Fifteen Red Roses: The Challenge of Public School Race Relations in Rural Georgia

In the fall of 1962, Eve Windham begins her high school teaching career with enthusiasmIll be the best teacher they ever had!



By the spring of 1969, the power of the civil rights movement reaches Janus County, resulting in a court order to integrate the public schools the next fall. Eve must face the challenge of possible violence with courage.



Persevere with her to create new grading systems and group activities for her mixed classes. Ride with her to transport contestants and judge debate competitions. Sit with her in long, continuous meetings for the boys and girls. Laugh and cry with her in the interactions with family, colleagues, and administrators. Pray with her as she seeks to interpret for her teenagers war and death in Vietnam, bitter disappointment, baffling college standards and demonstrations, and a shifting culture. Then you may rightly judge the significance of Fifteen Red Roses, one for each year she taught us.