Mattie C.’s Boy: The Shelley Stewart Story
Don Keith
Born Black in the segregated South in 1934, Birmingham native Shelley Stewart endured many setbacks in his life. He was five years old when he watched his alcoholic father attack and kill his mother with an axe. Afterward, Stewart and his younger brothers were left to fend for themselves until relatives took them into their homes. But the relatives turned out to be cruel themselves, subjecting the children to both physical abuse and psychological trauma. Stewart, however, survived and overcame the racism around him to eventually launch a successful career in radio. He became a popular radio talk show host and DJ, and, eventually, a station owner. He also founded a public relations firm and earned many awards and accolades. In Mattie C.’s Boy, biographer Don Keith tells the story of Stewart’s inspiring journey and amazing rise from a life of poverty and tragedy to one of triumph and hope. (New South Books)