was a little girl growing up on Rehobeth Road in Rich Square, North Carolina, my grandmother, Babe Jones, told me the story of Buddy Bush. Her version was:
âWhite folks said that boy Buddy tried to rape a white woman out in town. Colored folks said it ainât so, but the law got after Buddy Bush and we ainât never see him no more.â
That was her story, and that was what she said until the day she died. It was her truth, and my truth was that I wanted to write her story. I wanted to one day tell the story of Buddy Bush, the legend of Buddy Bush.
I also wanted people to know who Babe and Braxton Jones were. I wanted the world to know where Rehobeth Road is located and about all the good folks who walked up and down that road in the hot sun to see one another. They walked toJones Property to see how Miss Babe and Mr. Braxton were doing. When nighttime came, they sat on the front porch while Grandma held court. They listened. I listened. Listening to Grandma gave me a voice to tell the world about âthe incidentâ that changed a town. âThe incidentâ that people are still talking about fifty years later.
When
The Legend of Buddy Bush
was published, it did exactly what my grandma always did; it fascinated people. At every turn, strangers questioned me about Buddy Bush and his legend. They wanted to know what was true and what was fiction. People wanted to know where Rehobeth Road is. They wanted to know if Rich Square is a real place. When I told them âyesââit was all real, with a little fiction for excitementâthey asked the big question: Where is Buddy Bush?
That is when I realized that my work was not finished. I had to write
The Return of Buddy Bush
for my readers. People needed to know what my grandmother had not told me. I started to research the life of Buddy Bush and the court case surrounding âthe incident.â What my grandmasaidâand what I wrote in
The Legend of Buddy Bush
âabout Buddy Bush getting away from the Klan was true, but his family did see him again.
Readers need to know that Buddy Bush came back to Rich Square, North Carolina, and was taken to the Raleigh Correction Prison for safekeeping until his trial. After one trial he was acquitted, and so were the seven men who tried to kill Buddy Bush. Governor Cherry was outraged and called for a second trial for three of the seven men, which was held in Warren County, but it only brought about a second acquittal. The ordeal was over. Buddy Bush left that courthouse and disappeared from the lives of the people who loved him forever.
In this sequel, readers travel with Pattie Mae to find Uncle Buddy and bring him home. Home to Jones Property Home to where he belongs.
Photographs
Court documents from Buddy Bushâs trial
Jones Property on Rehobeth Road
The inspiration for Mer Sheals (the authorâs mother, Maless Moses), around 1965 at the Slave House
Buddy Bush at his trial in Northampton County Courthouse, Jackson, North Carolina
âWhite folks said that boy Buddy tried to rape a white woman out in town. Colored folks said it ainât so, but the law got after Buddy Bush and we ainât never see him no more.â
That was her story, and that was what she said until the day she died. It was her truth, and my truth was that I wanted to write her story. I wanted to one day tell the story of Buddy Bush, the legend of Buddy Bush.
I also wanted people to know who Babe and Braxton Jones were. I wanted the world to know where Rehobeth Road is located and about all the good folks who walked up and down that road in the hot sun to see one another. They walked toJones Property to see how Miss Babe and Mr. Braxton were doing. When nighttime came, they sat on the front porch while Grandma held court. They listened. I listened. Listening to Grandma gave me a voice to tell the world about âthe incidentâ that changed a town. âThe incidentâ that people are still talking about fifty years later.
When
The Legend of Buddy Bush
was published, it did exactly what my grandma always did; it fascinated people. At every turn, strangers questioned me about Buddy Bush and his legend. They wanted to know what was true and what was fiction. People wanted to know where Rehobeth Road is. They wanted to know if Rich Square is a real place. When I told them âyesââit was all real, with a little fiction for excitementâthey asked the big question: Where is Buddy Bush?
That is when I realized that my work was not finished. I had to write
The Return of Buddy Bush
for my readers. People needed to know what my grandmother had not told me. I started to research the life of Buddy Bush and the court case surrounding âthe incident.â What my grandmasaidâand what I wrote in
The Legend of Buddy Bush
âabout Buddy Bush getting away from the Klan was true, but his family did see him again.
Readers need to know that Buddy Bush came back to Rich Square, North Carolina, and was taken to the Raleigh Correction Prison for safekeeping until his trial. After one trial he was acquitted, and so were the seven men who tried to kill Buddy Bush. Governor Cherry was outraged and called for a second trial for three of the seven men, which was held in Warren County, but it only brought about a second acquittal. The ordeal was over. Buddy Bush left that courthouse and disappeared from the lives of the people who loved him forever.
In this sequel, readers travel with Pattie Mae to find Uncle Buddy and bring him home. Home to Jones Property Home to where he belongs.
Photographs
Court documents from Buddy Bushâs trial
Jones Property on Rehobeth Road
The inspiration for Mer Sheals (the authorâs mother, Maless Moses), around 1965 at the Slave House
Buddy Bush at his trial in Northampton County Courthouse, Jackson, North Carolina
Similar Books
