The Sons of the South (PB) (2015)

This hard-hitting novel examines the role of white liberals in the most tumultuous period in the South's history after the Civil War. After the Freedom Riders experience resistance from local Governors down South, the movement accelerates in momentum. It involves the slow overturning of the unjust Napoleonic Code set up in the southern states in the 1950s and 1960s.

This novel is based on the memoirs of the daughter of an Irish-American Civil Rights worker, Al Downey. He served both the Kennedy and Johnson Administration from 1962-1964 and had a close relationship with Sargent Shriver. It is a poignant look through the eyes of two teenagers at events that rocked history. It culminates in the draft of one the most famous speeches ever penned in America: "I Have a Dream."

About the Author

Maria Downey is a screenwriter and novelist who makes her home in Los Angeles. She has taught in the ghetto schools of downtown Los Angeles in Southern California since 1984. After obtaining a Master's Degrees from Florence, Italy from Dominican University in Studio Art, she began producing feature films with political punch.

After twenty-seven years as an arts instructor in both high schools and community colleges, Downey returned for a second Master's degree in Mass Communications (2006).

Downey's first production, Vanguard (2010), an American production, was distributed by Quantum Releasing in Burbank, California. It garnered her a Director's Award from LA Film Festival in 2010. On the wings of that film she acted as director and executive producer on a hard-hitting, action, theatrical release, feature film about the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland circa 1970s. It is set for release in the fall of 2015.