“In 1965, I was selected by the Roanoke Jaycees as Outstanding Young Educator in the City of Roanoke. Mr Howard, my principal at Lee Junior High, had nominated me. He did not have to do so; it had taken a lot of nerve for him to nominate an African American teacher so soon after the integration of the schools. Years later, I learned that the judges had talked to Jaycee officials prior to announcing the winner. “ The winner is a Negro. If you want us to change it, we can,” the judges said. “We want the winner,“ the Jaycee representative’s response. (Robertson/ Lifting Every Voice, p.41)