Author Andrew Maraniss, (pictured with Baylor seniors William Roberts, Dee Appleberry, Abbie Vibbert, and Lynn Gui), visited Baylor on Monday
Author Andrew Maraniss visited the Baylor campus Monday, speaking in Upper School and Middle School chapels and meeting with students and teachers for conversation.
Mr. Maraniss' book, Strong Inside: Perry Wallace and the Collision of Race and Sports in the South, is the biography of Perry Wallace, who enrolled at Vanderbilt University in 1966, becoming the first African-American basketball player in the Southeastern Conference. Strong Inside is not just the story of a trailblazing athlete, but of civil rights, race in America, a campus in transition during the tumultuous 1960s, the mental toll of pioneering, decades of ostracism, and eventual reconciliation and healing. The book was on the reading choice list for all Baylor students (the youth version for Middle School and the lengthier version for Upper School).
The book has received several accolades including New York Times Best Seller, 2015 RFK Book Awards Recognition, 2015 Lillian Smith Book Award, and 2015 AAUP Books Committee "Outstanding" Title.
In his chapel address, Mr. Maraniss encouraged the student body to become "upstanders" rather than "bystanders" in matters of equality in society. View the podcast of Mr. Maraniss' talk by clicking here.