Are We Winning or Are We Losing? (PB) (2017)

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1954, the same year as the Brown v. Board of Ed decision, Rev. Ernest Gillespie III has witnessed its unintentionally disastrous effects firsthand. In Are We Winning or Are We Losing? he asks whether or not desegregation was really a win: with it came the busing programs that destroyed Black communities and helped shepherd the Black youth away from the church. "The worst thing that can destroy a nation of people is when the people forget the past and how important the past was for them," Rev. Gillespie writes. This book looks at that past and wonders: Are We Winning or Are We Losing?

About the Author

Rev. Ernest Gillespie III is the founder of the Youth for Youth Community Coalition, a mentoring program for troubled teens. Rev. Gillespie was called to ministry at a young age, preaching to family and friends at the age of ten. In 1982, he became senior pastor of Pearly Gate Church in Memphis. His professional history includes positions at the United States Post Office, the Memphis Public School System, and the Shelby County Sheriff's deputy reserve unit. He has been married to his wife, Betty, for forty-five years, and they have two daughters, Kendra and Katrice.