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History Canada

Life Lines

The Lanier Phillips Story

by (author) Christine Welldon

Publisher
Breakwater Books Ltd.
Initial publish date
Sep 2014
Category
Canada, Post-Confederation (1867-)
Recommended Reading age
8 to 12
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781550815528
    Publish Date
    Sep 2014
    List Price
    $14.99
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781550815511
    Publish Date
    Sep 2014
    List Price
    $16.95

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Description

African-American serviceman Lanier Phillips was just eighteen years old when he was rescued from a sinking warship off the coast of Newfoundland in 1942 – a turn of events that transformed his life and ignited a lasting passion for civil rights. The son of sharecroppers from the Deep South, and the great-grandson of slaves, Lanier knew only hatred for white people. As a child he was told never to look a white man in the face, for fear of a lynching. His experience with the villagers of St. Lawrence, Newfoundland, taught him that racism can be overcome and that the first change must come from within. Lanier went on to a distinguished career in the US Navy as the first African American sonar technician. He joined the Civil Rights Movement, marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, and told his story of transformation for the rest of his life.

About the author

Christine Welldon is the author of several books including The Children of Africville; Children of the Titanic; Canadian Pacific Railway: Pon Git Cheng and Pier 21: Listen to My Story. Her work has appeared in the Globe and Mail, The Fiddlehead, Canadian Business and Omni magazines. Her most recent book Reporter in Disguise: The Intrepid Vic Steinberg is on the Honours list for the American Library Association Amelia Bloomer Award for excellence in feminist children's literature, and short-listed for the Children's Choice Hackmatack Award, 2015. Her newest book, Lifelines: The Lanier Phillips Story will be released in the fall of 2014 by Breakwater Books.

Christine Welldon's profile page

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