Black History

Book Review: 54 Miles

Deep down inside, there’s a part of you that always wants to do right. Did someone teach you that? Or were you just modeling what your elders did when they did what was true and right? Either way, your moral compass points the way, always. You do right for the world, even if, as in the new novel “54 Miles” by Leonard Pitts, Jr., it’s the wrong personal decision for you. Sitting in church, hundreds of miles from home, Adam Simon felt the distance keenly.

Published

2 months ago

August 6, 2024

Oakland Post

Book Cover of 54 Miles, Author Leonard Pitts, Jr. Photo by Carl Juste

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

Author: Leonard Pitts, Jr.

Deep down inside, there’s a part of you that always wants to do right.

Did someone teach you that? Or were you just modeling what your elders did when they did what was true and right? Either way, your moral compass points the way, always. You do right for the world, even if, as in the new novel “54 Miles” by Leonard Pitts, Jr., it’s the wrong personal decision for you.

Sitting in church, hundreds of miles from home, Adam Simon felt the distance keenly.

This surprised him. It wasn’t like he was close to his parents. No, his father, a White minister, had over-preached to Adam for too long, and his Black mother never showed Adam much warmth. With no siblings to help soften these facts, Adam left college to head to Alabama, to work with SNCC’s voter registry efforts.

That was the plan, anyhow, but down-deep, Adam had no idea what he was doing. It was a good cause, a great and righteous one, but not without danger: he was almost killed while marching across the Edmund Pettis Bridge.

And that’s how his frantic parents learned where he was: alerted by Simon’s parents, his Uncle Luther tracked the young man down in a Selma hospital, took him in, and notified Simon’s parents that he was safe.

By that time, Simon was on his way to Alabama for his son’s sake.

Years ago, George, the elder Simon, and his now-wife, Thelma, had busted almost every racial law the South imposed, and they married. Shortly afterward, Simon’s father sent the new family north, for safety.

And now Simon was in Alabama, in the mouth of the dragon and he had other troubles on his mind.

Simon knew he shouldn’t have snooped, but while staying with his Uncle Luther, he found a stash of old letters, and he read them. What he learned shocked him, and he had to leave Luther’s home immediately.

The problem was, Simon had nowhere to go.

Were you there? If not, can you imagine what it was like to live in 1965, at the height of the Civil Rights Movement? Readers who don’t know or can’t picture it will get an eyeful of what was possible inside “54 Miles.”

In setting his novel roughly in the years 1945 to 1965, author Leonard Pitts, Jr. doesn’t make reading this book easy. There are passages inside this novel that will make you want to wince and turn away and – caution! – they’re not for the weak-stomached.

Just remember, they’re essential to the story and to why the characters act as they do.

On that, you’ll enjoy most of these characters as they look to the past and future, working their ways through personal struggles and one of the more tumultuous periods in American history. Details help, making this books’ cast feel more authentic.

Be aware that “54 Miles” can be slow, at certain points, but stick with it and you won’t be disappointed. Especially if you’re a historical novel fan, this book will do you right.

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Black History

From Louisville to the Olympics: The Legacy of William DeHart Hubbard

William DeHart Hubbard, born on November 25, 1903, in Cincinnati, Ohio, was a trailblazing figure in American sports history. Hubbard grew up in Cincinnati. While attending Walnut Hills High School he excelled in academics and athletics. This earned him a scholarship to the University of Michigan in 1921, where he studied in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. In college, he quickly made a name for himself as an exceptional track and field athlete.

Published

7 days ago

October 1, 2024

Oakland Post

William DeHart Hubbard made history in 1924 when Hubbard made Olympic history by winning the Gold Medal in the long jump. Public Domain.

By Tamara Shiloh

William DeHart Hubbard, born on November 25, 1903, in Cincinnati, Ohio, was a trailblazing figure in American sports history.

Hubbard grew up in Cincinnati. While attending Walnut Hills High School he excelled in academics and athletics. This earned him a scholarship to the University of Michigan in 1921, where he studied in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. In college, he quickly made a name for himself as an exceptional track and field athlete.

Hubbard was the only African American on the school’s track team; he was also the first African American varsity track letterman at the university. In his college career, Hubbard won several meets including being a three-time National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion, eight-time Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) champion, and seven-time Big Ten Conference champion in track and field. His 1925 outdoor long jump of 25 feet 10¹⁄₂ inches stood as the Michigan Wolverines team record until 1980, and it is still second. His 1925 jump of 25 feet 3.5 inches stood as a Big Ten Championships record until Jesse Owens broke it in 1935 with what is now the current record of 26 feet 8.25 inches.

In 1924, he was selected to represent the United States at the Paris Summer Olympics.

Competing against some of the best athletes in the world, Hubbard made history by winning the gold medal in the long jump by jumping 24 feet 5.5 inches. This victory made him the first African American to win an individual gold medal in the history of the modern Olympic Games.

In 1925, Hubbard broke the long jump world record with a leap of 25 feet 10⁷⁄₈ inches at the NCAA championships. In 1927, he bettered that with a jump of 26 feet 2.25 inches — which would have been the first ever over 26 feet — but meet officials disallowed it, claiming that the take-off board was an inch higher than the surface of the landing pit. He also competed in the hurdles at the 1926 AAU championships. He graduated with honors in 1927.

He specialized in the long jump, a sport that would soon bring him international fame.

Hubbard’s Olympic success was not just a personal triumph but a milestone for African Americans in sports. His victory challenged the prevailing stereotypes of the time and inspired a generation of Black athletes to pursue their dreams in the face of adversity.

After his Olympic success, he continued to excel in track and field. He set an additional world record in 1925 with a jump of 25 feet 10.75 inches, which stood for several years. His accomplishments were not limited to athletics, as he also became involved in civic and business endeavors after his graduation from the University of Michigan in 1927.

Following his athletic career, Hubbard returned to his hometown of Cincinnati, where he took on various roles serving his community and the progress of African Americans. He worked as a manager for the Department of Colored Work for the Cincinnati Public Recreation Commission and later became a race relations adviser for the Federal Housing Administration.

Hubbard passed away on June 23, 1976. As the first African American to win an individual Gold Medal in the Olympics, he not only paved the way for future generations of athletes but also demonstrated the profound impact that sports can have on societal change.