Typical of most communities after the Civil War, Nacogdoches's African Americans had to repurpose their lives by building their own communities while they carved a life of survival first and progress second. The images in this book will tell the stories of the first churches and how they became the center of the community. Other images will share information about the early leaders in the community who helped establish educational facilities for "Negroes." Additional images focus on black businesses, and a final set of images will discuss the emerging black middle class and others who played significant roles in Nacogdoches history. Readers of this book will go on a journey, through images, that highlights residents' pains of struggles and gains of triumph.
Author Jeri Mills is a retired educator who attended Texas College in Tyler, Texas, and received her bachelor of science degree from Jarvis Christian College in Hawkins, Texas, and master's degree from Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. Mills, with several published works to her credit, is a contributing writer for a local newspaper and active researcher and writer on African American history. She enjoys writing to inform and entertain.