Reviewed by Maxine E. Thompson

What would you do if the government showed up at your door one day and said that all your rights as a Black person have been taken? That you will have to report to a facility similar to a refuge camp where all African Americans are to reside until some unknown future date. Would you think that the world has gone mad? Or if you read this in a book, would you say this is science fiction? To take it even farther, would you think that this is a totally outrageous premise?

Well in reality, this very thing has happened in our country when the Japanese were put into "interment" camps during World War II, or previously, when the Native Americans were placed on reservations. But what if you discovered an underground laboratory for concentration camps, beneath an elementary school in Watts (Los Angeles)? How would this affect your life and those around you? And what if your life was put in jeopardy after you discovered this plot? This is the premise of Roland S. Jefferson's novel, The School on 103rd St. As there is a deployment act in the US Government, which allows for such a thing, this story is perhaps not as farfetched as it seems.

I remember being stunned as a college sophomore in 1970, when I read John A. Williams' novel, The Man Who Cried I am. The main character, a CIA agent named Max, had discovered the King Alfred plan, which was a plot to put all Black people in concentration camps. Now, after living through the Detroit riots of '67 and the Los Angeles Uprising of '92, I am more terrified when I read a book like The School on 103rd St. The book has a resonance, which has a very real ring to it. Reminiscent of this earlier novel, the protagonist, Dr. Elwin Carter, (who works out of a Watts hospital but lives in the elite Baldwin Hills area,) stumbles on a similar plot because of two youths from the neighborhood. From that point on, Carter's life isn't worth the proverbial snowball in Halifax, either. Anyhow, this book is a very real supposition as to what could happen.

When Dr. Elwin Carter is confronted in his Watts Clinic by two boys terrified by the brutal murder of their friend, his investigations lead him far beyond the usual suspicions of drugs and gang violence to an apocalyptic discover of just how far the government will go to keep the lid on the country's riot-torn cities. Combining action and suspense with political insight, this novel presents a frighteningly prophetic and disturbing picture of the subterranean war between the races in America.

Now considered more of a period piece, this book was originally written in 1974. Unfortunately, it was written in a time when the mainstream publishers were losing interest in the Revolutionary works of the late 60's, so it didn't get much media attention. Currently dubbed as one of the "Old School Books," this book is unique in that it was self-published in 1974. The life of this book itself is almost as interesting as the story within the book. Turned down by all the legitimate publishing houses, the author, psychologist Dr. Roland S. Jefferson went through Vantage Press. After selling out his first printing, four years later the book was briefly revived in paperback by the Holloway House. Based on word of mouth alone, again the book sold out, again the publisher decided not to risk another printing, again the book disappeared. Twenty years later a copy of the book was found in an old used bookstore in Harlem, and publisher, W.W. Norton picked up the book and reprinted it. The book has also been opted as a film by a major Hollywood producer.

Written at a time when "Blaxploitation" movies such as Super Fly reigned, this book is uncharacteristically insightful. This novel captures the angst of the burgeoning Black upper middle class of medical doctors. You actually feel the discomfort of being in the uncharted territory that many of the young Black medical doctors faced. This book is also about being the first generation to deal with opulence and unprecedented wealth in the Black community. Set in the 1970's, this book will evoke memories of bellbottoms, polyester, Soul Train, and clenched fists accompanied by the slogan, "Right On, Brother." The book is peppered with the slang we used during the 70's, which is one of the nostalgic features I like about the book. Mainly, it speaks to the concerns of the time, which was the decade following the Civil Rights Movement. The writing is tense, tight, and compelling. Classically, the book opens with a murder at the school and it ends up with one. A good read, this book is an unsettling political thriller.

In his foreword, the author, Roland S. Jefferson points out that since the end of slavery Black America has lived with the constant fear of imminent annihilation at the hands of an angry white populace unwilling or unable to abandon the legacy of racism. And whether this belief is real or imagined is not as important as the fact it is held not just by members of the African American underclass, but by America's black scholars and political leaders as well as a substantial segment of the black middle-class. Given the American political landscape that has historically mistreated and abused its African-American citizens, this is a pervasive perception in this society. Considered a "cautionary tale," this novel addresses very serious and dangerous implications of Black genocide at the hands of the government. Although this is a work of fiction, it would indeed be unfortunate if future historians view it as having foreshadowed the inevitable "final solution" for the "race problem" in America.