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Author of Inaugural Ballers, Singled Out, Games of Deception and Strong Inside

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Vanderbilt Magazine Essay

April 2, 2015

Perry-Wallace-libraryNow celebrating its 100th anniversary, Vanderbilt Magazine (the alumni magazine of the university) included a first-person essay I wrote on my experiences with Perry Wallace and the launch of Strong Inside, dating back to 1989 when I first interviewed Wallace for a Black History course at Vanderbilt. The article begins and ends with a scene at the Nashville Public Library, when more than 400 people, including many members of Wallace’s Vanderbilt Class of 1970, turned out to welcome him back to Nashville.

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  • “In a magnificently reported, nuanced
    but raw account of basketball and racism in the South during the 1960s, Andrew Maraniss tells the story of Perry Wallace’s struggle, loneliness, perseverance and eventual self-realization. A rare story about physical and intellectual courage that is both shocking and triumphant. ”

    Bob Woodward, Washington Post associate editor and author

Watch Andrew Maraniss talk about his inspiration to write Strong Inside, featuring archival footage of Perry Wallace in action.
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