Jim Auchmutey's Blog, page 6

Right there with the paper towels

Stacks of "The Class of '65" have been spotted at Costco stores in several cities, such as this one in Atlanta. (My friend Robert Coram sent this lovely still life.) When I think about warehouse stores, I think about their impressive array of paper goods: T.P., napkins, paper towels -- and now my book! I feel honored to be part of the lineup. Let's justify Costco's faith in the written word: If you need to stock up on staples at your favorite big box retailer, don't forget the reading material. 

Yakety-yak

See that man with his mouth ajar? He sure has been talking a lot lately. In the past two weeks, Jim Auchmutey (otherwise known as "Authorus Blabberus") has given five talks about his new book, "The Class of '65," with many more to come. Switching to first person now: I'd like to thank the Atlanta Prime Timers (especially Richard Rhodes), the West End Rotary Club (special thanks to John Ingersoll), and the Georgia State University history department (ditto to Clifford Kuhn) for inviting me to speak, listening with genuine interest -- and for buying some books. I've added a Power Point slide show and am getting to where I hardly have to consult notes anymore. My wife and siblings have always known I like to talk, but this is getting downright Toastmasterish.

Memorable voices

One of the best pieces done about "The Class of '65" during its publication week was the radio show "Two Way Street," aired over Easter weekend on 17 stations of the Georgia Public Broadcasting network. Host Bill Nigut had the inspired idea of augmenting the usual author interview with comments from Tom Key, the Atlanta actor who wrote "The Cotton Patch Gospel" and has performed it for years. The musical is based on the writings of Clarence Jordan, the co-founder of Koinonia and a looming figure in the new book, whose "Cotton Patch" versions of the New Testament retold the gospel story in mid-20th century Georgia, starting with the birth of Jesus in Gainesville. They laid the babe, not in a manger, but in an apple crate. If you didn't hear it live, GPB has posted the program on its web site (link below). It's a fine introduction to Koinonia, the place that molded Greg Wittkamper and laid the foundation for the moral conflicts at the heart of "The Class of '65."    

Only in Americus

"The Class of '65" returned home Thursday to Sumter County, Ga., where the story of race and reconciliation is set. Another overflow crowd came out to hear about the book, this time at the Lake Blackshear Regional Library in Americus. All four of the students who desegregated Americus High in 1964 came (shown here with Greg Wittkamper and Jim Auchmutey; they are, from left: David Bell, Robertiena Freeman Fletcher, Jewel Wise and Dobbs Wiggins). We were also pleased to see several of Greg's classmates, including David Morgan, who set the reconciliation in motion decades later when he planned their 40th reunion. David's copy of the 1965 yearbook provided most of the senior portraits used on the book cover. Our friends from Koinonia Farm came and handled book sales, and we saw many people from Habitat for Humanity and the Fuller Center for Housing, including Linda Fuller Degelmann, who helped found both organizations. It was heartwarming to see the strands of this story come together in one auditorium. Thanks to Anne Isbell and Jill Dalton Kloberdanz at the library --  and thank you, Americus.

An emotional evening

We had our first book event for "The Class of '65" last night at the Carter Library in Atlanta, and it couldn't have gone better. Some 250 people came, so many that they were sitting in the aisles and on the edge of the stage and in an overflow room with a remote video hookup. For a while, they were turning people away at the door (including a former editor of mine -- sorry about that!). After a generous introduction from Hank Klibanoff, I talked about the book and read a couple of excerpts, choking up at one point. But the best part was when the hero, Greg Wittkamper, came to the lectern and spoke about his experiences in high school. All these years later, he cried at some of the memories. We were pleased to see several people from the book in attendance: Lenny and Jan Jordan, children of Koinonia co-founder Clarence Jordan; Charles Browne, son of Koinonia stalwart Con Browne who drove all the way from West Virginia to be with us; Sam Mahone, one of the young activists who pushed for civil rights in Americus during the 1960s; Warren Fortson, a lawyer who worked for racial progress in Sumter County and was hounded for his efforts; and some of Greg's classmates, including Robertiena Freeman Fletcher, one of the first black students at Americus High and a bright, inspiring profile in courage herself. There was so much love and support in that room. What an evening. Thank you, Atlanta. 

Unfinished business

The Associated Press has moved a review of "The Class of '65" that conveys the themes of the book with the clarity and concision the wire service is known for. The piece, by Don Schanche Jr. of the AP's South Bureau, has already been picked up by ABC News, The Washington Post, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Newsday and others. According to Schanche, the author "expertly tells the story" of Greg Wittkamper (seen here), a white student punished for supporting desegregation, and of a Georgia community in turmoil, the larger civil rights struggle and an unexpected reconciliation decades later. "The reconciliation that follows in Auchmutey's compelling narrative is at times tentative and halting, but also filled with emotional power," Schanche writes. "And it appears to be still in progress. At the time of the reunion, it included only Wittkamper and his white classmates. The closing section of Auchmutey's book suggests another chapter yet to be written, as blacks and whites together make peace with the past." 

Color-blind heroism

The Washington Post reviewed "The Class of '65" this weekend in a thoughtful, in-depth piece that raises a question I wrestled with myself: What do we make of a narrative set in the civil rights era whose hero is white? Donna Britt (shown here), a former syndicated columnist for the Post and author of the memoir "Brothers (and Me)," admits that she approached "The Class of '65" with some skepticism, wondering whether it was another "white savior" narrative like "Mississippi Burning," where the heroes were white FBI agents instead of the black people fighting back against terrorism. Having said that, Britt soon found herself pulled into the story of Greg Wittkamper, the white teenager who was persecuted in high school because of his beliefs and his support of the black students desegregating their high school. "The more I learned about Wittkamper's grit, the more I admired him," she writes. "Courage deserves acknowledgement, no matter what color it's wrapped in. My predominant 'why' became 'Why can't the rest of us be as brave?'" There were other brave young people during those difficult times in Georgia -- black and white -- and they all deserve our acknowledgement and admiration. 

Between a fruit and a gadfly

"The Class of '65" has started to show up in bookstores a few days ahead of its publication date. The author's wife and part-time publicist, the lovely Pamela, spied the book on the shelves at the Barnes & Noble in the Edgewood shopping district in Atlanta, keeping company with Glenn Beck and a volume about Italy and its legendary lemons. A diverse neighborhood indeed.

Second printing!

John Grisham doesn't worry about 2nd printings.

When you write a book, you never know whether it's going to find an audience or disappear into the witness protection program. I learned this morning from my publisher (PublicAffairs) that The Class of '65 has gone into its second printing. We're not talking about John Grisham numbers here. Still, this is a good thing –- and days before its publication date. I had been concerned because the book showed up on Amazon earlier this week as "temporarily out of stock," which was good news and bad news: good because some people are buying it, bad because the retailer places little sippy-cup orders from publishers when we would prefer they place Big Gulp orders. More books are on the way! Stay thirsty, my friends. 

Sneak preview

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran an excerpt from The Class of '65 in the Sunday newspaper, where the first version of the story that grew into this book appeared in the fall of 2006. They produced a nifty video that includes one of my favorite parts of all this: one of Greg Wittkamper's classmates, David Morgan, reading part of his apology letter to Greg. I remember misting up as I listened to David read that letter into my digital recorder as we sat in his office in Perry, Georgia. The story is on the Living & Arts front under the title "The Scapegoat," part of the Personal Journeys feature that showcases some of the AJC's best narratives. Thanks, David, and thanks to Suzanne Van Atten, Elissa Benzie and everyone at the AJC, my alma mater.