From Slave to Statesman: The Life of Educator, Editor, and Civil Rights Activist Willis M. Carter of VirginiaIn the 1980s, Willis McGlascoe Carter's handwritten memoir turned up unexpectedly in the hands of a midwestern antiques dealer. Its twenty two pages told a fascinating story of a man born into slavery in Virginia who, at the onset of freedom, gained an education, became a teacher, started a family, and edited a newspaper. Even his life as a slave seemed exceptional: he described how his owners treated him and his family with respect, and he learned to