Overview

Come along and sing with us, as we accompany Jimmy Collier, the unsung 'Pied Piper' of the Civil Rights Movement, on an unbelievable journey. Reminisce about his humble beginnings in Ft. Smith, Ark., and the love for the Church that played a big part in his life; most notably his musical learning from an early age. Choir, piano lessons and even Jim Crow, shaped the rebel within him to always speak up against inequality and any form of injustice. Serenading his way through every protest he could find with his guitar during the '60s, it was no surprise when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. noticed him, and welcomed him into the ranks of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, or SCLC. From Chicago to Selma, Ala., then from Chicago to the Newport Folk Festival, ole' Jimmy (in his own words), was the most famous person you've never heard of! Come ride along on the 96-foot schooner named the Clearwater, with Pete Seeger and a salty crew of (now famous) musicians shouting and singing for a cleaner Hudson River, docking in nearly 36 ports of call for nightly concerts. In between kickstarting the beginnings of environmental concerns, Earth Day and the EPA, Jimmy organized the downtrodden to gather in Washington D.C. only weeks after the death of MLK for the Poor People's Campaign. Jimmy starred in two major films, appeared several times on ""Sesame Street"", recorded a dozen albums and was the strong voice we could surely use today. Jimmy's music is available on iTunes.

Full Product Details

9781971478135

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

As a child of the early1950s, I, Sam J LoProto, grew up in the Valley of the Hearts Delight, which today is better known as Silicon Valley. My family migrated from Sicily at the turn of the century, and they all enjoyed the thousands of acres of orchards and lush green pastures to explore (and work in) while the mild climate complimented the prime location stretching from San Francisco down to Monterey Bay. My next book will follow their journey, ""Coming to America"", which will be out soon. Taking in all the arts, music and education offered to me came easy enough; but the lure of that wild spirit of emerging social unrest was too hard for me to resist. I followed the other Pied Pipers, such as those hip, psychedelic, R&B, jazz, and blues musical gurus, and even outlaw bikers, into the sunset for a long ride. So, after a mildly successful career in Real Estate, and then, as a senior citizen, I went back to college, graduating summa cum laude from Fresno State in 2016, with a B.A. in Mass Communications and Journalism, Music, and an M.A. in History, at the age of 64. While on campus, I partnered with Dr. Gary Rice to pay homage to WWII Veterans through the Central California War Veterans Oral History Project, documenting those heroes from a by-gone era. My reward was to accompany 67 WWII Veterans to Washington D.C. to visit the WWII Memorial. As Fresno State's giornalista de eccelenza (journalist), my job was recollecting their journeys, then publishing them in a dozen local newspapers, representing their own hometowns. I will be sharing these experiences with photos on my website soon!Some of the events from my youth helped me revive the passion that Jimmy Collier exuded in his quest for justice. Back in the '60s, I may have bumped into Jimmy in Haight-Ashbury in 1967, during the Summer of Love, or at a Civil Rights protest on the campus of San Jose State in 1970 after the Kent State tragedy, or at the Berkeley Folk Festival. Many of the same memories we both shared, allowed me to channel into Jimmy's crazy life, which still follow me everyday. A never-ending passion for the arts, books, and musical performance is only a part of my daily routine. Jazz, blues and Mozart waft through my modest home in the foothills of the Central Valley of California, while still a practicing Real Estate Broker for the last 35 years. Good reading, and as always, I wish you Peace and Freedom.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available