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Inspiration Street: Two City Blocks That Helped Change America
This book describes some of the intriguing people who have lived in the 1300 and 1400 blocks of Pierce Street in Lynchburg, Virginia, but it is also more than that. Through what they accomplished during the days of segregation and beyond, these individuals represent 100 years of African-American history in microcosm.
166 pages, Paperback
Published February 26, 2016
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11 people want to read
About the author
Darrell Laurant
10 books16 followersI retired in 2013 after 30 years as the local columnist for the News & Advance, a mid-sized daily newspaper in Lynchburg, VA, then moved to Lake George, NY. There, my wife and I are taking care of my 90-year-old mother, and I'm reinventing myself as a freelance writer and author. My first novel, "The Kudzu Kid," came out last October, centered on a weekly newspaper in a fictional Virginia county. My latest project is "Snowflakes in a Blizzard," a free writers' service designed to lift authors out of the blizzard of books currently on the marketplace and give them some one-on-time with visitors to the blog. Born in North Carolina, I grew up ion Syracuse, NY and graduated from Belmont Abbey College. I previously published two non-fiction books -- "Even Here," and "A City Unto Itself," and I'm currently working on "Inspiration Street," a non-fiction books about two city blocks in Lynchburg that are incredibly rich in African American history.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 29, 2016
I was astonished by the number of prominent people who lived or spent the night while visiting
in these two modest blocks of Lynchburg. It was, as the title suggests, very inspirational to learn about the significance of this city in the civil rights struggle. A fascinating read into a pocket of history that was little known until this book.
in these two modest blocks of Lynchburg. It was, as the title suggests, very inspirational to learn about the significance of this city in the civil rights struggle. A fascinating read into a pocket of history that was little known until this book.
November 26, 2018
This captivating book explores the historical importance of a single street in Lynchburg, Virginia, shedding light on under-recognized—and, to my mind, under-appreciated—figures in African-American history. More specifically, Laurant tells the stories of influential African Americans who lived on, or were connected to residents of, two blocks of Lynchburg’s Pierce Street. To name just a few of these individuals: Anne Spencer, a poet and community leader who, years before Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, engaged in a similar protest on a Lynchburg streetcar; Spencer’s son, Chauncey, who helped launch the Tuskegee Airmen; and Clarence W. Seay, who made an all-black high school in Lynchburg one of the top high schools in America.
Speaking of “Prince Street’s pioneers,” Laurant writes: “Instead of expending all their energy fighting to gain the respect of whites, they simply assumed that was their due. To them, the black and white divide was not a natural way of life, but an anachronism, already obsolete. They just did what they wanted to do, asking no one’s permission.” Well said. Thanks to Laurant’s excellent research and storytelling, I feel as if I’ve been properly introduced to these important historical figures, and I’m looking forward to learning more about them.
Finally, in my view, it’s the stories of individual people, not recountings of facts or of significant events that make historical writing interesting. By putting the stories of influential figures at the center of his book, Laurant delivers a fascinating read.
Speaking of “Prince Street’s pioneers,” Laurant writes: “Instead of expending all their energy fighting to gain the respect of whites, they simply assumed that was their due. To them, the black and white divide was not a natural way of life, but an anachronism, already obsolete. They just did what they wanted to do, asking no one’s permission.” Well said. Thanks to Laurant’s excellent research and storytelling, I feel as if I’ve been properly introduced to these important historical figures, and I’m looking forward to learning more about them.
Finally, in my view, it’s the stories of individual people, not recountings of facts or of significant events that make historical writing interesting. By putting the stories of influential figures at the center of his book, Laurant delivers a fascinating read.
February 28, 2017
History is a double-edged sword.
It can bring light to darkness by telling the story of the past with honesty, integrity, and good scholarship.
Conversely, it can be used as a weapon to further political and social agendas when those who write it choose to deliberately exclude some people from the text or, worse, to spread falsehoods about them. If you don't think that's true ask yourself why most Americans have never heard of the first all-black paratroop battalion in World War II or why, as an another example, very few people know that the last Confederate general to surrender at the end of the Civil War was a Cherokee chief.
I was a victim of that poor scholarship when I was much younger. The history books that I was assigned to read in public school and, later, at a state university were written to perpetuate the myth that the United States and - in fact - the world was the domain of white Christian men. As students, we were led to believe that white men, and only white men, were responsible for the great achievements in science and industry; that they, and only they, were responsible for elevating civilization.
Thus, my textbooks contained no mention of the famous Tuskeegee Airmen or the Japanese-American regimental combat team that fought the Nazis in Europe and emerged as the most highly decorated unit in that theater. Likewise, very few women of any race or creed were ever mentioned. Marie Curie got a mention, of course, because she did win two Nobel Prizes for her achievements in science. There was, however, no mention of other pioneering females such as mathematician Ada King-Noel, the Countess of Lovelace, who laid the foundations for computer science in the 1830s and is credited with writing the world's very first algorithm.
Thankfully, there is a new generation of historians abroad in the United States; men and women who are determined to write articles and books that tell the stories of ALL Americans, not just those who are approved by increasingly jingoistic and - sadly - racist boards of education. Not surprisingly, many of these new historians are homegrown, street-level writers who have chosen to tell the stories of local people, places, and events that shed a whole new light on the American experience.
Darrell Laurant is among them and while he might chafe a bit at being called an historian he is one nonetheless. A novelist and a retired newspaper columnist, his book "Inspiration Street: Two City Blocks That Helped Change America" is a shining example of how history could be - and should be - written. Focusing his attention on two city blocks in Lynchburg, Virginia populated primarily by African-American families, he shines a much-needed spotlight on the achievements of some of the men and women who lived there and who have - despite their accomplishments - largely been ignored in standard history textbooks.
They include Dr. R. Walter Johnson, a physician and tennis coach who helped develop the skills that Arthur Ashe and Althea Gibson would later use to become world famous; Harlem Renaissance poet Annie Spencer; and Frank Trigg, who was born a slave but overcame that and the loss of an arm to become a college president.
Laurant writes in an easy, very accessible style. "Inspiration Street" is not a weighty tome destined to gather dust on a library shelf somewhere but a fairly short book, one that I carried around in my backpack and read while having coffee at my favorite cafe. He has a journalist's knack for putting the reader "in the moment" and a reporter's eye for detail.
More importantly, he has - I believe - done a lot to help dispel some of the stereotypes and racial myths that we, as Americans, cling to with such fervor. Reading about the remarkable men and women that grace the pages of this short history of two city blocks is, well, not to put too fine a point on it, "inspiring."
An easy read, it's my opinion that "Inspiration Street" should be read by any and all Americans interested in the true history of the United States and it is a book that I highly recommend.
It can bring light to darkness by telling the story of the past with honesty, integrity, and good scholarship.
Conversely, it can be used as a weapon to further political and social agendas when those who write it choose to deliberately exclude some people from the text or, worse, to spread falsehoods about them. If you don't think that's true ask yourself why most Americans have never heard of the first all-black paratroop battalion in World War II or why, as an another example, very few people know that the last Confederate general to surrender at the end of the Civil War was a Cherokee chief.
I was a victim of that poor scholarship when I was much younger. The history books that I was assigned to read in public school and, later, at a state university were written to perpetuate the myth that the United States and - in fact - the world was the domain of white Christian men. As students, we were led to believe that white men, and only white men, were responsible for the great achievements in science and industry; that they, and only they, were responsible for elevating civilization.
Thus, my textbooks contained no mention of the famous Tuskeegee Airmen or the Japanese-American regimental combat team that fought the Nazis in Europe and emerged as the most highly decorated unit in that theater. Likewise, very few women of any race or creed were ever mentioned. Marie Curie got a mention, of course, because she did win two Nobel Prizes for her achievements in science. There was, however, no mention of other pioneering females such as mathematician Ada King-Noel, the Countess of Lovelace, who laid the foundations for computer science in the 1830s and is credited with writing the world's very first algorithm.
Thankfully, there is a new generation of historians abroad in the United States; men and women who are determined to write articles and books that tell the stories of ALL Americans, not just those who are approved by increasingly jingoistic and - sadly - racist boards of education. Not surprisingly, many of these new historians are homegrown, street-level writers who have chosen to tell the stories of local people, places, and events that shed a whole new light on the American experience.
Darrell Laurant is among them and while he might chafe a bit at being called an historian he is one nonetheless. A novelist and a retired newspaper columnist, his book "Inspiration Street: Two City Blocks That Helped Change America" is a shining example of how history could be - and should be - written. Focusing his attention on two city blocks in Lynchburg, Virginia populated primarily by African-American families, he shines a much-needed spotlight on the achievements of some of the men and women who lived there and who have - despite their accomplishments - largely been ignored in standard history textbooks.
They include Dr. R. Walter Johnson, a physician and tennis coach who helped develop the skills that Arthur Ashe and Althea Gibson would later use to become world famous; Harlem Renaissance poet Annie Spencer; and Frank Trigg, who was born a slave but overcame that and the loss of an arm to become a college president.
Laurant writes in an easy, very accessible style. "Inspiration Street" is not a weighty tome destined to gather dust on a library shelf somewhere but a fairly short book, one that I carried around in my backpack and read while having coffee at my favorite cafe. He has a journalist's knack for putting the reader "in the moment" and a reporter's eye for detail.
More importantly, he has - I believe - done a lot to help dispel some of the stereotypes and racial myths that we, as Americans, cling to with such fervor. Reading about the remarkable men and women that grace the pages of this short history of two city blocks is, well, not to put too fine a point on it, "inspiring."
An easy read, it's my opinion that "Inspiration Street" should be read by any and all Americans interested in the true history of the United States and it is a book that I highly recommend.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews