Friday, March 08, 2013

BJ Hollars Book Release & Reading - March 28, 5 pm

On Thursday, March 28, McIntyre Library will host the local book release and reading from UW-Eau Claire English professor B.J. Hollars’ newest book, Opening the Doors: The Desegregation of the University of Alabama and the Fight for Civil Rights in Tuscaloosa.  

The reading will take place at 5 pm in McIntyre Library’s Special Collections and Archives Department on the 5th floor of the library.  Copies of the book will be available for sale and signing by the author.  Light refreshments will be served.  This event is open to the public.

Opening the Doors provides an all-encompassing account of the University of Alabama’s 1956 and 1963 desegregation attempts, as well as the never-before-reported-story of Tuscaloosa, Alabama’s own civil rights movement.

While the image of Governor George Wallace’s stand in the schoolhouse door has long burned in the American consciousness, more interesting are the circumstances that led him there in the first place.  On the eve of the 50th Anniversary of Wallace’s stand, Hollars sheds new light on the secret history behind UA’s desegregation; a process that proved successful due to the concerted efforts of dedicated student leaders, a progressive university president, a steadfast administration, and secret negotiations between the Justice Department, the White House, and Alabama’s stubborn governor.

About the Author: B.J. Hollars is the author of two books of nonfiction, Thirteen Loops: Race, Violence and the Last Lynching in America—the 2012 recipient of the Society of Midland Author’s Award—and Opening the Doors: The Desegregation of the University of Alabama and the Fight for Civil Rights in Tuscaloosa.

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