Way Beyond Pisgah: Inside Integration in Small Town Mississippi (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781451575323)

Beneath the surface harmony of Fannin, Mississippi lay the harsh relics of the slave years. For young Alean McIntyre, the casual segregation and callous prejudice combined with her grandfater's fierce pride and her parents' determined struggle, forging in her a desire to improve the world she knew. With her husband John Quincy Adams, Alean surmounted a childhood of poverty to lead the fight for integration in rural northwest Rankin County. "I always knew that things could be better," Alean said, and she set out to make it so. This remarkable family rose briefly to prominence in their community. As integration became a dream realized, Alean turned her focus to teaching as she and John provided for their large family. She taught under the Freedom Tree in her front yard; she was a pioneer in Mississippi's Head Start program; and she earned bachelor's and master's degrees in education.