By SPEAKIN’ OUT NEWS
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Dr. Jim Vickrey, a Montgomery native who witnessed the birth of the modern Civil Rights Movement, is sharing his deeply personal story in a new memoir, Awakenings to Racism in Alabama: The Education of a Native Son and the Lessons He and His Peers Learned Resisting Jim Crow.
Vickrey’s book traces his journey from growing up in segregated Montgomery to his “racial awakening” in college — a moment that transformed his life and career. On March 11, 1965, while serving as Student Government Association President at Auburn University, Vickrey experienced what he calls an epiphany that changed the way he viewed race, privilege, and responsibility. The experience came just a year after he helped lead Auburn’s peaceful integration.
“I witnessed the birth of the Civil Rights Movement in my hometown before experiencing my own awakening in college,” Vickrey said. “That moment changed the course of my life forever.”
Over the next several decades, Vickrey became a university president, lawyer, professor, and civil rights advocate, working at five public universities in two states. His memoir draws from decades of journals and correspondence, capturing how Alabama’s transformation—from segregation to gradual reform—shaped his understanding of justice.
In Awakenings, Vickrey reflects on the roots of affirmative action, the moral courage required to confront racism, and the ongoing work of creating opportunity in Alabama. He also writes about his service on the Alabama Film Commission and his long career as a public speaker and writer, having delivered more than 400 speeches and published hundreds of articles and essays.
“Understanding our past is the first step toward building a future where opportunity is truly equal,” he told an audience during a recent Montgomery reading.
Awakenings to Racism in Alabama is available through major book retailers and the Alabama Writers’ Forum, which lists Vickrey’s upcoming public appearances and readings across the state.