Pressing Forward - by Press Robinson (Hardcover)

About the Book

"In this down-to-earth memoir, longtime educator and community leader Press L. Robinson Sr. recounts his hardscrabble childhood in South Carolina, his education at Morehouse College and Howard University, his career as a professor and administrator in the Southern University system, and his activities as a community leader in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The first elected Black member of the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, Robinson consistently fought to level the playing fields for Black Americans and to better the social and physical environment of his adopted city"--

Book Synopsis

In this down-to-earth memoir, longtime educator and community leader Press L. Robinson Sr. recounts his hardscrabble childhood in South Carolina, his education at Morehouse College and Howard University, his career as a professor and administrator in the Southern University system, and his activities as a community leader in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The first elected Black member of the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, Robinson consistently fought to level the playing fields for Black Americans and to better the social and physical environment of his adopted city.

Review Quotes

"A civil rights veteran recollects over fifty years of organizing to amplify Black political voices across the American South. Dr. Robinson's journey takes him from the sharecropping fields of Claussen, South Carolina, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he continues his lifelong fight for equal representation. Pressing Forward is a clarion call to all who concern themselves with the work of racial justice and democratic resilience."--Phillip Norman, oral historian of Grassroots Democracy

"Dr. Press L. Robinson has written a compelling account of his rise from early life as the only child of sharecropper parents in rural South Carolina to becoming an esteemed academician and professor of chemistry to groundbreaking achievements in education as the first African American elected to the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board."--Judge Freddie Pitcher Jr. (ret.), author of Breaking Barriers: A View from the Bench and former chancellor of the Southern University Law Center

"Dr. Press Robinson is an American success story. Not by design, but by necessity. His life should inspire and encourage people to live fully engaged, even when they don't want to be. His story is also a testament to education being the key to unlocking an incredible life."--Todd L. Sterling, owner of Alpha Media & Public Relations

"Sharing his thoughts on being elected the first African American member of the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, among his other achievements, Dr. Robinson reveals his motivations and actions and elicits an appreciation for his journey."--Rachel L. Emanuel, coauthor of A More Noble Cause: A. P. Tureaud and the Struggle for Civil Rights in Louisiana

About the Author

Press L. Robinson Sr. began his career as an assistant professor of chemistry at Southern University Baton Rouge. He retired forty-one years later, having served as associate vice chancellor at Southern University Baton Rouge, chancellor at Southern University New Orleans, and vice president of the Southern University system.