Don't Hold Me Back

Book excerpt: Winfred Rembert grew up in the 1950s in rural Georgia as the child of sharecroppers whose lives were little better than slavery. As a young man, he was nearly lynched, and served seven years in jail and on a chain gang. Yet he constantly found ways to create, to invent, to uplift. As a child, he made toys from pieces of junk at the town dump. In prison, he watched a leather worker and learned to carve and paint the leather himself. Now, in his own voice and through his powerful paintings, he shares with a new generation of young people his story and his passionate commitment to self-improvement. Reminiscent of the work of Jacob Lawrence and Horace Pippin, the paintings? rich, deep colors and poignant details powerfully narrate a story of personal courage and exceptional talent. At the same time, Rembert shows how the civil rights movement was not just a matter of famous speechs and marches, but was a product of the bonds of the black community and the unbreakable spirit of individuals