R.Leroy Bannerman

"The book captures an important legal and historical moment and conveys a powerful social message." In the deep South during the early fifties, a promising young high school graduate's hope to attend college is handicapped by family poverty. Joey Henderson, the son of a black sharecropper, eagerly accepts a proposal to meet his educational costs if, for the NAACP, he will attempt to enroll in a local all-white institution (to further the organization's aim to eliminate segregation). Both his parents and his girlfriend Abby disapprove of this bold act and indeed Joey is faced with opposition and eventual violence. After a lengthy court case led by Thurgood Marshall and others, young Henderson is admitted to the white school-only to meet the danger and circumstance of intense bigotry. This is an emotional story of sacrifice and determination which typified the pre-civil rights era and, on this occasion, transformed a rural community.

Norman Corwin is regarded as the most acclaimed creative artist of radio's Golden Age (mid 1930s to late 1940s). Corwin worked as a producer for CBS at a time when radio was the centerpiece of American family life. His programs brought high moments to the medium during a period when exceptional creativity and world crisis shaped its character and conviction. Bannerman's book is more than biography: it is also social history--the story of network radio, its great achievements and ultimate decline. Many of Corwin's programs are considered radio classics. During World War II his programs energized the people and marshaled morale. We Hold These Truths, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the American Bill of Rights, was broadcast eight days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and On a Note of Triumph, a VE-Day special for CBS, marked the historic culmination of a momentous conflict. Bannerman's work is a portrayal of a remarkable man, who led an influential fight for the art and integrity of broadcasting, who endured unfounded accusations during the blacklisting period of the McCarthy era, and who by his dedication accomplished significant programs of historic dimensions.