Victory After the Fall

Book excerpt: Reverend H. K. Matthews is one of the unsung heroes of the Southern civil rights movement. Among his activism, he participated in the first sit-in demonstrations in northwest Florida and led a campaign against the use of Confederate symbols at an area high school, and much more. And he served time in state prison for a crime that never occurred. However, his memoir Victory After the Fall is much more than one man's account of his life experiences. It is a first-person narrative of the challenges and opportunities black citizens encountered before, during, and after the 1960s struggle for racial equality. Matthews reveals what impact the unique community of Snow Hill, Alabama, had upon him as a young boy. He describes the influence other pioneer activists such as Rev. W. C. Dobbins had on his life and tells of the close encounters he had with the Klu Klux Klan in Florida. The book also provides insight into the impact his activities had upon race relations in Pensacola and how his ordeal still impacts the city. Victory After the Fall provides a fascinating journey into the civil rights battlegrounds of northwest Florida and beyond, but it is also a story of moral courage and personal redemption. Matthews tells how he lost everything as a result of his ceaseless campaign for human dignity and left Pensacola a broken man. But he discovered in Alabama that some things could never be taken from him. This book outlines the rise, fall, and ultimate victory that a remarkable person endured because of his efforts to improve relations between his fellow men.