Near the beginning of the novel, she attempts suicide. Velma is a deeply committed and indefatigable African American 1 civil rights activist, wife, and mother, but incessant meetings, disappointing fundraisers, and protests met with violence and mass arrests have left her exhausted, disillusioned, and enraged. “Just so’s you’re sure, sweetheart, and ready to be healed, cause wholeness is no trifling matter.” Minnie is speaking to her friend Velma Henry, who has suffered a severe mental and physical breakdown. “Are you sure, sweetheart, that you want to be well?” asks the healer Minnie Ransom in Toni Cade Bambara’s 1980 novel The Salt Eaters, set in Georgia in the 1970s. A selection of his work is on view in ‘Benny Andrews: Portraits, A Real Person Before the Eyes,’ an exhibition at Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York City, September 26, 2020–January 23, 2021. Benny Andrews Estate/The Studio Museum in Harlem/© Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New Yorkīenny Andrews: Trash, 1971.
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