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Children of the Struggle and the Ancestors Who Stayed
The Tuskegee Institute High School Class of 1964
Sonjia Parker Redmond (Edited by), Beatrice J. Adams (Edited by), Fred D. Gray (Foreword by), Raymond Adams (Contributions by), Barbara White Atkinson-Liggins (Contributions by), Gerald W. Billes (Contributions by), Carolyn Earline Foster Bivins (Contributions by), Mattie Davis Blizzard (Contributions by), Milton Donald (Contributions by), Nancy Hooten Garrison (Contributions by), Rosa McWilliams Henderson (Contributions by), Margaret Meadows Jones (Contributions by), Anthony T. Lee (Contributions by), Douglas Mayberry (Contributions by), Sonjia Parker Redmond (Contributions by), Annie Jean Baker Reed (Contributions by), Alex Stanton (Contributions by), Alma Jean Foye Stokes (Contributions by), Palmer Sullins (Contributions by), Harold White (Contributions by), Marian Quinn Williams (Contributions by), Roosevelt Lorenzo Williams (Contributions by), Carolyn Moss Woodard (Contributions by), Willie B. Wyatt (Contributions by), Palmer Sullins, Jr. (Contributions by)
9780817362324, The University of Alabama Press
Paperback / softback, published 16 February 2026
368 pages, 53 b&w figures, 4 maps
22.9 x 15.2 x 3 cm, 0.567 kg
"Children of the Struggle and the Ancestors Who Stayed is engaging, surprising, and informative. These narratives of triumph can serve as inspiration to any reader who is committed to bringing about change in the face of injustice." —Trudier Harris, author of From Mammies to Militants: Domestics in Black American Literature from Charles Chesnutt to Toni Morrison "This book is a significant contribution and necessary correction to archives of the history of Tuskegee University and to the community that grew around and with it." —Frances Smith Foster, author of Til Death or Distance Do Us Part: Love and Marriage in African America
Winner of the Anne B. and James B. McMillan Prize A powerful collection of firsthand stories from the Tuskegee Institute High School Class of 1964—students who came of age in the crucible of the Civil Rights Movement. Their stories uncover the bold choices of their ancestors who chose to stay and help shape the South. Children of the Struggle and the Ancestors Who Stayed, edited by Sonjia Parker Redmond and Beatrice J. Adams, brings together twenty-one deeply personal narratives from members of the Tuskegee Institute High School Class of 1964. These students grew up at the heart of the Civil Rights Movement, coming of age during landmark legal battles, community-led voter registration efforts, and the long shadow of Jim Crow. Graduating in the year of the Civil Rights Act and Freedom Summer, these young people had already helped desegregate Alabama schools. They marched from Selma to Montgomery, mourned the assassination of classmate Sammy Younge Jr., and witnessed firsthand the violent resistance to change that defined the era. Rather than join the Great Migration northward, many of them followed the lead of their ancestors and chose to stay—becoming educators, organizers, and civic leaders. Their lives reflect a powerful legacy of resistance and renewal, rooted in a deep sense of place and purpose. This collection preserves their voices and honors the generations of Black families who fought for justice not only through protest, but by staying, building, and believing in the promise of the South.
Foreword by Fred D. Gray Acknowledgments Introduction: Origins of the 1964 Reunion Class Narratives Project 1 Part I. Ancestors: Creating the Parallel World Chapter 1. Raymond Adams Chapter 2. Carolyn Earline Foster Bivins Chapter 3. Milton Donald Chapter 4. Nancy Hooten Garrison Chapter 5. Douglas Mayberry Chapter 6. Annie Jean Baker Reed Part II. Ancestors and Narrators: Lifting as They Climbed Chapter 7. Margaret Meadows Jones Chapter 8. Barbara White Atkinson-Liggins Chapter 9. Alma Jean Foye Stokes Chapter 10. Harold White Chapter 11. Carolyn Moss Woodard Part III. Ancestors and Narrators: Toiling, Striving, Reaching toward the Sky Chapter 12. Mattie Davis Blizzard Chapter 13. Rosa McWilliams Henderson Chapter 14. Marian Quinn Williams Chapter 15. Sonjia Parker Redmond Chapter 16. Alex Stanton Chapter 17. Roosevelt Lorenzo Williams Part IV. Ancestors and Narrators: Frontlines of the Civil Rights Generation Chapter 18. Gerald W. Billes Chapter 19. Anthony T. Lee Chapter 20. Palmer Sullins Jr. Chapter 21. Willie B. Wyatt Jr. Epilogue Notes Index