Experience the saga of a distinguished African American family that played a significant role in U.S. history from the Civil War to the present. Residing primarily in Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle, several generations of the Horace and Susie Cayton family faced racial discrimination, professional failure, poverty, alcoholism, depression, and drug addiction. Yet the force of the family legacy impelled most of them to make significant contributions to American society.

Richard S. Hobbs earned a Ph.D. in history from the University of Washington and has led a career as an archivist, researcher, and writer. He resides on Whidbey Island in Washington's Puget Sound region.