Olivia’s Story: The Conspiracy of Heroes behind Shelley v Kraemer

Product Description

The story of the landmark 1948 Supreme Court decision, Shelley v Kraemer, told through the voice of one of the participants, an African-American teacher in the St. Louis schools.
Many battles have been fought through the years to gain dignity, justice and equality for all in America. Few of those battles have had the lasting significance and impact of the one described in the telling of Olivia’s Story. Olivia Merriweather Perkins joined a brave group of people in St. Louis, Missouri who came together, without regard to their personal safety and well-being, to fight for rights that had been denied to people of color, the right to property. Their sacrifices eventually led to “Shelley vs Kraemer,” one of the most important legal battles of modern times, the impact of which was felt in every corner of America. This legal case changed the face of a nation, not only in housing but also in other area taken for granted today.

From the Inside Flap

Many battles have been fought through the years to gain dignity, justice, and equality. Few of those have had the lasting significance and impact of the one described in the telling of Olivia’s Story. Olivia Merriweather Perkins joined a brave group of people in St. Louis Missouri, who came together, without regard to their personal safety and well-being, to fight for a right that had been denied to people of color, the right to property. Their sacrifices eventually led to Shelley v. Kraemer, one of the most important legal decisions of modern times, the impact of which was felt in every corner of Anerica. This legal case changed the face of a nation, not only in housing but also in other areas taken for granted today.
The story behind the case shows the power of dreams and how these dreams can come true when people are willing to fight for them.

From the Back Cover

“Olivia’s Story is just that: a very personal narrative for which only the most gifted writer could find words. Mrs. Olivia Perkins was a quiet woman at the center of a history-making event, the challenge to restrictive covenants that led the way to fair and open housing not just in St. Louis but for all of America. Jeffrey S. Copeland uses her character and experiences to personalize the emotional and psychological elements of this struggle, a veritable second chapter to her life which for others might have closed with the death of her war-hero husband.
Great leaders have had their dreams, and brave figures have fought the good fight for civil rights and liberties. But it is the story of an individual like Olivia Perkins that tells the truth by putting the love and the sorrow, the suffering and the joy into ‘true’ but otherwise distant events. –Jerome Klinkowitz, author of Kurt Vonnegut’s America
“Jeff Copeland has once again given us a story of ordinary people who accomplished extraordinary deeds with courage and determination. Olivia’s Story shows what can be achieved by quiet heroes willing to risk emotional and financial losses, as well as danger to their own personal safety and physical well-being. Olivia is an inspiration to us all!” –Jan Dundon, Anderson’s Bookshops, Naperville, Illinois
In Inman’s War, Olivia Merriweather Perkins charmed me with her humor, wit, and the love she shared with her husband. Readers left wanting to know more about this extraordinary woman will be charmed, gladdened, saddened, and at times outraged while reading Jeff Copeland’s new book, Olivia’s Story. –Sally M. Walker, author Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland

About the Author

Jeffrey Copeland is Professor and Head of the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Northern Iowa, where he teaches children’s and young adult literature courses and English Education. He has authored and edited numerous books, including
Speaking of Poets and
Young Adult Literature: A Contemporary Reader. A native St. Louisan, he lives in Cedar Falls, Iowa.