About the author

Penny Blue was born in Rocky Mount, VA, and raised on a tobacco farm in Union Hall. She obtained a Mathematics Degree from Hampton University, an MBA from Duke University, and a certification in project management. She retired from IBM as a Delivery Project Executive. 

When her father, the protagonist of the book, was 95 years old, she returned to her home, in part, to help care for him. The book was published in February 2020, just prior to the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent worldwide protests that followed.

Don’t miss this true heartfelt presentation about the life of an extraordinary man who lived in the Jim Crow South.  

Autographed copies of the book are available for purchase.

Thanks, Penny

 Blue says, “This book is a book of history—the history of America that helped shape my ancestors’ and father’s environments, along with my father’s stories of protest that helped shape mine and my siblings’ lives.” 

She describes this powerful book as one about her father who, as he navigated the treacherous politics and powers of the segregated south in southwestern Virginia, left a legacy of protest through the way he lived his life and the stories he shared with his ten children.

The main theme of the book is standing up and speaking out for what is just and right. The many local stories of Blue’s father’s protests helped to mold his children’s work ethic, their drive for justice, education, politics, and to help the underserved. 

The narrative underscores many ways to protest; education, voting, self-respect, hard work - all which Penny’s father and his wife instilled in their children. “In order to be treated as first-class citizen, one must act as a first-class citizen.”