By Chris Bavender
When Dwight Ritter was 35, the woman who raised him and his two brothers died. He had remained close with her over the years. His wife knew her. His children knew her. But, overcome with grief, he couldn’t bring himself to go to her funeral.
“I hunkered down in New England one thousand miles away, built a wall in my psyche and never allowed myself to remember, in detail, her role in my wonderful childhood,” Ritter said. “I inherited her walking cane and a Gideon Bible. I was so ashamed of myself for missing her funeral, I built a locked box of memories filled with love and humor that – over time – slowly came to life.”
First, as poems, then an illustrated children’s book, a K-6 educational curricula and a children’s song used on Sesame Street.
Fast forward 30 plus years to 2009. Ritter’s 13th book, Emerson The Magnificent, had gone to press. His agent had one question – what would his next book be about?
The answer came when his wife hurt her hip and asked him to get the cane he’d inherited from his nanny, Georgey.
“I handed it to her, and we looked at each other, both holding that cane,” he said. “’This is your next book sweetheart,’ she said.”
That book – first titled “The Cane” – is now in print with a new title – Growin’ Up White. Set in Indianapolis (where Ritter grew up), it centers around the Stoner family, told from the perspective of their middle son, Rick. It’s also the story of Georgey – a “quirky 50-year-old black housekeeper from the Bahamas who is an integral part of the Stoner family.”
“The only true character whose name I kept was Georgey,” Ritter said. “Everyone else was like a good tossed salad made of tasty parts of fruits, vegetables … and a few nuts thrown in.”
Ritter said writing the book helped him realize how much more he “knew about race than others.”
“I also learned how naïve I was about race,” he said. “I learned how the strength of friendship and love can overshadow bigotry and bias.”
Book Signings
Dwight Ritter will return to Indiana for three book signings. They are:
- 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 29 at Black Dog Books, 115 Main St., Zionsville
- 2 to 4 p.m. Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 at Bookmamas, 9 Johnson Ave., Indianapolis
