“Teddy and Booker T.” (written by Brian Kilmeade in 2021) tells the remarkable story of how two American heroes rose to meet the crisis of their day, racial segregation and institutional oppression that threatened to jeopardize the stability of the United States itself.

The alliance between President Teddy Roosevelt and educator Booker T. Washington was unlikely — one was born into a privileged family and the other was born a slave. Both were born in 1858. Despite their wildly different beginnings, the life events of these two giants were eerily parallel and their paths converged at a crucial moment in American history.

What happened in the White House in 1901 would change the course of race relations forever. Yet, most people at the time were indifferent to the substance of their meeting. They were more concerned that it had happened in the family dining room of the White House.

More than 100 years later, John McCain reminded the world of that dinner meeting in the White House while giving his election concession speech after losing to Barack Obama. McCain remarked that that controversial dinner in 1901 set in motion what would become the presidency of the first Black man in American history in 2008.

About Janice Byrd
A true Renaissance woman and lifetime learner, Byrd’s interests and involvements have included the arts, historical associations, youth programs, interpreting for the deaf, community activities, and numerous church ministries.

Byrd graduated from Baylor University with a degree in mathematics and secondary education and earned a Masters in Library Science from the University of North Texas. Mother of two grown children and a grandmother of four, Byrd has worked as a teacher, tax accountant, seamstress, freelance writer, Dallas Morning News opinion columnist, radio book reviewer, as well as a speaker and oral book performer. For 19 years, she served as the Director of the Media Library of the First Baptist Church of McKinney.

For over 40 years, Janice has traveled overseas one or more times each year with her church to live and work with Christians from partnering churches. Janice is currently focused on Hungary, where she leads English Bible Camps each summer. Janice has been a ​“book reviewer” and book performer for over 30 years.