Calkins: Otis Sanford tells his story — and it’s one that you should hear.
Author, journalist and professor emeritus Otis Sanford sat down with The Daily Memphian to talk about his new book June 9. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)
Geoff Calkins
Geoff Calkins has been chronicling Memphis and Memphis sports for more than two decades. Calkins has been named the best sports columnist in the country five times by the Associated Press sports editors, but still figures his best columns are about the people who make Memphis what it is.
In the summer of 1970, as a new school year approached, the community around North Panola High was in turmoil.
Sixteen years after the U.S. Supreme Court had ostensibly ended segregated schools with its decision in Brown v. Board of Education, yet another U.S. Supreme Court decision dictated that the state of Mississippi finally had to get on board.
North Panola High, the white school, would be fully integrated. North Panola Vocational High, the Black school, would be closed.
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Otis Sanford The Commercial Appeal Voting Rights Act Ella Fitzgerald Subscriber OnlyThank you for reading The Daily Memphian. Your support is critical.
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