Normandy
St. Andre, France

The news coming from America regarding Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. and the marches for civil rights was accompanied by
the ugly behavior of whites, which was seen in photos in Jet,
Ebony, Look and Time magazines and conveyed in the mail
received from home.

No one knows the trouble the African-American soldiers saw
and endured in St. Andre while anti-African-American behavior
was unfolding in the streets of America....but Earnest and
his comrades did.

The Colored Frenchman in the U.S. Army

The residual effects of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the
Montgomery Bus boycott opened the door for this story
about three young African-American men breaking the
color line in banking at a small bank on the west side
of the city of Chicago.

"When I was at Merchants Bank, we monitored very carefully
Dr. King and the Montgomery bus boycott,knowing that if he was
successful, and he certainly was, the economic face of the
country, particularly banking would have to change."

Frank T. Flanagan
Vice President of Central National Bank

This is the book that Alex Haley never wrote.
It tells the story of how Earnest E. Lacey began
to research the life of Joseph H. "FreeJoe" Harris,
his great, great, great grandfather.

HILTON STREET: FROM MEMPHIS TO CHICAGO
is Earnest E. Lacey's third book regarding
the journey of his family. This volume describes
their life as African-Americans.

Have you ever remembered a story your grandmother
told you about your family history and thought,"That would
make a good novel"? Earnest Lacey of Memphis has done
exactly that-turned family history into a novel. The story of
Joseph Harris is one of persistence and fortitude. His
descendant has provided a fitting memorial for a
remarkable man. --Perre Magness