Title: People of Means
Author: Nancy Johnson
Publication Date: February 11, 2025
Publisher: William Morrow
Format Read: Kindle e-book
Genre: Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction
Aside from having a really cool cover, People of Means by Nancy Johnson is a book about an extremely important subject: race and racism. Now, I’m just a boring, 40-year-old white lady, so there were definitely moments I wondered if I really was the right person to be reading and reviewing this. I ultimately came to the conclusion that yes. Yes, I am. Anyone can be the right audience for a problem that is still too prevalent today, and the best way to help affect change is to learn more about whatever is wrong, in this case racism. So reading, learning more than I knew before, and being able to empathize with Tulip and Freda as women was absolutely the right thing for me to do. I won’t pretend to be any expert on it, though — I will forever be a student, one who’s willing to learn and be corrected time and time again.
The story is told along two timelines: 1962 and 1992. In 1962, the reader follows Freda in Nashville at Fisk University, where she is following in her parents’ footsteps and striving for Black Excellence. Of course, there’s a boy, two of them in fact. There’s Darius, who is heavily involved in the Civil Rights Movement, and there’s Gerald, who her parents hope to match her with. As she originally comes from an upper-middle-class lifestyle in Chicago, it’s quite the eye-opening experience for her to witness racism firsthand, including racially segregated restrooms. She’ll be forced to decide between two completely different lifestyles before all is said and done.
In 1992, the reader follows Freda’s daughter, Tulip, who is an ambitious young woman with her eye on a promotion at her PR firm. This all occurs around the time when the verdict in the Rodney King trial comes in. It becomes increasingly difficult for her to stay quiet about the injustices she continues to witness in 1992.
The story is told in several parts, with different narrators, but only one per chapter, along the way. It’s all recounted in close third-person voice. The story highlights the racial injustices still prevalent in 1992, decades after the Civil Rights Movement had begun reshaping the country. Sadly, it opens one’s eyes to injustices that still occur today, nearly 60 years after the Movement. We’ve come a long way, but nowhere near far enough as a society. It also explores class and respectability politics, workplace discrimination, generational legacy, activism versus safety, and identity, love, and community.
Johnson’s prose is evocative, emotionally incisive, and socially conscious, while still remaining accessible and easy to read. The story itself is character-driven and quietly tense.
I’m glad to have read People of Means. I learned things about the Movement that I didn’t know before. I was horrified to see how things were still in 1992, and some mix of sad and angry to see how they still are today. This book will be a good fit for readers who enjoy reading about heavy and important topics. Readers of Tayari Jones and Brit Bennett will find something to love here.
Nerd Rating: 🤓🤓🤓🤓— an evocative exploration of race, ambition, and generational legacy
Click here to learn more about People of Means and Nancy Johnson.
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