Media
Mrs. Ola Walker
"Try to put your treasure into your head, once it is there nobody can take it away from you."
The Book

Segregation era newspaperman William Gordon, Sr. died before he could finish his autobiography, New Man Down South. His grandson (and namesake) finished it for him —BEAUTIFUL book! pic.twitter.com/pKI9qaBbMr
— Tananarive Due - VOTE & BOO (@TananariveDue) October 27, 2018
"Started reading and could not stop! It’s beautiful and beautifully done!"
M. Alexis Scott
Journalist and Publisher
Read or post a review on New Man Down South on the title's Goodreads page.
New Man Down South is a 284 page, leather-bound hardcover book, 7" x 9" uniquely designed to be an aesthetically beautiful "autobiographical archive," displaying Bill Lee's innovative concept of narrative book design.
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the Newspapers
During the course of his career, Gordon, Sr. worked for several renowned newspapers including the Memphis World, Tuskegee Institute's Service magazine, newspaper PM out of New York City, and the Atlanta Daily World. Below are some samples pages of these historic periodicals digitally reproduced from their microfilm collections.
On a scorching hot Saturday afternoon in July 1930, or possibly 1931, I left my family’s unpainted, four-room shack in the dusty, delta cotton fields of east Arkansas and headed for Memphis.
New Man Down South, Chapter 2: Treasure In My Head
I had been taught by my mother and my grandparents that my relatives had lived on Southern soil for almost three hundred years. Yet, I was the first to make it past the fourth grade.
New Man Down South, Chapter 4: Cast Down Your Bucket
In those days, just the jagged outline of Stone Mountain was a chilling reminder to stay in your place.
New Man Down South, Chapter 7: An Oasis In The South
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