David Played A Harp: an autobiography by Ralph W. Johnson. [hardcover].

This autobiography recounts the 20th century from the point of view of a mixed-race village barber in Davidson, NC who found himself, ironically, caught at the epicenter of the 1960's racial revolution. Picketed by Davidson College students on the eve of Martin Luther King's assasination for not cutting blacks' hair, he lost his business in the resulting ruckus. His story includes the charm of southern characters, inter-racial friendships, family ties, standing grudges all told with a lilt of faith by a master story-teller, practiced for years standing at the barber's chair, making the hopeless bearable.

Ralph W. Johnson is a 96 year old, Scotch African, living in Davidson, NC. He is self-educated and during his career cut the hair of gentlemen in all walks of life...governors, college presidents, bootleggers, ordinary town-folk... He prides himself on his ability to get along with all. He is a natural story-teller, a humorist and conservative.