My View From the Back of the Bus

Long, Merritt D.

ISBN 10: 1735871109 / ISBN 13: 9781735871103

Published by Author Published, Olympia, WA, 2020

About this Item

Inscribed and signed by the author on the title page. Slight wear.

Seller Inventory # 000190

Bibliographic Details

• Title: My View From the Back of the Bus
• Publisher: Author Published, Olympia, WA
• Publication Date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1735871109
• ISBN 13: 9781735871103
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: Very Good
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • Black Studies

About this title

Synopsis

Through his lens as a "colored" child, "Negro" teenager, "Black" young man, and finally successful African American state official, this book reveals how Merritt D. Long was shaped by - and helped to shape - American history.

Jim Crow laws, segregation and the civil rights movement are the backdrop to Long's childhood and youth in Alabama in the 1950's and 1960's. As a child, the color of Long's skin dictated what doors he could walk through, where he could sit on the bus, where he could eat, and what water fountains he could use.

But like many other southern Black people, the powerful pride of his family and community steeled him against the incessant insults of racism. And the civil rights movement help fuel his determination to become an educated, successful professional.

Along the way, including a Morehouse College education in Atlanta, he met and was inspired by Muhammed Ali, Rosa Parks, and Julian Bond.

But even at the pinnacle of his professional success as the head of several major state agencies, he continued to experience racist reactions to his authority and leadership.

His journey led him to become a widely admired community leader, a loving husband and father, and a mentor and benefactor to the next generation of young people who struggle to overcome economic hardship and the still-present barriers of entrenched, systemic racism.