I wrote an article on Frank Dowsing, the first African American football player at Mississippi State University, who had become a "hidden figure" after a highly successful career in Starkville. Jeremy Schaap from ESPN Radio's "The Sporting Life" had ... [Continue Reading]
Feature on WSMV-Ch 4 with Rudy Kalis
Legendary Nashville television journalist Rudy Kalis visited Lipscomb Academy, where the entire middle school read STRONG INSIDE this year. Here's his piece from Channel 4 on the impact the book had on these young students. ... [Continue Reading]
Conversation with Vanderbilt Chancellor Nick Zeppos
In this conversation with Vanderbilt Chancellor Nick Zeppos, Andrew Maraniss discusses the legacy of Perry Wallace at Vanderbilt and the lessons his story teaches us in these troubled times. ... [Continue Reading]
Raising Race Conscious Children Guest Blog
"In my opinion, the fact that racism endures and even thrives represents a fundamental failure in parenting. And that’s not just an easy indictment of parents who eagerly pass along their own hatred. More important is the much larger pool of parents ... [Continue Reading]
Jonesborough Herald & Tribune Feature
When Humanities Tennessee arranged a Student Reader Day visit to Jonesborough Middle School, reporter Marina Waters of the Jonesborough Herald & Tribune came out to the school for an interview. The amazing program provided 400 free copies of ... [Continue Reading]
Johnson City Press Column
On Feb. 23, I had the opportunity to visit Jonesborough Middle School in East Tennessee as part of Humanities Tennessee's "Student Reader Day" program. All 400 5th through 8th graders at the school received a free copy of STRONG INSIDE. The Johnson ... [Continue Reading]
Strong Inside Named A Top Biography for Youth
Strong Inside has been named one of the Top 10 Biographies for Youth in 2017 by the American Library Association's Booklist publication. The biography of basketball pioneer was honored along with biographies of the likes of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, ... [Continue Reading]
Chapter16.org Q&A
"Also, given the racial divide in this country and the incidents of school bullying and harassment we’ve seen since the election, I am hopeful this book can play a small role in bringing kids together. Some young readers will identify closely with ... [Continue Reading]
The Seth Davis Podcast
Perry Wallace and I were guests on The Seth Davis Podcast, discussing Perry's pioneering journey as the first African American basketball player in the SEC and both the adult and young readers versions of STRONG INSIDE. Davis, of Sports Illustrated ... [Continue Reading]
Booklist “Starred” Review for Young Readers Edition
Booklist has given its coveted "starred" review to the Young Readers edition of Strong Inside. Reviewer Sharon Rawlins says the "inspiring" story is "thought-provoking, riveting, and heart-wrenching, though it remains hopeful as it takes readers into ... [Continue Reading]