Vernon Can Read! : A Memoir

by Jordan, Vernon E., Jr.

• ISBN13: 9780465036974
• ISBN10: 046503697X
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-12-12
• Publisher: Perseus Books Group

Summary

A number-one Washington Post bestseller, this memoir is the unforgettable story of a life and its times. As a student in Atlanta, Vernon Jordan had a summer job driving a white banker around town. During the man's afternoon naps, Jordan passed the time reading books, a fact that astounded his boss. "Vernon can read!" the man exclaimed to his relatives. Nearly fifty years later, Vernon Jordan, long-time civil rights leader, adviser and close friend to presidents and business leaders, remembers the sweeping struggles, changes, and dangers of black life during the civil rights revolution.After attending a predominantly white college in the Midwest and graduating from Howard University Law School, Jordan dedicated himself to the civil rights movement. He led the drive to register black voters in the South and was president of the National Urban League, one of the great civil rights organizations of the era, where he was instrumental in integrating American businesses and providing economic and social support to the expanding black middle class. He survived a white racist's assassination attempt and later became a pillar of America's legal, corporate, and political worlds.But Jordan's life was shaped in his early years, and this book is also a moving testament to the family whose support and courage provided the framework for his achievements. Vernon Can Read! chronicles a life of courage, pride, sacrifice, style, and accomplishment.

Author Biography

Vernon E. Jordan, Jr, a major figure in the American civil rights movement, is now a managing director of the investment firm Lazard Frères & Co. -- Annette Gordon-Reed, author of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School and a professor at New York Law School.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
My Mother's Son	p. 13
At Home in the World	p. 36
DePauw	p. 68
Chicago Interlude	p. 95
Howard Law School	p. 108
Mr. Hollowell	p. 126
Ms. Hurley and the NAACP	p. 144
The Dollar and the Ballot	p. 166
A World Opened Wide	p. 191
Building Blocks	p. 208
Building Bridges	p. 228
At the Helm	p. 249
Endurance	p. 279
American Dream, American Reality	p. 301
Family Matters	p. 317
Epilogue	p. 331
Acknowledgments	p. 335
Index	p. 337
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