chair….?  Not so excited.

    In fact, ninth-grader Adolpho Cortez was angry that a twelve-year-old seventh-grader could land a position that he’d worked so hard for, an orchestra position that his parents promised him was his. And so Adolpho and his friends started hassling Lotus with paper airplanes and paper-wad bombs during orchestra class.

    Advertisement

    And this wouldn’t have been a big deal, except Lotus was rocking a monster Afro that she was proud of, and that took a lot of work – and when she complained about the harassment, the school said she had to cut her hair! How was this fair? How was this right?

    How was Lotus going to stand up for herself?

    Who remembers a time when young ladies were told to go-along and be demure? Who wants that for their own daughter? Who wants “Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution”?

    Probably you, because today’s girls are strong, and so is author Sherri Winston’s main character. Lotus Bloom is also a modern girl, a good kid, smart and proud, and her inner-world is rich with observation and the kind of wisdom that comes from being almost thirteen. This lends a nice bit of humor to the story but mostly, it’s a sort of been-there, done-that for young teens, within a road map to respectful disagreement. Bonus: the kids in this book aren’t fools, and there’s no big boy-drama inside this story.

    Parents may enjoy reading “Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution,” perhaps even along with their eleven-to-fourteen-year-old, who will love a character with guts. For any girl (or boy!) who needs a dose of bravery, it’s a book to curl up with. 

    By Sherri Winston, c.2022, Bloomsbury, 263 pages

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Terri Schlichenmeyer

    Related Posts

    Book Review: “The Battle for the Black Mind” by Karida L. Brown

    May 28, 2025

    Books about Integration, Schools & HBCUs by various authors

    March 8, 2025

    “Qualified: How Competency Checking and Race Collide at Work” by Shari Dunn

    February 24, 2025

    “Fearless and Free: A Memoir” by Josephine Baker, translated by Anam Zafar and Sophie Lewis, foreword by Ijeoma Oluo

    February 9, 2025

    Black History Month books for Kids by various authors and illustrators

    February 1, 2025

    Slavery after Slavery Book review

    January 20, 2025

    Comments are closed.

    Advertisement
    Business

    Sprouts Farmers Market Hosts Hiring Event Ahead of Mt. Juliet Opening

    August 28, 2025

    NBCC MINORITY BUSINESS OF THE WEEK: Flying Dress

    August 20, 2025

    Toon appointed new role at MMCV

    August 16, 2025
    1 2 3 … 386 Next
    Education
    Education

    MNPS hits milestone

    By adminSeptember 2, 2025

    NASHVILLE, TN — MNPS is celebrating a historic milestone: for the fourth year in a…

    Belmont’s Massey College of Business Awards $10,000 Scholarships to All 2025 NELAS Winners

    September 1, 2025

    TSU President Tucker Appoints Three New Leaders to Advance Transformational Change Agenda

    August 28, 2025

    Tennessee Announces 2025-26 Teacher of the Year

    August 25, 2025
    The Tennessee Tribune
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • About Us
    • Digital Subscription
    • Store
    • Advertise With Us
    • Contact
    © 2025 The Tennessee Tribune - Site Designed by No Regret Media.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Our Spring Sale Has Started

    You can see how this popup was set up in our step-by-step guide: https://wppopupmaker.com/guides/auto-opening-announcement-popups/