DEATH IN THE DELTA

For Simon: A Journey into Truth and Reconciliation follows an African American family, that of Simon Toombs, introduced to readers in Molly Walling’s 2012 memoir, Death in the Delta. There she exposed a long-held family secret that Toombs died at the hands of her father and uncles. At that time, she thought her quest for knowledge and understanding had come to an end.

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Six months later Walling was contacted by Toombs’s great-great-grandson, Gregory Woods, who was preparing to launch his career as a reporter for the ABC affiliate in Charleston, South Carolina. Woods revealed to her that Toombs had a daughter, Virginia, living in L.A. Not only that but her husband had been raised by the cook on the plantation where Walling’s father grew up.

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Walling followed Woods’s reportage of such horrific racially violent events as the death of Walter Scott and the massacre at the A.M.E Church in Charleston. She developed a deep connection to Toombs’s descendants.

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This multi-generational story does not end in defeat, but rather speaks to the strength, resilience and deep faith that contributes to survival in African American families.