Dr. Jim Vickrey witnessed the birth of the modern Civil Rights Movement in his hometown of Montgomery, Alabama, before experiencing his own “racial awakening” in college. That pivotal transformation led him to become a university president, lawyer, professor, and civil rights advocate at five public universities in two states. The author of four published books—with two more currently “in press”—and hundreds of articles and essays in a variety of media, Dr. Vickrey met many of the 20th century’s leading civil rights figures and other notable celebrities.

On March 11, 1965, at Auburn University—just a year after he helped his alma mater peacefully integrate as Student Government Association President—he experienced the life-changing epiphany that would define his future. In AWAKENINGS, he explains how and why that moment reshaped his life forever. His well-researched memoir, drawn from decades of journals, files, and scrapbooks and enriched by the recollections of numerous friends, chronicles his journey. It also details his work as a member of the Alabama Film Commission and as a recognized leader who has delivered more than 400 speeches as a college president and authored four times as many movie commentaries for media outlets across Alabama, Florida, and beyond.