Synopsis
This is a story of how innocence can be shattered by ignorance, how faith is enduring in the presence of callous disbelief and how right is proven true in the end. This story is an American story and a human story. It is my story and yours. This is a book to read. Maya Angelou A rare and beautiful achievement, this honest book holds a true mirror up to a southern city and some of its best and not yet best residents John Ehle Jo Anne North Goetz grew up in the racially segregated Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina and discovered her love of teaching in a one-room schoolhouse there. Darryl Hunt was born in the projects of East Winston, never knew his father, and his mother was a drunk who couldn't raise him. He learned about love from a grandfather he adored. Goetz and Hunt became friends during the year she taught him in the sixth grade at Mebane Elementary School. Seven years later, in 1984, when she read the news story of his arrest in Winston-Salem, North Carolina for the rape and murder of a white newspaper copy editor, Deborah Sykes, Goetz faced her own fear of reprisal in a racially torn community and took the witness stand as Hunt's only character witness. For the next 20 years after Hunt's conviction, she stood by his side in a struggle for freedom and justice that divided a community. This is a beautiful story, and I clearly heard Jo Anne's voice reading it to me. Leigh Somerville McMillan has captured her point of view, her voice, her faith. Mark Rabil, Attorney for Darryl Hunt Leigh Somerville McMillan gives us an intimate portrait of Jo Anne Goetz and her friendship with a man wrongly accused of murder - a story of race, justice and redemption. Phoebe Zerwick, State Editor The Winston-Salem Journal It is a rare moment in life when people come together, not only to bring out the best in each other, but the best in humanity. Jo Anne Goetz is one of those rare treasures who not only stops and listens,
About the Author
About Jo Anne North Goetz: Jo Anne North Goetz knew she wanted to be a teacher from the time she was offered the opportunity as a third-grader in a one-room schoolhouse in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. She graduated from Appalachian State University in 1956 and enjoyed a teaching career that spanned 42 years and won her induction into the prestigious Rhododendron Society of the Reich College of Education at ASU. Goetz was employed for 31 years in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school system and for eight years in DeKalb County, Georgia, where she served as the chairperson of the DeKalb County Teacher Forum. She returned to Winston-Salem in 1999 and became a teaching mentor for three years. She worked for 33 years in the Governor's School of North Carolina at Salem College in Winston-Salem as the Director of Recreational Activities for Academically and Artistically Talented Students. In 2000, she organized and served as chairperson of the Governor's School Foundation. Goetz's other honors include the 1984 Philo Middle School Teacher of the Year Award and a 1994 DeKalb County School District Junior High School Teacher of the Year Award. In 1996 she received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine from Gov. James B. Hunt, Jr. Geotz is past president of Retired School Personnel, has held offices in the Winston-Salem Twin City Host Lion's Club and served as a deacon at the Knollwood Baptist Church. About Leigh Somerville McMillan: Leigh Somerville McMillan has pursued a lifetime of writing that predates her career as a writer. As a child, she loved stories and was delighted to learn to hold a pencil and capture them on the page. Words have always provided her greatest entertainment, but it was only after she received her English degree from Salem College in 1999 that they began to provide her source of income. McMillan was the first winner of the Annette Allen Creative Writing Award in 1999 and received a 2003
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