Ruth Broek

A Boy Named Malachi Ruth Broek

Mal was only six when he found that he was not welcome to join his friends in their white school. He was shocked. No school meant that he could not read the books he felt held answers for him. The rustic Shenandoah valley where he grew up had been a quiet paradise with friendly, helpful neighbors and black and white children playing together. Sad and confused, Malachi looked for answers and questioned his grandfather about the meaning in his name. Life had become hostile and he needed to understand why. He found there can be power and magic in a name. Malachi became a leader in his Oakland community. He encouraged others to plant flowers, clean up trash, and teach their children how to be good citizens. As Malachi's story unfolds, we come to know the honest, loving family who had given him his strength, his confidence, energy, good humor, and his thirst for knowledge. Through the years flowers were Malachi's passion. He loved to recreate the gardens of his charmed childhood. On one Saturday, while planting pansies, he looked up to see Julie, a very serious little blonde six year old. They both agreed that the flowers looked like kitten faces. And there began his friendship of many years with her whole family..... the one which gave birth to this book.