Bode Olakanmi

The Cradle and the Bed Bode Olakanmi

The Cradle And The Bed places you in the middle of a conflict between Julius Ololade and Michael Dawson as their two worlds collide in an endless struggle for success between American-born Blacks and African immigrants. Julius is a privileged African from Lagos, Nigeria; Michael is an uneducated Black American who uses sports as his way out. Written through the witnessed eyes of author Bode Olakanmi, who lived in the years of Nigeria's totalitarian government, this tale of envy, success and love takes you into a world of conflicting ideals, coupled with characters full of such true emotions. As a result of higher levels of education and professional training, many recent immigrants from Africa and their immediate offspring enjoy greater success in the United States, compared to their American-born distant cousins. Although a taboo, there is a subtle but noticeable conflict between American-born blacks and recent arrivals from continental Africa. After the euphoria of the black power in the nineteen sixties, many blacks in America came to see Africans as part of their problems. After all, it was the great ancestors of Africans that sold the great ancestors of American blacks into slavery, thereby introducing black people into the Americas. Through love and contest, Julius and Michael are able to find the strengths and deficiencies of each society, leading to an eventual reconciliation among a nation of a race divided.