Feature Story
Defying Racism: The Norfolk 17
On February 2, 1959, seventeen Black teenagers accomplished what many at the time had thought near impossible … busting segregation at six public schools in Norfolk, Virginia.
If getting there had been a war, being there was horrendous.
Frightening? In classrooms, white bullies pelted the Black kids with spit wads and racist slurs. Teachers looked the other way, either bigoted or simply afraid to take a stand. The hallways were worse, the bathrooms near deadly.
“I was called n****r a thousand times a day,” Andrew Heidelberg scoffed when I approached him about writing a book about his life.
Whoa, stop right there. Keeping in step with modern political correctness, what do we do about the N-word?
“We stay true to the times,” he demanded. “People, dialect, facts, culture. No way we gonna soften that shit.”
Andrew Heidelberg would step directly into the firestorm, becoming the first Black athlete to play previously all-white public school football in the entire South.
It would be dangerous under the pile ... or anywhere on the field.
“I couldn’t tell one of them from another,” he joked. “I just focused on the game. Besides, I’d already heard all the words in the hallway. Those white punks just enhanced their vocabularies with shoves and fists and kicks. Hell, I might have even been tickled a few times.”
Despite the physical and mental scars, Heidelberg never backed down, his gigantic personality defying the absurdity that constantly surrounded him.
Andrew and I would spend three years writing Heidelberg of the Norfolk 17. We originally wanted to call the book The Colored Halfback ... what the newspapers had first called him. Then again, we didn’t want people to think it was only about football. Funny, heartbreaking, haunting ... it touches all the senses.
Being a football star definitely made an impact on the racist South, but his story goes much deeper.
– Robert D. Gaines
Author’s Corner
Brian C. Johnson, a professor of Black History and author of Send Judah First: The Erased Life of an Enslaved Soul, shares a list of his favorite historical fiction novels.
“I want honest, accurate tales with complicated situations or hidden histories that speak to timeless issues. These are just right:”
Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Brian C. Johnson
Professor, Pastor & Author
From The Hidden Shelf
Great Works in Black Literature
Send Judah First: The Erased Life of an Enslaved Soul
By Brian C. Johnson
The slave ledger at Virginia’s Belle Grove Plantation only reveals that Judah was purchased to be the cook, gave birth to 12 children, and died in April 1836. But, like the other 276 faceless names entered in that ledger, Judah lived.
“Compelling, haunting, horrific, and beautiful.” – Thomas Norman DeWolf, author of Inheriting the Trade
The Souls of Clayhatchee
By Anthony Todd Carlisle
Raised in the North, James Kingman hated the South. But visiting Alabama, he uncovers the long-hidden stories of distant relatives. His father did not migrate north, he escaped. His mother kept an even deeper secret, one of rage and beauty.
“A debut masterpiece … Carlisle’s unapologetic and realistic imagery deliver a story that is packed with colors of emotion. The words bleed through the pages.” – Shenita Joyner, NetGalley Review
The Murrasons’ Barn: Escaping Slavery in Bleeding Kansas
By Henrietta DuCap
When her family discovers an injured woman hiding in their barn, eleven-year-old Joyce Murrason must keep the secret from her best friend. Turns out Eliza Enstrom’s father is already hunting Mama Tina, an escaped slave with the Circle S brand on her shoulder and a $100 reward for her capture.
“Beautifully written with rich history, stunning imagery, and endearing characters. A powerful story of family, forgiveness, and what if means to lover your neighbor.” – Kim D. Butler, literary journalist
Beauty in His Time
By Candace Leon
The coming-of-age memoir of a young Jamaican immigrant—a stranger in many lands—facing the challenges of race, identify, and belonging while finding God in the most surprising and beautiful places. Beauty in His Time will be released on March 12, 2026.
“Vivid, poetic, emotional ... a novel that will nourish your soul.” – Larry Starkey, Pastor, A Church for All Nations
A Final Note
After 50 years in the publishing industry, I started Hidden Shelf in 2017 to serve authors and readers who want to hear unique and beautifully crafted stories. The stories that the big publishing houses refuse to tell. The hidden gems. The stories that deserve to be told.
Until next time,
Robert D. Gaines
Founder, Publisher, Reader, Author
Hidden Shelf Publishing House
Unique Literature. Beautifully Crafted