Bev

With acclaimed films like Selma and growing protests over racial tensions bringing civil rights to the forefront of national conversation, this transfixing book takes us back to the turbulent 1960s and the inspiring true story of a white social worker who tirelessly worked side-by-side with people of all colors to fight for racial equality.

After losing a friend and fellow activist to murder—a white person like herself whose steadfast dedication to the cause of civil rights drove him to Mississippi, the hotbed of the nation’s cruelest bigotry at the time—Bev Luther-Sims knew she could not remain in the safety of the north. Not if she wanted to make a difference. She had to do whatever it took to stem the racist tide—to help black citizens of the terror-filled south receive the basic benefits that local authorities refused to provide.

Seeing the civil rights struggle up close showed Bev that the battle wasn’t just about segregated restaurants and drinking fountains. Those wounds would be easy to heal compared to the poverty and limited access to education and health care that would leave deeper generational scars. This timely true narrative plants you firmly in the center of the tumultuous civil rights movement, as seen through the eyes of a passionate woman who would stop at nothing to helpall of her neighbors achieve equal rights. It is the story of Bev Luther-Sims and the people she boldly walked alongside, those who tried to stand in her way, those whose lives she touched, and, most of all, those who touched hers.

Andrea Williams is an author, journalist and editor who's always on the lookout for the next great story. Though currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband and four children, Andrea's heart will always remain in her hometown of Kansas City, Missouri, where it feasts constantly on Kansas City Royals baseball and Gates & Sons Barbecue.

Matty Rich is a video game executive and filmmaker whose critically acclaimed 1991 breakout film Straight Out of Brooklyn won many awards, including the Independent Spirit Award.