The Dark Before Dawn: From Civil Wrongs to Civil Light

As an African American child growing up in St. Augustine, Florida, author Gerald Eubanks had a hard time seeing the victories won during the Civil War in action. Blacks were excluded from opportunities afforded to his white neighbors. Schools were aggressively segregated. Racial tensions simmered. The town's sheriff deputized members of the notorious Ku Klux Klan to ensure continued white supremacy.

It was through the persistence of quiet, unsung heroes that progress began to appear. Here, h...