Riding into History

“It took many heroes to overturn legally enforced racial segregation. Students learn about Rosa Parks, but they also should learn about Private First-Class Sarah Keys.” - Alan J. Singer, author of Class-Conscious Coal Miners: The Emergence of a Working-Class Movement in Central Pennsylvania

“This beautifully rendered, long-overlooked chapter of civil rights history deserves to be widely known. Nathan and Sarah Keys Evans bring Sarah’s story to life with clarity and reverence, reminding us that Black women’s courage has always sat at the center of the American democratic project. In tracing the case that laid the legal groundwork for the Freedom Rides, they show how one woman’s refusal to move quite literally moved the nation.” - Blair LM Kelley, author of Black Folk: The Roots of the Black Working Class

". . .  Evans was an accidental activist who did not intend to challenge racism. Nonetheless, she knew that she needed to act when her rights and dignity were being trampled. It’s an amazing story. What’s more, her example is a potent reminder that one person’s actions can actually change the world." - Eleanor J. Bader, The Turned Page

"This is an important story to read, one that’s not often told when talking about the Civil Rights Movement." - Terri Schlichenmeyer, Miami Times

"Nathan’s Riding into History restores a life, and places that life within the broader struggle against segregation in U.S. transportation. By weaving together years of conversations with Keys Evans and careful attention to legal cases, she shows how the fight to dismantle Jim Crow unfolded through both personal courage and persistent legal action." - Marybeth Gasman, Forbes

"[T]he book doesn't limit itself to Keys Evans' isolated story; it also provides rich historical information on segregation in transportation since before the Civil War, as well as the wider story of institutional racism, mob violence and white supremacy in the United States." - Alessandra Harris, National Catholic Reporter