Ludell and Willie by Brenda Wilkinson
"Ludell and Willie" by Brenda Wilkinson is a poignant narrative that explores the deep bond between two young African American characters, Ludell and Willie, who have been friends and neighbors since childhood. As they navigate their senior year of high school, their love is tested by financial struggles and societal challenges. The story is set against the backdrop of a community grappling with poverty, inadequate educational resources, and the effects of systemic racism, particularly as they face the loss of accreditation at their school.
Willie contemplates joining the army to support his family, while Ludell aspires to win a scholarship through her writing, highlighting their contrasting but interconnected paths toward a hopeful future. The narrative also delves into family dynamics, revealing Ludell's complex relationship with her mother, who left for New York years ago, and her grandmother, who has raised her. The emotional weight of Ludell's experiences is compounded by her grandmother's declining health and eventual death, which further complicates her transition to life in New York with her mother after graduation.
As the second entry in the Ludell trilogy, this work reflects the realities of African American life during the early stages of the Civil Rights movement and captures the resilience of characters seeking a better life amidst adversity. Wilkinson's writing resonates with authenticity, portraying both the struggles and the enduring spirit of the community, making it a significant contribution to African American literature.
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Subject Terms
Ludell and Willie by Brenda Wilkinson
First published: 1977
Type of work: Social realism
Themes: Love and romance, family, poverty, and race and ethnicity
Time of work: The 1950’s
Recommended Ages: 13-18
Locale: Waycross, a small town in southeast Georgia
Principal Characters:
Ludell , a spirited, sensitive high school senior looking forward to graduation so that she can marry Willie and leave WaycrossWillie , a polite, good-humored, high school football hero, Ludell’s friend and sweetheartMama , (Mis Wilson , ), Ludell’s grandmother, who has reared LudellDessa , Ludell’s mother, living in New York since Ludell was young
The Story
Ludell and Willie is a story of the love and devotion between the title characters, who have been next-door neighbors and friends since childhood. During their senior year in high school, they are in love and try to be together as much as possible, much more than Mis Wilson, Ludell’s grandmother, will allow. The primary problem with which they have to contend, however, is their present poverty and the prospects for getting out from under it in the future. The immediate suggestion in the black community for dealing with their future prospects is marching on the white high school to persuade the city to improve their school, since it has lost accreditation.
Willie considers joining the army before he finishes school to get some financial help for his mother, Mis Johnson, who has to struggle alone to get along as a maid to rear her several children (Ruthie Mae, Buddie Boy, Hawk, and the child of Willie’s elder sister Mattie, Alvin). Willie is still angry about his father’s abandonment of the family some years ago. Ludell reasons with Willie about why he may have left the way he did, and Willie feels comforted by Ludell’s argument. She also urges Willie to stay in school to see if he will be offered an athletic scholarship for college. Since he is a star on the school’s state championship football team, he has reason to hope for a scholarship. Without high school accreditation, however, scholarships may not be proffered. Even if he receives a scholarship, he knows it may not be worth as much as it seems to be. Also, Ludell and Willie know that, since they live on the poor side of the tracks in their community, they are not the beneficiaries of the types of advantages offered in more affluent schools. Ludell knows that others who do not write as well as she does get better grades and that children whose parents can best afford college manage to be awarded the scholarships.
Ludell has lived with her grandmother, whom she calls mama, since early childhood. Her mother Dessa left the South to make a way for herself in New York. Ludell was six years old the last time she and her mother saw each other; however, over the years, Dessa has sometimes been in touch, and she has always sent shoes to Ludell. Dessa’s leaving home as she did broke mama’s heart. To make matters worse for Ludell, mama does not forget Willie’s elder sister’s running away and leaving her child for Mis Johnson to rear. She also does not forget that Willie’s younger sister, Ruthie Mae, is as loose as her elder sister was. Ludell resents being treated as strictly as she is because of what others have done. She consoles herself by retiring to her room to write poetry. She enjoys writing and enters an essay in a contest, which will award a scholarship to the winner.
During the year, mama has dizzy spells, loses her memory, becomes senile, and dies six weeks before Ludell’s and Willie’s graduation. Dessa has been promising to visit her ailing mother but does not arrive until after her death. Dessa and Ludell do not get along well, and, although Ludell steadfastly refuses to return with her to New York, Dessa prevails. After mama’s funeral, Dessa takes Ludell with her to finish her senior year in a school in New York.
Ludell does not win the essay contest, and Willie does not win the football scholarship. Their disappointment at being separated reinforces their determination to meet: After graduation, Willie will join the army and come to New York to marry Ludell and take her with him.
Context
Ludell and Willie is the second volume of the Ludell trilogy. The first volume is Ludell (1975), and the third is Ludell’s New York Time (1980). Ludell reveals the loving care and concern within the Afro-American community in times of difficulty. In Ludell and Willie, the beginning of the Civil Rights movement in Waycross is recorded. In Ludell’s New York Time (1980), Ludell still sees prejudice and unfairness, although they appear to be more subtle than they were in southeast Georgia. Not Separate, Not Equal (1987), again set in Waycross but in 1965, relates the difficulties for six black high school students who are chosen to desegregate the white high school.
Wilkinson’s work has been compared to that of Richard Wright. Both authors are devoted to the realities of black life rather than to artificial characters aspiring to assimilate into white society or to stereotypes fashioned merely to entertain. Wilkinson’s works are rich in events, feelings, and customs of the time, which provide a record, positive and negative, of an era of black frustration.