The Crimson and Gold is a comprehensive narrative detailing the struggle for integration in Athens, Georgia, in the context of highly competitive football as experienced by athletes, their fellow students, teachers, journalists, and school administrators at (predominantly White) Athens High School and (African American) Burney-Harris High School and eventually Clarke Central High School—formed after the two legacy schools were forced to merge. The proud sports traditions of two high schools—both adored by their respective communities—eventually become inextricably linked with the larger battle for equal rights during the tumultuous 1960s and early 1970s. In addition to the relatively well-known stories of the University of Georgia’s integration in 1961, Mark Clegg details “Freedom of Choice” transfers in the early 1960s, desegregation of businesses like the iconic Varsity restaurant, the violence perpetrated by the local chapter of the KKK, the first athletic competitions between Burney-Harris and Athens High, the resistance by large portions of both the Black and White communities to the phasing out of their beloved schools, and the tense and often violent first several years of Clarke Central’s existence. Finally, Clegg recounts the Athens High football team’s remarkable state title run—in its last year of existence in 1969. Clegg conducted extensive interviews with a number of Black and White Athenians who lived through the era, including Horace King, Richard Appleby, and Clarence Pope (Burney-Harris and Clarke Central football players who were three of the first five Black football players at UGA); former Athens mayor and Athens and Clarke Central High School football player Doc Eldridge; current DeKalb County CEO and former Georgia labor commissioner (and Burney-Harris and Clarke Central football player) Michael Thurmond; the first Black scholarship athlete at UGA and Athens High School alumnus Maxie Foster; and local writer, journalist, and publisher (Flagpole magazine) Pete McCommons.

How good it is to see that you remember the past even as you make the appearance of moving on. Unfortunately for you, your indecision between past and present could rob you of any future...

She wanted out. She wanted a new life. She wanted a trophy worthy of a master thief. She wanted to find the source of the treasured crimson gold. She wanted to face an undead emperor on his home ground and live to tell the tale. Careful what you wish for. The Crimson Gold is the third title in this ongoing Forgotten Realms series focusing specifically on the shadowed life of the iconic character class of the rogue. Each novel in the series is a stand-alone adventure, allowing readers an easy entry point into the Forgotten Realms world.

After you read the book you'll know why I'm dedicating my book to every Jew in the world, past and present! Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart! Sincerely, to Israel with love because of Romans 11:15, 25 and 28, 31, and 32! (Both Romans and Hebrews were tenderly written to Jews first!) The idea for Crimson & Gold came to me one morning as I stood praying in my living room. My eyes fell on a small replica of the Wailing Wall I'd purchased while in Jerusalem. Artistic leanings had led me to "doctor up" the little icon several months earlier. Suddenly, the story line for this very book and movie ran through my mind. It so surprised me I recall saying out loud, "Oh, my Lord! What a story!" Four American Jews go to Israel for different reasons, yet they're all searching for similar answers. Two of them have very serious issues to overcome while the other two have had their problems solved in America. Eventually, the four strangers meet at the Wailing Wall where friendships begin, dreams are realized, dark pasts uncovered, love develops and eventually all problems are solved. Their common ambition is to change the world for the better. My four protagonists meet one the antagonists also from the States. His plan to change the world negatively is antithetical to the plans of the heroes. Love, hate, jealousy, personal triumph, soul discovery, intrigue, passion, and the miraculous are played out between Jerusalem, Joppa and Telaviv! Very delicate issues are handled tastefully and moral issues the world has long debated are solved! Questions which have gone unanswered for centuries are answered in this novel! the intent to murder and finally murder is committed. a murder in America is linked across the ocean to Israel. This love story is very different with values and morals foreign to today's society! It's a love story reminiscent of the 1950's though no time line is given. It will linger in your mind long after the book is finished. The end of the book leaves the door open for the impending sequel!