Test Ride on the Sunnyland Bus: A Daughter's Civil Rights Journey (River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Prize)

The daughter of a Freedom Rider traces her father's bus journey with five other men, both black and white, to Tallahassee, Florida--a trip during which their goal was to get arrested for breaking segregation laws and take the case to the Supreme Court--but finds her search for answers marred by the men's conflicting stories. Original.

Test Ride on the Sunnyland Bus chronicles the story of an American family against the backdrop of one of the civil rights movement’s lesser-known stories. In January 1957, Joseph Spagna and five other young men waited to board a city bus called the Sunnyland in Tallahassee, Florida. Their plan was simple but dangerous: ride the bus together—three blacks and three whites—get arrested, and take their case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Fifty years later Ana Maria Spagna sets off on a journey to understand what happened and why. Spagna travels from her remote mountain home in the Pacific Northwest to contemporary Tallahassee, searching for the truth of the incident and her father’s involvement. Her journey is complicated by the fact that her father never spoke of the Sunnyland experience and died unexpectedly when she was eleven. Seeking out the other bus riders, now in their seventies, Spagna tries to make sense of their conflicting stories. Her odyssey becomes further troubled by the sudden diagnosis of her mother’s terminal cancer. Winner of the River Teeth Literary Nonfiction prize, Test Ride on the Sunnyland Bus deftly weaves cultural and personal history, memoir, and reportage in this fascinating look at a family and a nation’s past.

Test Ride on the Sunnyland Bus chronicles the story of an American family against the backdrop of one of the civil rights movements lesser-known stories. In January 1957, Joseph Spagna and five other young men waited to board a city bus called the Sunnyland in Tallahassee, Florida. Their plan was simple but ride the bus togetherthree blacks and three whitesget arrested, and take their case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Fifty years later Ana Maria Spagna sets off on a journey to understand what happened and why. Spagna travels from her remote mountain home in the Pacific Northwest to contemporary Tallahassee, searching for the truth of the incident and her fathers involvement. Her journey is complicated by the fact that her father never spoke of the Sunnyland experience and died unexpectedly when she was eleven. Seeking out the other bus riders, now in their seventies, Spagna tries to make sense of their conflicting stories. Her odyssey becomes further troubled by the sudden diagnosis of her mothers terminal cancer. Winner of the River Teeth Literary Nonfiction prize, Test Ride on the Sunnyland Bus deftly weaves cultural and personal history, memoir, and reportage in this fascinating look at a family and a nations past. In 1957, Joseph Spagna and five other men waited to board a bus called the Sunnyland. Their plan was: ride the bus together - three blacks and three whites - get arrested and take their case to the US Supreme Court. This book chronicles the story of an American family against the backdrop of one of the civil rights movement's lesser-known stories. In front of Speed's Never go back The Tallahassee Bus Boycott The acquaintance of grief The forgotten coast Something more Handwriting Herndon The cloven hoof City of hope Folsom Community care A real difference Orchard burning Every. Single. Day Tarpon Springs Not forgotten Heroes and sheroes Always go forward.