The colored folks ain't gonna make it
(Book)

"In May of 2015, Michael Cameron Ward transitioned from a career as a Software Engineer to become the author of his family chronicle. Before he passed, in June 2015 at age 94, his father, Harold, asked him to write the family history. He wanted his nine great-grandchildren to 'know from whence they came.' The first of four volumes in the Sketches of Lee collection, A Colored Man in Exeter, was published in September of 2017. It captured his father's life and experiences integrating the hospitality trade in Exeter, NH in the '50s and '60s. His professionalism, skill, generosity, and humor became a legend in the local area. In December of 2018 A Colored Man in Exeter was accepted into the Daughters of the American Revolution's National Archive as a historically significant document. The second volume, The Colored Folks Ain't Gonna Make It, continues Michael's fulfillment of Harold's request. It's a window into a family's existence as the 'Index of Integration' in rural New Hampshire from the late '50s until the present time. In it he espouses his parent's basic principles: All people have a right to exist without fear; All people deserve equal opportunities; Respect nullifies stereotypes; Generosity os a normal human trait; Boundaries to friendship and love are artificial. Michael's recollections are powerful and precise. The events recounted span the full range of emotion and thought. They will make you laugh, cry, angry and thankful; sometimes all within the same story. But above all, his stories will make you reflect on the commonality of human experience. And, as Michael would say, you will 'enjoy the read.'"--Page 4 of cover.