Mr. Touchdown
by
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The roar came closer. Headlights turned the corner from the highway onto the street where Lakeesha and Nancy stood. They looked at each other and then turned in unison to look toward the headlights.
Nancy saw a long stick emerge from the window of the oncoming car. The engine roared, and the car leaped forward.
Nancy froze in space and time. Her mind floated somewhere just above her motionless body. "Broom handle," Nancy thought calmly, watching it move in exquisite slow motion toward Lakeesha. That second stretched out like a rubber band, hours long. A brilliant flash of light made Nancy duck and blink. Then the broom handle hit Lakeesha with an awful crack. Nancy heard it even over the growling car that sped toward her and the ugly shouting from inside it.
The stick disappeared inside the window. Another flash of light came from somewhere behind her. The car swerved. Nancy came back to life and jumped away as it shot past her
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About the Book
"Eddie Russell, a black football star, anticipates enjoying his junior season at Douglass High School south of Memphis, Tennessee, in 1965, but complies with his father Reverend Henry Russell's wishes when local civil rights leaders select Eddie to integrate all-white Forrest High School. Epitomizing resiliency, Eddie; his studious sister, Lakeesha; and two other African-American girls, Lethe and Rochelle; stoically attend classes, experiencing passive racism at first and confronting academic inequities of segregated education when they discover better books and facilities in the white school. Most students either ignore or taunt the black pupils; a teacher washes her hands after touching them, and Eddie's football coach benches him for most of the season. Eddie strives to perceive good in his tormentors. Although the black children's perspectives predominate, reactions of popular white cheerleader, Nancy Martin, depict her tolerance for her new classmates. She befriends the black students, invites them to her home, and attends their church despite her friends' disapproval and rejection. The racism escalates when classmates assault Lakeesha ... testing Eddie's commitment to nonviolence and forgiveness. Based on the author's experiences as a teenager, this complex story explores young adults' experiences on school desegregation's front lines." Children's Literature
About the Author
Lyda Phillips is an award-winning journalist, novelist, and screenwriter. A native of San Antonio, she went to school in Memphis, Tennessee, and has degrees from Northwestern, Columbia, and Vanderbilt universities. She lives in Tennessee with her family.