Imagine living in Atlanta from 1979-1981. Imagine the warm weather, the late nights, and the timeless moments spent with family and friends. Imagine your child telling you about the classmate who has disappeared. Imagine coworkers missing work to search for their missing babies. Imagine a city full of children paralyzed by fear. Imagine a city full of grieving parents haunted by regret. Imagine wanting everything missing found—peace of mind included. No, you do not want to imagine yourself as a child or a parent in Atlanta from 1979-1981 because this was the time of the Atlanta Child Murders. Tayari Jones’ novel, Leaving Atlanta, retells this unsettling time from the perspective of three adolescents: Tasha Baxter, Rodney Green, and Octavia
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Unlike Tasha’s father, however, Rodney’s father does not become present by solidifying the nuclear family, but instead becomes present through a hyper-visibility in Rodney’s life. Similarly, though, his decision is made after news of the child murders flashes across his TV screen one night: “Mother switches on the television. Father looks at the screen… ‘I can’t stand that yellow bastard [Mayor Jackson] up there acting like he care about black children. It makes me sick to my stomach’” (111). The following morning, he wakes Rodney up, and gets him to help him tighten the loose drain pipe. Rodney’s observation of this demand is keen: “Apprehension develops you [Rodney], permeating even your bones. Father never solicits your assistance in such decidedly male endeavors” (116). Why would Mr. Green suddenly decide to bond with his son over “male endeavors,” something he never does? Proximity. Mr. Green cares about his black child, and is cognizant that his presence is medicine to this epidemic of dead and missing kids. Yet again, crisis demands black patriarchs to adopt a role of heightened visibility. Mr. Green does not stop with loose drain pipes, he critiques Rodney’s unkempt appearance (127), he disciplines Rodney for receiving poor grades in school (129), he eats a hearty breakfast before work with Rodney before him (130), and he punishes Rodney in class (138). Without a doubt, crisis causes Rodney’s father to become hyper-visible in the domestic sphere. Nevertheless, his hyper-visibility remains perceived as a form of protection. Jones demonstrates this in, perhaps, one of the most chilling ways possible. After Rodney’s public beating at the hands of his father, he begins to walk in the direction “opposite of home.” Soon, a blue sedan pulls up beside him, and a man, claiming he is a police officer, instructs Rodney to get inside. Rodney obliges, and the chapter ends: “When you [Rodney] enter the car,
Unlike Tasha’s father, however, Rodney’s father does not become present by solidifying the nuclear family, but instead becomes present through a hyper-visibility in Rodney’s life. Similarly, though, his decision is made after news of the child murders flashes across his TV screen one night: “Mother switches on the television. Father looks at the screen… ‘I can’t stand that yellow bastard [Mayor Jackson] up there acting like he care about black children. It makes me sick to my stomach’” (111). The following morning, he wakes Rodney up, and gets him to help him tighten the loose drain pipe. Rodney’s observation of this demand is keen: “Apprehension develops you [Rodney], permeating even your bones. Father never solicits your assistance in such decidedly male endeavors” (116). Why would Mr. Green suddenly decide to bond with his son over “male endeavors,” something he never does? Proximity. Mr. Green cares about his black child, and is cognizant that his presence is medicine to this epidemic of dead and missing kids. Yet again, crisis demands black patriarchs to adopt a role of heightened visibility. Mr. Green does not stop with loose drain pipes, he critiques Rodney’s unkempt appearance (127), he disciplines Rodney for receiving poor grades in school (129), he eats a hearty breakfast before work with Rodney before him (130), and he punishes Rodney in class (138). Without a doubt, crisis causes Rodney’s father to become hyper-visible in the domestic sphere. Nevertheless, his hyper-visibility remains perceived as a form of protection. Jones demonstrates this in, perhaps, one of the most chilling ways possible. After Rodney’s public beating at the hands of his father, he begins to walk in the direction “opposite of home.” Soon, a blue sedan pulls up beside him, and a man, claiming he is a police officer, instructs Rodney to get inside. Rodney obliges, and the chapter ends: “When you [Rodney] enter the car,