In this book, Angelou details what brought her mother to send her away, and unearths the well of emotions she experienced long afterward as a result. For the first time, she reveals the triumphs and struggles of being the daughter of Vivian Baxter, an indomitable spirit whose petite size belied her larger-than-life presence, a presence absent during much of the author's early life. When her marriage began to crumble, Vivian famously sent three-year-old...

George Flippin was the first African American to play football for the University of Nebraska in the 1890s. His breakthroughs continued as the Flippins became the only black family in the small, mostly Swedish town of Stomsburg, Nebraska, where he was a physician. In the early 1900s, Flippin's story was not hidden. Interracial marriages, divorces, abortions, and civil rights cases became the fodder for newspapers across the state.More Than Football...