William R. Bailey

Son of the Queen Cities: a Black Banker's Civil Rights Era Memoir William R. Bailey

This memoir in poetry, song and prose is about a man who was born in Charlotte, NC. Abandoned by his father at age 6, he and his siblings became part of the black diaspora north to Buffalo, NY. At age 17 he became a dropout who found himself a leader and trainer of men for the U. S. Air Force. Married before his 19th birthday, he wrote poems, songs and taught himself to paint and sketch while serving an overseas tour in France. Returning home he worked his way through college and became an early, black pioneer in the powerful banking industry. It is a personal story of love, struggle and triumph that mirrored and chronicled the historic civil rights era in America.