A Choice of Colors

Growing up in segregated Jacksonville during the sixties and seventies, Author Mike Williams, Sr. witnessed and experienced incidents that inspired the writing of this memoir A Choice of Colors: The Inspirations and Struggles of a Duval Colored Teacher.

Every aspect of life was based on a person’s color. Listening and understanding the racially based stories of Williams’ neighbors, who were born at the turn of the century and into the 1920s or 1930s, was difficult for a young black boy with very dark skin.

Still, he was so inspired and influenced by his African American teachers, referred to as “colored teachers,” that that he wanted to be like them. The motivation and encouragement they gave Williams caused him to push through and continue his education, despite family health setbacks and attempted gang recruitments. Then when he enrolled in a mixed-media visual arts class in high school, his life was transformed.

In these pages, Williams shares his journey of struggles, prejudices, and victories as a dark-skinned African-American teacher in the Duval Country School System. He persevered for the sake of his students, paying it forward so that one day, his students will also make a difference in the lives of young people.