The Rock and the River is a young adult historical fiction work that earned author Kekla Magoon the Coretta Scott King John Steptoe New Talent Award upon its publication in 2009. Set in the 1960s Civil Rights era, the story’s protagonist, Samuel Childs, is the son of a famous activist who worked alongside Dr. King and the brother of a teenager involved with a local Black Panther group. The tensions between the historical “passive resistance” movement represented by Dr. King and the “armed self-defense” movement represented by the Black Panther Party shape Sam’s world, and the uneasy intersections of philosophical theories and practical realities challenge his day-to-day existence.

In addition to its function as historical fiction, The Rock and the River is a coming-of-age story, or more specifically, a Bildungsroman. The Bildungsroman genre of literature has a strong history in various literary movements and traditions, and popular examples include Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, and The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. The Bildungsroman story traditionally focuses on the transformation of a protagonist’s identity from that of a youth to an adult. Because the focus of a Bildungsroman story is on identity, it inherently involves issues such as class, race, and gender. It also inevitably presents the loss of childhood innocence and the recognition of social norms and expectations. The protagonist often shifts from black-and-white thinking to gaining an appreciation for complexity and gray areas. With these conventions, Bildungsroman literature is a particularly rich format for social commentary and criticism.

As a Bildungsroman story set in 1960s Chicago, The Rock and The River deftly illustrates the impact of racism on the personal development of Black youths.

Plot Summary

The Rock and the River begins with Samuel Childs (Sam) attending his father’s peaceful civil rights demonstration. There, counterdemonstrators injure Sam’s brother, Steven Childs (Stick). While waiting for Stick to be treated at the hospital, Sam is accused of stealing at the hospital gift shop and must endure excruciating humiliation in order to buy a pair of mittens for his crush at school, Maxie Brown. After Sam gives Maxie the mittens, they begin walking to and from school together. Maxie brings Sam to the free breakfast provided by the Black Panthers, and Sam learns that Stick is also involved with the Panthers.

As Sam walks Maxie home from school one day, they both witness police officers harassing, beating, and then arresting their friend Bucky. Sam discovers that Stick has been hiding a gun in their room, and Father finds out that Stick has been sneaking out of the house through their bedroom window. Sam is on his way home after walking Maxie home when word arrives that Dr. King has been murdered. Riots erupt, and Maxie finds Sam participating in the vandalism. Sam snaps out of it and takes Maxie back to his home.

After attending services for Dr. King, Father and Stick argue about the appropriate methods for realizing the goals of the Civil Rights Movement. Father tells Stick he cannot live in their house if he is a member of the Black Panther Party, so Stick leaves. Sam sneaks out to go to a political education class held by the Panthers but Father and Mama catch him.

Father convinces Sam to stop engaging with the Panthers and help him prepare for Bucky’s trial instead. As Sam distances himself from the Panthers, he also distances himself from Maxie, who feels crushed when Sam insults her father and her life in the ghetto. Stick continues to sneak in and out of the house and repeatedly asks Sam for the gun, but Sam refuses to give it to him. Sam unsuccessfully tries to apologize to Maxie for his insults, and he witnesses the Panthers save Charlie, a neighborhood man, from police harassment.

In order to avoid Father finding out about the gun, Sam is forced to take it to the demonstration for Bucky. When Stick is in danger of being choked by a counterdemonstrator, Sam reveals the gun to convince the counterdemonstrator to let go of Stick. After Sam and Stick leave the demonstration, Father is attacked while speaking. Stick and the other Panthers help Mama and Sam get to the hospital, where Father is stable and coming out of surgery.

Sam convinces Father to let him testify in Bucky’s trial. Maxie also testifies. Bucky is found not guilty. While Raheem, Stick, and Sam are driving Bucky home from the trial, police officers pull them over. Stick forgets that his gun is in the glove compartment, and when he opens it to get the vehicle registration, the police see it and open fire on the car, shooting Stick. Sam and Raheem are forced out of the car and then to a holding cell before they are questioned. Father comes to get Sam and tells him that Stick has died. Sam runs away, but Maxie convinces him to go back to her home, where Father is waiting for him. Raheem tells Sam he will find out where the police officer who shot Stick lives and get vengeance for Stick’s death. Sam agrees to join him. They leave Stick’s funeral early to find the police officer, but Sam changes his mind. Raheem drives Sam back to the funeral, where he gains clarity on where he fits in the world.