By Otis Sanford
Newsman
The Road from Route 2 Box 9
Non-Fiction | Autobiography
Newsman is an autobiography of Otis Sanford’s experiences growing up in a large African American family in Mississippi during the turbulent civil rights era and the factors that influenced his 50-year career in journalism.
The subtitle, “The Road from Route 2 Box 9,” represents more than simply the mailing address of the 40-acre farm where Sanford grew up in Panola County, Mississippi. It marks where Sanford‘s parents settled in the early 1940s aiming to build a family based on love, a strong work ethic, Christian values, education and discipline.
Newsman is what Sanford became. Route 2 Box 9 symbolizes who he is and the events in his childhood that fueled his ambitions. Despite hardships and overt racism, the life lessons he learned from his parents and siblings drove him to pursue a career that most African Americans considered unattainable.
In ‘Newsman,’ Otis Sanford applies his well-honed skills as a news journalist to reporting his own remarkable story. How a Black farm boy who lived 80 miles from where teenager Emmitt Till was murdered in Mississippi learned to survive and thrive in the Deep South. How a Black man who grew up reading pro-segregation Southern newspapers became an accomplished reporter, columnist, and editor at those very same newspapers … ‘Newsman‘ is an inspiring testament to the power of faith and family, the human spirit and the search for truth.
– David Waters, award-winning journalist for the Memphis Commercial Appeal and The Washington Post.
Newsman is more than the story of a journalist who covered many important moments in American history. It is the story of a loving family that prized faith and education and sent seven talented children out into the world, rising above the stench of racism that sought to hold them back. Lucky us, one of those was Otis Sanford, whose stories and insights have informed generations, particularly in his beloved Memphis.
– Kathleen Carroll, retired Executive Editor, The Associated Press.
As a reporter, editor, and columnist, Otis Sanford has written many first drafts of Memphis history. Newsman narrates his personal journey across the landscape of the newspaper industry, and it does so with the hallmarks of Sanford’s work: clarity, judgment, and integrity. It is the story of a local icon, a mentor to aspiring journalists, a voice for justice, and a man of rock-solid values.
– Aram Goudsouzian, author of Down to the Crossroads: Civil Rights, Black Power, and the Meredith March Against Fear.
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