But tv is also visiting buffalo, new york this weekend to for its literary sites and talk to its local authors. For complete schedule go to booktv. Org and you can fall was on social media, booktv is r. Twitter handle, you can call was on facebook as well, facebook. Com booktv. 48 hours of nonfiction books and authors every weekend on booktv, television for serious readers. We are kicking off the weekend with author wil haygood, he examines the life and career of Thurgood Marshall specifically five day Senate Hearing that resulted in his confirmation as the first africanamerican to serve on the Supreme Court. I want to acknowledge and thank cspan for being here tonight. [applause] let me just say one quick thing about thurgood, how important he was to our country, for africanamericans, for those who wanted to go to law school, African Americans who wanted to go to moscow. I was a part of that generation who looked up to him, who believed in him, who was inspired by him, but i too some they could go to law school and i someday could become a lawyer. And theres a whole generation of people just like me who hogan on to do that because of the bravery and courage of Thurgood Marshall. Said tonight we are easier, gathered here this evening comment and i use this really as the intersection of history and the future. What do i mean by that . The intersection of history and the future . We are in Lincoln Theater, in this theater, this was the only place where black folks could come and get entertained in the theater they couldnt go downtown because they come right here. And this theater was nearly demolished, a wrecking ball. We saved it, renovated it, it is now one of the jewels of the city of columbus. History tonight. [applause] and the intersection of culture in the black community, the rehabilitation, rejuvenation, recreations of this king lincoln district, in of process, history and the future, the intersection, wil haygood, who was raised in columbus went to east high school, caught himself playing basketball, everything he learned in life he learned here in the city of columbus. [applause] is values, his skill, his inspiration, his first writing job was for the post which was located right around the corner in this very neighborhood. Wil haygood is someone who never forgot about our city even though he has gone on to win awards, written multiple books, great books. One of his books turned into a movie, the butler. Someone who cares deeply about his past, deeply about the city of columbus and he is now one of its not the premier Great American biographer in our country, someone we are proud of in the city of columbus. [applause] wil haygood, somebody needs to tell the stories of our people or they will be lost. And he does it in an eloquent way, in a way that is exciting and moving and inspiring for the future. For our children. I say we could never plan ahead unless we understand from where we come, and wil haygood has been that person, explained when we come from, we can march on to the future and he has many more stories to tell. History and our future intersecting here tonight at Lincoln Theater, Thurgood Marshall. Thurgood marshall visited columbus many times. We did some research on him. It was somewhere between 9, and 13, 14 times revisited columbus. In fact it goes all the way back to 1938. When he first came to columbus, first recorded time he came to columbus, he may have come before is that. But in 1938 he came to columbus, five years after he graduated from Howard Law School he can to our city to advocate, to participate, to speak, and many times thereafter, often at the naacp annual meeting in the city of columbus, probably stay at st. Clair hotel which is right around the corner on garfield because back in those days black folks couldnt stay at the hotel downtown. Like they couldnt go to the theaters downtown. So they came to this area of our community. The harlem of the midwest. I can envision Thurgood Marshall walking up and down streets of mount vernon avenue going to our churches, walking up and down the streets of longstreet, i can envision Thurgood Marshall being in this theater at some point in time because everybody came to this theater on longstreet during that period of time so this is an intersection between history and our future. With Thurgood Marshall, Thurgood Marshall helped set the path for the future of our country in many ways, set the path for all of us tonight to enjoy the fruits of democracy, but true american that did so many good things to lift up our nation. Lincoln theater, wil haygood, marshall, all at one time, in one place in the city of columbus. How fitting. [applause] that the son of columbus, he is our son, picks his city in this theater where Thurgood Marshall probably spend time on the streets of longstreet and mount vernon avenue. Tonight you are going to hear about the lowdown with the showdown. Thank you. [applause] the one thing i forgot to tell you is i spent 16 years as president of the king arthur complex and now six years as chairman of this board ended is great have the two institutions collaborate and this is the first of many to come. Is my distinct honor and pleasure to give you a brief overview of wil haygood although he needs no introduction to this audience. He has authored seven nonfiction books including a trilogy, biographies of iconic 20th anniversary figures, hailed as culturally important by the los angeles times, the king of the cats, the life and times of Adam Clayton Powell jr. A New York Times notable book of the year, the second book of great noteworthy, in black and white, the life of sammy davis jr. Multiple award winner and the next book was called sweet thunder, the life and times of Sugar Ray Robinson, named as a best book of the year by forbes. His other books are two on the river about a 2500 mile journey down the Mississippi River and a family memoir, the story, the butler needs no introduction. Story of eugene allen, a white house butler whos served eight president s, turned into a blockbuster movie. Wil haygoods career has been notable. 17 years he was National Foreign correspondent for the boston globe. In 1990 he covered the civil war in somalia and was taken hostage by the rebels, he was eventually released with the aid of pakistan troops. On another Court Foreign correspondents he found himself outside south africa, the South African prison where Freedom FighterNelson Mandela was released after 27 years of imprisonment. Littleknown fact, he was one of the few american journalists to report from behind the berlin wall. Wil haygood has been a John Simon Guggenheim fellow and National Endowment for the humanities fellow. These are two of the highest awards bestowed upon and author. Wil haygood has been called americas cultural historian. He has explored the social and historic dynamics of this country as few writers have. The works of wil haygood come to life. As he says, his works are meant to engage in a conversation, going back to the Old School Way of life, simply lets wrap. That stands for revitalization of the apathetic public, and i would agree. That is what he says motivates him, revitalized him and gives him the insight to write these meaningful historical journey. As wil haygood says his subjects must inspire him. By that he means they are welcome at his dining room table for a sunday dinner. He wants to be able to talk with him and that is how he chooses his subject. His book king of the cats come Adam Clayton Powell jr. Tells about this harlem congressmans rise to power and fame, it reveals one of the most effected legislative persons in the history of congress. Adam Clayton Powell jr. Like Thurgood Marshall formed a bond with Lyndon Johnson that moved major legislation through the house like no other. King of the cats is historically significant. Adam Clayton Powell crossed paths with that they 11 and they occasionally communicated. They had a common bond in their interests were all lined. This is another one of those journeys that wil haygood takes a us to better grasp the significance of historic figure who happens to be africanamerican. In black and white, the life of sammy davis jr. We learn that sammy davis jr. Was a fierce, dedicated, passionate civil rights advocate. The coordinated, pulled together black and white entertainers to assist Martin Luther king in the civil rights movement, we witnessed the struggle sammy went through in his conversion of his religion. We get an inside seat to his interaction with the rat pack, Frank Sinatra and company. We are witness to history when sammy places a kiss on Richard Nixon and his career is forever diminished. The book also tells us in the Nixon Kennedy race for president it was clear that based upon the history nixon was more deserving of the black vote than kennedy. We witnessed firsthand that no entertainer has the skills of sammy davis jr. There is a scene where he plays every instrument in the orchestra and we know about his ability to sing and dance, sweet thunder, the life and times of Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Robinson pound for pound may be the best prizefighter the world has ever seen and that would include muhammad ali. Will will tell us sugar ray was not just a fighter, he was not harlem renaissance man, he loved the arts, that include literature, and dance, song and art. Sugar ray interacted with all the Great Entertainment and artists during the harlem renaissance, this cat was hit and this cat was cool and will told us about it. We get to see sugar ray in the light that no other author could have brought to life and again will resurrected an icon. The story of eugene allen, the butler reserved eight president s, who turned into a very successful blockbuster movie, again will brings to life someone who was invisible to americans. Will gives us the dignity, grace, the discipline, the hard work of an individual who believed in the american dream. He brings to light an individual who was present but invisible during critical times in our american history, over eight president s. Only by wil haygood had the insight to give us this perspective and the cultural competence to do so in such a magnificent way. Showdown Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court nomination that changed america brought the constitution to life, define the rules, and lived by the rules and i will be you and your own game. Was recently nominated for the prestigious 2016 Andrew Carnegie medal for excellence in nonfiction. [applause] not that the trade magazines and technical journals an end all, but wil haygood is to seeker showdown four stars, they are from journals and magazines across this prestigious literary world, star reviews from publishers weekly, the Library Journal and blacklist. That atlantic magazine said it best, wil haygood has with showdown Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court nomination that changed america. Wil haygoods decision to focus on marshalls confirmation hearing cruising genius. We at the Lincoln Theater in debt to wil haygood as our first inductee into our walk of fame, we were smart. Wil haygood did our first fundraiser with the publication of this any davis jr. Book. In the library, we met at the office four or five years ago, i dont recall, but what the library has done in addition to this one city one book bringing the Community Together is extraordinary. Wil haygood and i were talking about family members, who traditionally have not read, each of us gave our brother a copy of showdown Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court nomination that changed america, and each of our brothers engaged like nothing else and we had a conversation different from any other we have had before. This is the magic that wil haygood has provided for this community, this state and this nation. When the world looks at america and says this is the journey we went through a to arrive at the crossroads we are today, this book brings us to a place that i think we can engage in a discussion about race where no ever has before. Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you mr. Wil haygood. Sit back, relax, hold on and enjoy the show. Thank you a million times over. [applause] [applause] for some reason, the odor i get unless high mind people saying extravagant, beautiful, lovely things about me, i find that somewhat peculiar. I am going to have more to say about larry james in a moment. When i was growing up in this neighborhood going to monroe jr. High school down the street, me and my sister walked to School Together and those were the days when everybody had a transistor radio. You could hold it up to your ear and listened, or put it in your pocket. There was a very catchy tune from those days that i remember, it spoke with spoken verse, it starts like this. Hey, man, i hear you are pretty good on your feet, dont you know there is a dance down on market street. Hey, hey, it is going to be a showdown. Going to be a showdown, showdown. And i have been humming that a lot. Even if i did leave my band back in d. C. In the evening this wouldnt be possible without a Great Coalition coming together. Organizations across the city have bonded and emerged to make this night possible and to bring at native son home. I am very mindful that great people, great organizations are represented here tonight, starting with bill connor, susan bradford, she is wearing a dazzling dresses, and i took note of that, the Lincoln Theater. The king of the arts complex, the Columbus Public Library and the mayors office. I cant cite everybody individually but there are some people here that i would like to acknowledge. I will say a Little Something about you and you can stand up. Some of you know that i teach at my alma mater, Miami University in oxford, ohio. The lady whose signs my checks is here so why wouldnt i introduced her first . She is the provost, miami univ. Dallas callahan. [applause] dear friend of mine who used to protect me on these rough streets back in the day. Many of you know him as a championship prize fighter. [applause] the Athletic Director of the Ohio State University, eugene smith, i think he is here. [applause] one of the great attorneys of this country, alex shoemake. A guy i used to talk with a lot about sports and white, jerry saunders. [applause] last year i received boat rosanna James Foundation award named after an alabama civil rights pioneer. She is 90 years younger. Rosetta james is here. And i would like her to stand up. She is an icon of American Civil Rights movement. [applause] she is up in the balcony. To march with Martin Luther king jr. [applause] i cant tell you how touched i was when she called me and said she wants to come. Guy who i grew up with on the north side of town, your friend and mine who talked a lot about Thurgood Marshall in the past five years, bob miller. [applause] i studied at miami under this professor. He was in the civil rights movement, he marched with john lewis, the selma hero. He was also jailed for marching in the movement. Rick momeyer. [applause] his wife is here, during my stay in oxford, ohio. [applause] a writer and dream of a moment like this when their book has been selected. In the Citywide Program to be read by everyone at the same time. I will be coming back in a month with some multiple multiple multiple, what did we used to call those . Multiple choice questions. I cant thank the library in of where i used to go on saturday mornings with my 0. 50. There was never a car in my family, go to tokyo, i could go to paris, i could go to memphis, tenn. I could go to chicago if i could get myself into the library. The genius behind all that has been hat was in ski. [applause] i will be returning to the city, i am going on the 24 city book tour. I will be returning to the city october 21st to up here at the Ohio State University, the patient came from the vice provost of Diversity Inclusion at the Ohio State University and her name is sharon davies. [applause] my cousin just flew in today from atlanta, charles nichols. My two sisters, diane and wanda are here. [applause] my very suave brothers here from los angeles, kerri. [applaus.