Author Event: Michael Johnson

Author Michael K. Johnson will present his latest book, Can’t Stand Still.
The local connection to this story is not instantly obvious, but it is compelling. Born in 1893 into the only African-American family in White Sulphur Springs, Emmanuel Taylor Gordon (1893-1971) first worked in the brothels of White Sulphur Springs as an errand boy. He was soon discovered by John Ringling and began traveling with Ringling to perform on stages all over the country. He became an internationally famous singer in the 1920s at the height of the Harlem Renaissance. Although Gordon is now all but forgotten, Johnson’s meticulous and detailed biography reveals him to have ranked among the most interesting figures of the 20th century.