The recently published book "One America" by radio station owner Art Gilliam reflects his personal story of growing up in the segregated South of the 1950s. Gilliam will be coming to Nashville to deliver a talk and book signing during Black History Month in 2015.
According to thehistorymakers.com, Art Gilliam became the first African-American radio station owner in Memphis when he bought WLOK Radio in 1977. He started his work in the media writing a regular weekly op-ed column for the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper as the first African-American to write for the paper before he became the first African-American television newscaster in Memphis as news anchor at WMC-TV (the NBC affiliate) in Memphis. He left Memphis for a time to serve in the Washington congressional office of Congressman Harold Ford, Sr., the first African-American to be elected to Congress from Tennessee.
In "One America," Gilliam shares his experiences as a young black child growing up in the segregated South in the 1950s, a time when racism was overt and pervasive. His story takes a turn when his education at a New England prep school and then Yale University as a young teenager led to a compelling change in his perspective.
Gilliam has been a front row witness to a dramatic change in race relations in the United States but knows that we have not yet healed the wounds of the past. "I believe that the future greatness of our nation depends on our ability to move beyond our racial history and truly become One America," says Gilliam. "This book reflects my hope and vision for America."
Art Gilliam's talk and book signing at the Church of Scientology will take place Feb 21, 2015 at 1pm and is free and open to the public. For more information, call the church at 615-687-4600.
