Diesel heart : an autobiography

Title
Diesel heart : an autobiography

Author
Carter, Melvin Whitfield, Jr. author.

ISBN
9781681341255

Physical Description
267 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Personal Subject
Carter, Melvin Whitfield, Jr.

Subject Term
African American police -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul -- Biography.
 
African Americans -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul -- Biography.

Geographic Term
Saint Paul (Minn.) -- Race relations -- History.
 
Saint Paul (Minn.) -- Social conditions.

Summary
The doctors gathered around, passing the stethoscope from hand to hand, taking turns listening to my chest. Finally, the lead doctor said, "Now, that's what I call a heartbeat!" I snapped, "Whaddaya mean?" "It's like hearing a diesel engine inside a Mustang body," he said. Melvin Whitfield Carter Jr., the father of St. Paul's current mayor, is a true son of Rondo, the city's storied African American neighborhood. He was born in a city divided along racial lines and rich in cultural misunderstanding. Growing up in the 1950s and '60s, he witnessed the destruction of his neighborhood by the I-94 freeway?and he found his way to fighting and trouble. But Carter turned his life around. As a young man, he enlisted in the US Navy. He used his fighting ability to survive racist treatment, winning boxing matches and respect. And as an affirmative action hire in the St. Paul Police Department, facing prejudice at every turn, this hardworking, talented, and highly principled officer fought to protect the people of the city he calls home.


LibraryCall NumberStatus
Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake)921 CARTERNonfiction Collection
R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)921 CARTERNonfiction Collection
Stillwater Public Library921 CARTERNonfiction Collection