The Newspaper Boy
Chervis Isom
In The Newspaper Boy, attorney and writer Chervis Isom reminisces about his days growing up in Birmingham’s Norwood community, where he delivered newspapers as a boy. Isom grew up believing in the notion that whites like him were superior to Blacks— that is, until he met the new customers on his route, Helen and Vern Miller. The Millers were a young couple from the North and had viewpoints contrary to Isom’s opinions. The three of them began to engage in friendly debates over events in the news, and, over time, Isom started to question the belief system of his upbringing. The Newspaper Boy is a fascinating look at how Isom’s views on race evolved while he lived through some of the most consequential events in modern American history, from the civil rights demonstrations and the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. (Chervis Isom)