Northern Virginia in the early 1960s can't be called the most enlightened place to go to high school. The civil rights movement has been shaking up the status quo all over the United States, and the effects are finally being felt in small, sleepy John Singleton Mosby High. At one point, Mosby High had been home to the best football team in Virginia, but now it is just a shell of its former glory days.
A small group of football players at Mosby are determined to change that, but the sixties have one more surprise in store for the team. The federal government has ordered an end to segregation, and one African American student will be attending each of the Sally County high schools. Not only will they be sharing classrooms and cafeterias with the other students, but they'll also be able to play on sporting teams.
In this poignant story, an entire team is forced to look past deeply ingrained prejudice and bigotry. There's a long football season ahead of them, and by the end of it, they will be different men. Some will change their bigoted views. Others will remain ignorant and arrogant. How this surprising, frustrating, challenging, and amazing season affects them is entirely up to them.
About the Author: Terrence James Coffman used his own childhood in Virginia as inspiration for his young adult novel Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe.
Coffman, a visual artist and author, has traveled the world for his career. He has served as president at two different colleges of art in the United States and as artist-in-residence at two European institutions in France and Ireland. Coffman, who now lives in Wisconsin, is fascinated with other artists, mystics, and travelers. His fictional works often contain these types of characters.
