In _The Rest of the Dream,_ Lyman Johnson, grassroots civil rights
leader, tells his own story. All four of Johnson's grandparents were
slaves in Tennessee. Yet his father was a college graduate, principal
of a black school, and the inspiration for his son's love of justice.
Lyman Johnson was born in 1906 during the darkest days of segregation.
He learned from his father not to sit in the "crow's nest" reserved
for blacks in his hometown movie theater. This refusal to accept
second-class citizenship became a guiding principle in Johnson's life.
Johnson was almost forty-three when he won admission to graduate study
at the University of Kentucky in 1949. Crosses were burned on campus.
Because of his family commitments, he returned to his teaching
position in Louisville and never completed his doctorate. Thirty years
later the university that fought to keep him out awarded him an
honorary doctor of letters degree. Johnson earned his doctorate the
hard way—by saying no to the crow's nest and other marks of
inequality. Johnson's graphic recall of people and incidents and his
storyteller's talent for narrative make this record of a unique
American life filled with suspense, humor, tragedy, and triumph.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780813156989
Publisert
2015
Utgiver
Vendor
The University Press of Kentucky
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter