Aldene "Al" Chambles grew up during the 1940s in the segregated South. His experience as a gifted child struggling to understand the world in the face of prejudice, superstition, and fear is poignantly depicted in his powerful novel Climbing the Colored Side.
The story takes place in the African American community of High Hope, established by former tenant farmers and sharecroppers seeking control over their lives. It's a difficult life, but when young Dean Johnson begins asking questions that no one knows the answers to, new tensions arise.
This book explores a dimension of the African American experience beyond the fight for civil rights. Without access to people educated in the sciences or even to public libraries, Dean's struggle is for knowledge. There are those outside the community who believe he doesn't have the capacity to understand math and science. Meanwhile, within his community, he must confront those who believe that pursuing an education would be a waste of time, a turn away from God-or worse-a dangerous imposition into a world where he does not belong.
Penetrating and compelling, Climbing the Colored Side provides a truly authentic experience through Negro dialect, with a parallel translation into Standard English.
About the Author: Born and raised in Thomaston, Georgia, Aldene "Al" Chambles holds a BS in chemistry from Tuskegee University and an MS in science education from the University of Tennessee. Additional university studies include physics, infrared spectroscopy, advanced analytical chemistry, business leadership, and advanced management.
Chambles taught high school science, chemistry, and physics before launching his twenty-eight-year career at Lockheed Martin Energy Systems in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. As an analytical development chemist, he authored several scientific reports and papers. He held positions as a recruiter, affirmative action coordinator, and director of a number of departments at the company. He also served as a historically black college and university visiting professor during his time there. After retiring from corporate life in 1995, Chambles became an adjunct professor of chemistry at Roane State Community College in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
In his powerful novel Climbing the Colored Side, Chambles tells the fictionalized story of his struggle for knowledge in the segregated South.