Goodreads asked Burt Boyar:

How do you get inspired to write?

Burt Boyar My first book, YES I CAN, the autobiography of Sammy Davis, Jr. was inspired by the feeling that people need to know what racism is. When my wife and I took him to the "chic" and snobby supper club, El Morocco, and he was treated badly despite being the star of a Broadway show, despite the fact that the other customers were thrilled to see him and the dance band immediately began playing all of his songs, and still the management could not handle the idea of a man with dark skin (and no turban) was among the patrons, despite his perfect manners, and immaculate, elegant clothing they still didn't "get it". So, I took a one year leave of absence from the syndicated Broadway column I was writing and my dear late wife, Jane, and I spent the next six years to créate what became a huge comercial and critical success. And the big payoff was the letters from readers, like one from a girl in Texasz wbo said she was just beginning to teach Third Grade and was now going to approach it with a whole new mind-set.

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