Too Proud to Bend: Journey of a Civil Rights Foot Soldier

Most people have heard of Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat on the bus, and listened to Martin Luther King Jr. inspire the masses with his declaration of “I have a dream.” But pivotal as those moments were, they could not begin to reflect the horror of life in the segregated south for black Americans. They fail to capture the hostility, the intimidation, the ever-present dangers felt by so many during the 1950s and ’60s; these same struggles led a group of brave individuals to fight for racial equality in the United States in the upcoming years.

One such civil rights soldier was Nell Braxton Gibson, the eldest daughter of a pair of African-American educators in the Jim Crow-era south. In Too Proud to Bend, Gibson provides a valuable glimpse into her life as a young black girl during this tumultuous era in history—and the pain, disappointment, and loss that paved the way to the dawning of the civil rights movement. Part candid memoir and part informative account, Too Proud to Bend strikes a balance of captivating storytelling and historical accuracy that will appeal to fans of Maya Angelou and Anne Moody alike.

Nell Braxton Gibson was born in the southern United States, the daughter of professional educators. She spent her childhood as a "faculty brat" at various black college campuses throughout the southern states.

From a young age, Gibson has felt drawn toward the cause of social justice-inspired by the civil rights trailblazers of the 1950s and her exposure to the many tragedies and injustices of that time.

As a Spelman College student in 1962, she became part of the growing civil rights effort known as the Student Movement. She went on to show her support for civil rights on the international stage and was appointed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu to help create a five-year plan to dismantle apartheid in South Africa.

Gibson and her husband Bert are parents to the country's first African American board-certified veterinary neurosurgeon, Erika. Their son, Bert Gibson III, died in an accident in 1992.