By Dr. LaVon W. Bracy
A Brave Little Cookie
Always be Brave!
A Brave Little Cookie is a children’s storybook illustrating the difficulties and struggles of the civil rights era and what it took to succeed against impossible odds. This is a story about the courage of one girl, in one city, in one state, that made an impact for many children in many places. It’s the story of a girl called “Cookie” who represented every black girl and boy in her city by integrating the school system in Gainesville, Florida. Although the federal court had decided that schools should be integrated, the local government did not follow directions. But, with a family determined to make a difference, and a community praying for one person to stand up…Cookie did!
Meet the Author
Dr. LaVon Wright Bracy
The product of a civil rights activist and a schoolteacher, LaVon is the proud daughter of the late Reverend Thomas A. Wright and Affie Mae Wright. She is the youngest of four children born to parents who, in their school age days did not experience education in an integrated setting. These powerful community pillars wanted better opportunity for their children and fought, in and outside of the courtroom, to help bring to fruition the equality that was well deserved. Dr. LaVon Wright Bracy has been a champion for the rights of others since she was a child. Her legacy, as she shares in her new book, A Brave Little Cookie, is why she’s most known. She’s the girl who integrated the school system in Alachua County, Florida, becoming the first African American to graduate from Gainesville High School in 1965. Her gripping story has been written for elementary school children to introduce them to the civil rights struggles and sacrifices made to make the world a better place.
“I hope you will always be brave!”