Black History– On This Day in 1959
The Norfolk 17, February 2, 1959
Sixty-five years ago today, seventeen cautiously brave Black teenagers rocked the foundation of the racist South, accomplishing what many at the time had thought impossible … ending segregation at six public schools in Norfolk, Virginia. If getting there had been a war, being there was horrendous.
Frightening? In classrooms, white bullies pelted the Black kids with spit wads and slurs. Teachers looked the other way, either bigoted or simply afraid to take a stand. The hallways were worse, the bathrooms near deadly.
The most famous of the Norfolk 17 would be Andrew Heidelberg, the first African American to play “white” high school football in the South. His impact in the prejudiced world of the late fifties and early sixties is the focus of a powerful work of humanity, humor, absurdity, and survival … Heidelberg of the Norfolk 17 by Robert D. Gaines and Andrew Heidelberg (Hidden Shelf Publishing House).
“Andrew was an amazing and complex person,” said Gaines. “The non-stop abuse he and the other sixteen Black teenagers faced every day was both horrifying and surreal. He survived by his wits, his tenacity, and his phenomenal talents … but the scars went deep.”
Read an excerpt from Heidelberg by Robert D. Gaines and Andrew Heidelberg
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Hidden Shelf Revealed: Author Spotlight Series, Featuring Brian C. Johnson
Basic info:
Full Name: Brian C. Johnson
Printed works: Send Judah First: The Erased Life of an Enslaved Soul; The Room Downstairs.
Current Projects : Caesar: Free Slave; Me, My Selfie & I: A Black Lives Matter Novel; Sintimacy: The Novel
Quick Facts About Me: I am the father of 4, and the grandfather of 8, and I am an avid kite flyer.
Black History Month: Childrens Books
Black History Month Book List
Featuring children’s books by black authors.
In our house, we try to make sure that the books we are reading to our kids, and the books they are reading to themselves, expose them to a wide array of diversity; racial, ethnic, cultural, gender, socio-economic, and thematic.
New Year’s Resolution: Read More Books
Several years ago, I decided that I liked the idea of a “New Years Challenge” rather than a “New Year’s Resolution.” As a person with a competitive nature, a “challenge” was something I felt more compelled to work toward and “win”, rather than a resolution, which always felt like a change you made for January and then forgot about for the rest of the year.