Dr. Sam, Soldier, Educator, Advocate, Friend: An Autobiography

When he was seventeen, Sam Kelly met Paul Robeson, who asked him a question that inspired a life of helping others: "What are you doing for the race?" Kelly went on to help desegregate the U.S. Army, in which he served as a training and operations officer. As a professor, he taught American history to Black Panthers and founded the University of Washington's Office of Minority Affairs. Kelly's autobiography tells a compelling personal story that intersects with important themes of twentieth-century African American history.

Quintard Taylor is a professor of American history at the University of Washington and the author of The Forging of a Black Community.

"Follow Sam Kelly through his life and you'll learn about American history and about Seattle's past. Like Zelig or Forrest Gump, Kelly was often there. Unlike those fictional characters, he was real, and he made an impact. You can visit history in Dr. Sam." -The Seattle Times