Challenging Hate Through Empathy and Courage
In her debut novel, Colorblind: A Novel, author Leah Harper Bowron takes readers on a profound and emotionally charged journey to 1968 Montgomery, Alabama, a time when discrimination ran rampant, justice was a distant hope, and the courage to stand against hate could cost everything. Gripping, compassionate, and urgently relevant, Colorblind challenges readers to examine the societal systems that perpetuate injustice and the quiet, transformative power of human resilience.
The novel follows two unforgettable characters: Miss Annie Loomis, the first African-American teacher at the all-white Wyatt Elementary School, who becomes the target of cruel, racially charged cruelty; and Lisa Parker, an eleven-year-old Caucasian student born with a cleft palate and lip, enduring her own relentless torment. Though separated by race, circumstance, and age, Miss Annie and Lisa find themselves bound by something far more powerful: the shared weight of being seen as different, and the extraordinary courage it takes to survive it.
The title Colorblind captures the novel’s central thesis: that the pain wrought by hate whether rooted in race, appearance, or difference can only be dismantled through compassion, empathy, and the moral courage to challenge injustice wherever it lives. Bowron’s storytelling is precise, unflinching, and deeply humane, illuminating the 1960s Civil Rights era not as distant history, but as a mirror held up to the present.
“I wrote Colorblind to address the issues of discrimination and bullying, particularly in the context of the 1960s. The novel isn’t just a historical account — it’s a story of resilience that encourages readers to examine their own actions and words, and how they can stand up against societal norms that perpetuate discrimination.” — Leah Harper Bowron, Author
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Leah Harper Bowron is a lawyer, James Joyce scholar, and accomplished writer whose intellectual range is as impressive as her literary voice. Her article “Coming of Age in Alabama: Ex parte Devine Abolishes the Tender Years Presumption” was published in the Alabama Law Review. A celebrated Joyce scholar, she has lectured on Ulysses at the University of London and the Université de Reims. Bowron lives in Alabama with her daughter, Sarah, and her cat, Lucy.
Interview with Logan Crawford on Global Book Network
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