by Josh Samuels

Life in Leesville, a small, rural black community on the outskirts of Memphis, Tennessee, was pleasant until the sudden death of one neighbor, Gertrude Leigh. Her death shocked the community and pained her husband, Fred; still, he never called God into question. “God got reason fo' everythang,” he said. However, Fred did question what to do about his four young children. And when relatives came forward offering to take one or the other of his children, Fred was adamant: 'Take 'em all or ya can't git none of 'em,” he told them. His job at the wax factory left little time for the kind of parenting his children were accustomed to. Would twelve-year-old Junior have to quit school and take the reins? Down the road, Bernice Taylor was trying to encourage her aunt, Mary Ashworth, to go to Fred Leigh and offer a hand. But who would be willing to take on such a huge role? Everybody was whispering: What about the children? But only one thing was certain: Leesville would never be the same.