White Lilacs

White Lilacs by Carolyn Meyer is a middle grade historical fiction novel first published in 1993. It tells the story of Rose Lee, a young Black girl living in Dillon, Texas, in 1921. When the white citizens of Dillon vote to force the Black community out of their homes to turn the area into a city park, Rose Lee and her family battle against racism, violence, and injustice as they search for options.

Meyer is the author of over 25 novels and is best known for her Young Royals series, which explores the lives of famous historical women of royalty. As she writes in the Author’s Note at the conclusion of White Lilacs, she based this novel on her research of Quakertown, a site within Denton, Texas, which was home to 58 families before it was destroyed to create a city park (239-40). Like much of her work, she started with historical facts to then create fictional characters and events, exploring themes of The Impact of Racial Injustice, The Dynamics of Power and Control, and The Importance of Recording History.

This guide uses the 2007 Harcourt paperback edition of the novel.

Content Warning: The novel contains racist language, including racial expletives, and depicts racial violence.