The River of No Return Cleveland Sellers
One symbolic reference water within the book is Ed King carrying a bloody shirt. While marching for justice, Ed King was a victim of police brutality during his fight for freedom. He was a student in Kentucky who saw his blood-stained shirt and saw an opportunity to spark conversations about the realities of violence committed against colored people. Ed King carried his bloodied shirt with him wherever he went to remind those around him of the injustice he and so many other like him faced on a daily basis. The blood shirt symbolized the violence and the brutality that constantly bombarded them even when they exercised their rights as American citizens. This can also be tied to Jackie Kennedy wearing her blood stained dress after her husband’s assassination so that everyone could see what was done to her husband : “…I want them all to see…”
Like Jackie Kennedy, Ed King knew his bloodied shirt would be a sight for those who underestimated how deeply rooted racism and hatred ran in the country.
In his book, The River of No Return, Cleveland Sellers tells of his own accounts and experiences while being an active promoter of Civil Rights in the U.S. during the Civil Rights movement. One instance where water symbolizes the violence towards colored people would be where Sellers and other members of the SNCC protest in a rally. This rally quickly becomes violent and the officers begin to use teargas against the protestors. Sellers is told to take a damp handkerchief and press it against his face, however, when he does this, it only makes the sting worse from the gas. His tears begin to flow and he is unable to ward off the dangerous tear gas. Both the damp cloth and his tears are water examples which symbolize the violence used against these protestors and those who campaigned for Civil Right during this time.