In her first book, 30-year veteran Charlotte Observer reporter Pam Kelley investigates the undercurrent of Jim Crow racism and de facto segregation in the New South. Money Rock illustrates this larger socio-economic environment through the story of one African American man's family across four generations.
Belton Lamont Platt grew up hard in the projects of Charlotte, N.C. By the time he was 22, he was a primo cocaine dealer and the father of six children by five women. Platt, nicknamed Money Rock, confronted rival dealer Big Lou Samuels in 1985. The resulting shootout bought him a 35-year prison sentence. A gung-ho rookie journalist, Kelley went to the prison for what she hoped would be an inside peek at Money Rock's world. He stiff-armed her questions, and she forgot about him--until 2011 when a lyric from Jay-Z's "Decoded" made her wonder "What happened to Money Rock?" She found him preaching at his Rock Ministries Church International in Conway, S.C.
After an appeal of his shootout conviction, Money got his sentence cut to one year (time served) and went back to slinging blow. He was busted again in 1990, and while serving this second time, Money Rock found Jesus, married a woman he met through jailhouse visits, and watched his children slide into crime and premature deaths. When he got out, he and his wife moved to Conway, and this time Money Rock's conversion took. He's still talking the Lord's talk at Rock Ministries. Kelley knows a good story when she sees one--and with solid journalism, dogged research, perceptive observation, colorful interviews and memorable characters, Money Rock is a hell of a story. --Bruce Jacobs, founding partner, Watermark Books & Cafe, Wichita, Kan.