Sikivu Hutchinson Books

Set in the late 1970s, the story follows Rory Tharpe, an ex-Pentecostal Black female electric guitarist, as she battles the challenges of the corporate rock scene alongside her all-male band. Struggling with the industry's racism, sexism, and ageism, Rory reluctantly teams up with Jude Justis, a white blues-rock star known for appropriating Black music. Their journey also leads Rory to confront her past with Divinity Mason Mulvaney, a controversial pastor. This narrative pays tribute to pioneering guitarist Rosetta Tharpe while exploring themes of power, heartbreak, and resilience in a segregated music industry.

Using an analysis of the history of Los Angeles's streetcar and highway systems, Sikivu Hutchinson argues that the cultural geography of transportation has had a compelling influence upon the construction of race, gender, and urban subjectivity in the postmodern city. She highlights the influence of American anti-urbanism upon visions of the city during the Great Migration and World War II eras. Proceeding from the premise that the creation of city spaces are informed by collective cultural memory, Hutchinson explores how the decline of public transportation and the rise of the automobile have shaped African American communities and cultures in Los Angeles.

Focusing on the lives of three fictional Black women, this novel explores their divergent journeys within the Peoples Temple movement leading to the tragic events in Jonestown. Hy seeks spirituality, Taryn investigates the church's finances, and Ida exposes its corruption through journalism. The narrative examines themes of complicity, resistance, and the quest for social justice, while situating the Peoples Temple within the broader context of civil rights, feminism, and Black struggle. It offers a poignant reflection on the intersection of faith and American democracy.