Follow Chester! A College Football Team Fights Racism and Makes History

Author Gloria Respress-Churchwell shares her new picture book about Chester Pierce, a little known civil rights hero and college football MVP. The book is a fictional account detailing Chester Pierce’s game-changing play as he became the first black college football player to compete south of the Mason-Dixon Line.

In 1947, no African American player can play at a southern school; in return, the opposing team benches a player of “equal talent.” This historical fiction picture book frames a turbulent time in the civil rights era with the clever use of a football play to show race relations and teamwork. Inspired by a true story, capturing a historic defense against the Jim Crow laws of the South.