James E. McLean, Brandon Sparkman Called to Jackson, Mississippi: the Last Bastion of Segregation

Annotation

Jackson, Mississippi, was the last place Dr. Brandon Sparkman would have chosen to work back in 1970. But an anonymous, threatening letter lured him there. In this memoir and historical documentary, Sparkman narrates what it was like to try to ensure a quality education for all students in Jackson and to save the schools from complete chaos and destruction during the height of desegregation.Called to Jackson, Mississippi: The Last Bastion of Segregation tells how, as a school administrator, he regularly faced rebellious communities, hostile parents, disruptive students, defiant elected officials, unreasonable judges, and, occasionally, the Ku Klux Klan. It describes how he confronted the most hated man in the state and how he courageously took the Governor of Mississippi to court while dismantling the last bastion of segregated schools.This historical account of the excruciating birth of desegregation in Jackson is revealed in a description of people and events that changed America forever.