|
|
 |
Media ResourcesThe LSU Summer Reading Program, now in its third year, is designed to introduce freshmen to the academic and intellectual culture of LSU through a common reading experience. The book selected for this year is the national bestseller, Life on the Color Line: A True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black by Gregory Howard Williams. The author will address the LSU community during Academic Convocation on Friday, August 25, 2006. A committee of faculty, staff, and current LSU students selected Life on the Color Line for its focus on racial identity and acceptance. It is an engaging and moving story about the author’s personal experience as a young boy in the 1950s, who grew up believing he was white, but ultimately discovered he was part black after the collapse of his parents’ marriage. It is an inspiring autobiography that demonstrates how one person’s determination and spirit, with the help of a few key people, can overcome many obstacles – obstacles as serious as racial conflict, prejudice, poverty, alcoholism, and family dysfunction. The book also highlights subjects including foster parenting, mentoring, decision making and problem solving skills, the role of athletics in a young person’s life, school problems, and school successes. The tragedy surrounding Hurricanes Katrina and Rita has brought new insight to the social issues and inequalities facing Louisiana. Now more than ever, it is important to understand these difficulties in overcoming social obstacles, racial conflict, and prejudice, so that progress for all becomes the top priority in rebuilding Louisiana and making the world a better place to live. In 1995, Life on the Color Line was chosen as the winner of the 1995 Los Angeles Times Book Prize. In 1996, the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Human Rights in North America named Life on the Color Line an "Outstanding Book on the Subject of Human Rights." Press Releases Click on the date to view the entire press release. Please note, LSU Press Releases are PDF files. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these files. (Get Adobe Acrobat Reader.) April 21, 2006 (PDF 57.5 KB) High Resolution Images:
To learn more about the LSU Summer Reading Program, please contact: Kristine Calongne
|
 |
 |
|
|
