This is the biography of William Ronald (Bill) Brooks, a Black kid who grew up impoverished in the racially hostile town of Little Rock, Arkansas. He made his way from Central High School into the bigger world and eventually lived a prosperous life. It is an ordinary American story in that Bill became neither the president of the nation nor a drug dealer in the ghetto. It is an extraordinary story in that he overcame poverty and prejudice to go further than many contemporaries did, regardless of color, while also never losing his sense of self, his heart, or his optimism for his family and his country. Though he has taken advantage of America's opportunities, he has also struggled, and sometimes struggles still, as a Black man in a predominantly white culture. His life demonstrates a plain, hard truth: that a Black person seeking to enjoy a regular life in America still requires unusual courage, patience, faith-and luck-to achieve social justice.

This is also one of the untold stories of Black history: the first generation of African Americans to make significant headway in civil rights as they attempted to integrate American society after 250 years of slavery, another hundred years of legalized oppression, and ongoing, widespread bigotry. When this generation is gone, the stories of their lifelong struggle to gain ground will be gone.