What do you think?
Rate this book
The Class of '65: A Student, a Divided Town, and the Long Road to Forgiveness
Being a student at Americus High School in 1964 was the worst experience of Greg Wittkamper’s life. A member of a nearby Christian commune, Koinonia, Greg was publicly and devoutly in favor of racial integration and harmony. Koinonia’s farm goods were boycotted by businesses for miles around, and they were targeted and attacked with bombs and gunfire by the Ku Klux Klan.
But Greg did not waver in his beliefs. When Americus High School was integrated, he refused to participate in the insults and violence aimed at its black students. He was harassed and bullied and beaten but stood his ground. In the summer after his senior year, as racial strife in Americus reached its peak, Greg left town.
Forty-two years later, in the spring of 2006, a dozen former classmates wrote letters to Greg, asking his forgiveness and inviting him to return for a class reunion. Their words opened a vein of painful memory and unresolved emotion. The long-deferred attempt at reconciliation started him on a journey that would prove healing and saddening.
The Class of '65 transcends the ugly things that happened decades ago in the Deep South. This book is also the story of four people—David Morgan, Joseph Logan, Deanie Dudley, and Celia Harvey—who reached out to their former classmate. Why did they change their minds? Why did it still matter to them, decades later? Their tale illustrates our capacity for change and the ways in which America has – and has not – matured in its attitudes about race.
At heart, this is a tale about a pariah and the people who eventually realized that they had been a party to injustice. It is a tandem story of a country and its people—angry, fearful, and proud—to make real change.
But Greg did not waver in his beliefs. When Americus High School was integrated, he refused to participate in the insults and violence aimed at its black students. He was harassed and bullied and beaten but stood his ground. In the summer after his senior year, as racial strife in Americus reached its peak, Greg left town.
Forty-two years later, in the spring of 2006, a dozen former classmates wrote letters to Greg, asking his forgiveness and inviting him to return for a class reunion. Their words opened a vein of painful memory and unresolved emotion. The long-deferred attempt at reconciliation started him on a journey that would prove healing and saddening.
The Class of '65 transcends the ugly things that happened decades ago in the Deep South. This book is also the story of four people—David Morgan, Joseph Logan, Deanie Dudley, and Celia Harvey—who reached out to their former classmate. Why did they change their minds? Why did it still matter to them, decades later? Their tale illustrates our capacity for change and the ways in which America has – and has not – matured in its attitudes about race.
At heart, this is a tale about a pariah and the people who eventually realized that they had been a party to injustice. It is a tandem story of a country and its people—angry, fearful, and proud—to make real change.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published March 31, 2015
88 people are currently reading
741 people want to read
About the author
Jim Auchmutey
11 books20 followersJim Auchmutey is author of the new book "Smokelore: A Short History of Barbecue in America," the companion volume to the Barbecue Nation exhibition he helped curate at the Atlanta History Center. An Atlanta native, he was an editor and reporter at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for almost 30 years, specializing in stories about the South and its history and culture. He was twice named the Cox Newspaper chain's Writer of the Year and was honored by the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards, the Associated Press and the Sigma Delta Chi journalism society. He has co-authored two cookbooks, is a founding member of the Southern Foodways Alliance, and has won awards for his food writing from the James Beard Foundation and the Association of Food Journalists. His previous book was "The Class of '65: A Student, a Divided Town, and the Long Road to Forgiveness.," a story of race, religion and reconciliation set at Koinonia, the Christian community in southwest Georgia where Habitat for Humanity was born.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
March 2, 2015
The class of '65 is an extremely good book - it's also an important one. I'd like to see it on school syllabuses, discussed in forums and made into the sort of movie that garners a hatful of Oscars.
I don't read a lot of nonfiction. So often the genre seems to be divided between badly-written hyperbolic puffery and the dryest of academic pedantry. Jim Auchmutey does an outstanding job here, however - he packs in the facts, details and observations, giving references, but also never loses sight of the story and the meaning. It's a fine line to walk, but this seasoned writer does it with aplomb.
It's all about Greg Wittkamper, a boy growing up on a gentle, pacifist religious commune in the '50s and '60s. People of all races live together happily. If only the rest of Georgia felt the same...Greg attends school outside the commune, and is bullied and harassed from day one. His fellow classmates cannot understand how he could tolerate black people. As the Klan gets involved and the Civil Rights movement gains momentum, Greg decides to accompany the first black students on their journey to attend his school. All hell is about to break loose...and yet forty years later, Greg receives an invitation to the school reunion. Letters from classmates start to arrive...in forty years, what has changed?
On important point is that neither Auchmutey or Wittkamper are trying to claim the Civil Rights victories for whitey. Black activism is given the place it deserves at the top of the pile, so to speak - but this is a fascinating story because Greg was a white boy at a white school, and his classmates couldn't understand why he had 'betrayed' them. The story also follows the lives of some of his classmates and looks at their lives from the segregated 50s to the present day. As an examination of human nature, and its capacity for change, it's endlessly interesting. It's also full of compassion for all the kids concerned, and for people in general who struggle to make sense of the times they live in. The story is deeply moving and pitched just right.
A few celeb cameos make illuminating reading. A certain peanut farmer supported the religious community at a time when almost no one else did - Jimmy Carter. Martin Luther-King also stepped in.
An unusual, fascinating book that tells a very important story. I received an advance copy free on Goodreads, and I couldn't be more grateful.
I don't read a lot of nonfiction. So often the genre seems to be divided between badly-written hyperbolic puffery and the dryest of academic pedantry. Jim Auchmutey does an outstanding job here, however - he packs in the facts, details and observations, giving references, but also never loses sight of the story and the meaning. It's a fine line to walk, but this seasoned writer does it with aplomb.
It's all about Greg Wittkamper, a boy growing up on a gentle, pacifist religious commune in the '50s and '60s. People of all races live together happily. If only the rest of Georgia felt the same...Greg attends school outside the commune, and is bullied and harassed from day one. His fellow classmates cannot understand how he could tolerate black people. As the Klan gets involved and the Civil Rights movement gains momentum, Greg decides to accompany the first black students on their journey to attend his school. All hell is about to break loose...and yet forty years later, Greg receives an invitation to the school reunion. Letters from classmates start to arrive...in forty years, what has changed?
On important point is that neither Auchmutey or Wittkamper are trying to claim the Civil Rights victories for whitey. Black activism is given the place it deserves at the top of the pile, so to speak - but this is a fascinating story because Greg was a white boy at a white school, and his classmates couldn't understand why he had 'betrayed' them. The story also follows the lives of some of his classmates and looks at their lives from the segregated 50s to the present day. As an examination of human nature, and its capacity for change, it's endlessly interesting. It's also full of compassion for all the kids concerned, and for people in general who struggle to make sense of the times they live in. The story is deeply moving and pitched just right.
A few celeb cameos make illuminating reading. A certain peanut farmer supported the religious community at a time when almost no one else did - Jimmy Carter. Martin Luther-King also stepped in.
An unusual, fascinating book that tells a very important story. I received an advance copy free on Goodreads, and I couldn't be more grateful.
April 30, 2015
As a member of the Class of '65 (in an Arkansas high school) and a former resident of Georgia (1989-2007), I decided to read this non-fiction book when I ran across it in a bookstore. It tells the story of a Greg Whitkamper, whose high school experience in Americus, Georgia, was abominable. In reading his story, we get interesting chunks of history of the Christian farming commune, Koinonia, located near Americus and the integration of Americus' high school. Whitkamper, who is white, was persecuted by some of his schoolmates and shunned by the others because he lived with his parents in the interracial commune. The Americus locals, from the bankers to the Ku Klux Klan bums, were convinced that both the commune and integration were communist inspired. Because Whitkamper was associated with both, he was viewed by other kids in his schools, reflecting their parents'views, as a black-loving communist or worse.
The story of his time in American High School, including his senior year when it was integrated, is painful to read. The worst students made his life, and the lives of the small band of Black teenagers who were the first to attend the school, almost unbearable. Even the best students didn't help to ease the situation. Whitkamper kept going through the tough times; reflecting Koinonia's non-violent philosophy, which he believed in, he refused to defend himself or strike back when attacked. When he graduated, he had made no friends at the high school and was booed when he crossed the stage to get his diploma. He had invited a few Black friends to attend the graduation along with his parents. Knowing that some people would be upset by having Blacks attend the graduatation ceremony, Wittkamper left immediately after it with his best Black friend who was giving him a ride home. They did not get too far until a group of "20 to 30" adults came after them, throwing bottles and bricks and yelling obscenities. The two friends raced for the car, but some men blocked their way. Through intervention of a minister, they were able to get to their car before any more violence occurred.
As might be imagined, Wittkamper tried to forget about his high school years. He had an interesting life, spending lots of time traveling abroad during his college-age years, then stumbling onto a way to make a good living in West Virginia as a land developer. He would visit his family in Koinonia, but had no contract with people in Americus. By the 2005, he was semi-retired.
The American High School Class of '65 had held 10th, 20th, and 30th year reunions and was planning a 40th year reunion in 2006. Wittkamper had not been invited to any of the first three reunions. However, he received an invitation to the 40th reunion along with letters from several of his High School classmates who apologized for their behavior toward him back when they were students at Americus High School.
The last half of the book is about the reconciliation that occurred as Wittkamper and many of his former classmates talked to each other. The story of the reconciliation, the apologies and forgiveness, shows how times have changed and how at least some people can change.
The book is nicely written by journalist Jim Auchmutey. It should be a welcome addition to the book diet of readers looking of rays of hope in a complex and often nasty world.
The story of his time in American High School, including his senior year when it was integrated, is painful to read. The worst students made his life, and the lives of the small band of Black teenagers who were the first to attend the school, almost unbearable. Even the best students didn't help to ease the situation. Whitkamper kept going through the tough times; reflecting Koinonia's non-violent philosophy, which he believed in, he refused to defend himself or strike back when attacked. When he graduated, he had made no friends at the high school and was booed when he crossed the stage to get his diploma. He had invited a few Black friends to attend the graduation along with his parents. Knowing that some people would be upset by having Blacks attend the graduatation ceremony, Wittkamper left immediately after it with his best Black friend who was giving him a ride home. They did not get too far until a group of "20 to 30" adults came after them, throwing bottles and bricks and yelling obscenities. The two friends raced for the car, but some men blocked their way. Through intervention of a minister, they were able to get to their car before any more violence occurred.
As might be imagined, Wittkamper tried to forget about his high school years. He had an interesting life, spending lots of time traveling abroad during his college-age years, then stumbling onto a way to make a good living in West Virginia as a land developer. He would visit his family in Koinonia, but had no contract with people in Americus. By the 2005, he was semi-retired.
The American High School Class of '65 had held 10th, 20th, and 30th year reunions and was planning a 40th year reunion in 2006. Wittkamper had not been invited to any of the first three reunions. However, he received an invitation to the 40th reunion along with letters from several of his High School classmates who apologized for their behavior toward him back when they were students at Americus High School.
The last half of the book is about the reconciliation that occurred as Wittkamper and many of his former classmates talked to each other. The story of the reconciliation, the apologies and forgiveness, shows how times have changed and how at least some people can change.
The book is nicely written by journalist Jim Auchmutey. It should be a welcome addition to the book diet of readers looking of rays of hope in a complex and often nasty world.
March 18, 2023
omg … you need to read this book!
This is a fascinating historical account, biography of sorts of Greg Wittkamper….who was in high school in Americus Georgia at the time of desegregation and being white supporting desegregation and the resulting consequences of doing so.
The 1960s race riots, civil rights protests, political, social, and cultural experimentation are all represented in this true story of how life in the south affected and changed life paths for an entire high school.
The story opens with Greg receiving an invitation to his fortieth high school reunion and Wittkamper briefly considers if he wants to relive the years he can only describe as a nightmare. Going to Americus High School in Georgia while living in a Christian farming commune and being openly supportive of desegregation that occurred during his final year at an all white school attracted much unwanted criticism in many forms.
(Btw… Habitat for Humanity was founded in this very commune that Greg Wittkamper grew up in.)
As if being a pacifist and the son of a preacher in the commune wasn’t enough of an outlier, Greg arrived with and befriended the four token black students causing quite an uproar. Now forty years later along with the reunion invite the mail holds numerous letters of apology by classmates for their treatment of Greg. (Interestingly he was not invited to the previous three reunions).
The story next turns to recounting Greg’s life from his humble upbringing to his nightmarish high school years. But it includes recounted views from the other side, his tormentors, his classmates.
While we have come to accept that behavior is learned, at what age or what point does or should one’s common sense, moral compass or other measure of right and wrong take hold and win out. For some it takes longer than others. For those who lead the parade it is lonely at the top. The torment Greg experienced followed him for much of his life, as it did for the few black students in his class as well.
This is a story of redemption and forgiveness but none of the students will ever forget.
Sadly we have not always learned from our mistakes and often the learned behavior continues.
Blessed are those who can see past it, work through it, rise above it.
Stories like this need to be told and need to be read and shared so we can learn.
I’m afraid that I am lost for words to explain the effect this story has if you read it. All that I can say is that you should, you must read it to appreciate the sad history it reflects and the ray of hope for better understanding it portrays.
Please just read it, and be prepared for the range of emotions it will conjure up.
(While your at it read also “Daddy was a Number Runner” , a classic by Louise Meriwether. I read these two novels back to back an now I am emotionally spent.)
This is a fascinating historical account, biography of sorts of Greg Wittkamper….who was in high school in Americus Georgia at the time of desegregation and being white supporting desegregation and the resulting consequences of doing so.
The 1960s race riots, civil rights protests, political, social, and cultural experimentation are all represented in this true story of how life in the south affected and changed life paths for an entire high school.
The story opens with Greg receiving an invitation to his fortieth high school reunion and Wittkamper briefly considers if he wants to relive the years he can only describe as a nightmare. Going to Americus High School in Georgia while living in a Christian farming commune and being openly supportive of desegregation that occurred during his final year at an all white school attracted much unwanted criticism in many forms.
(Btw… Habitat for Humanity was founded in this very commune that Greg Wittkamper grew up in.)
As if being a pacifist and the son of a preacher in the commune wasn’t enough of an outlier, Greg arrived with and befriended the four token black students causing quite an uproar. Now forty years later along with the reunion invite the mail holds numerous letters of apology by classmates for their treatment of Greg. (Interestingly he was not invited to the previous three reunions).
The story next turns to recounting Greg’s life from his humble upbringing to his nightmarish high school years. But it includes recounted views from the other side, his tormentors, his classmates.
While we have come to accept that behavior is learned, at what age or what point does or should one’s common sense, moral compass or other measure of right and wrong take hold and win out. For some it takes longer than others. For those who lead the parade it is lonely at the top. The torment Greg experienced followed him for much of his life, as it did for the few black students in his class as well.
This is a story of redemption and forgiveness but none of the students will ever forget.
Sadly we have not always learned from our mistakes and often the learned behavior continues.
Blessed are those who can see past it, work through it, rise above it.
Stories like this need to be told and need to be read and shared so we can learn.
I’m afraid that I am lost for words to explain the effect this story has if you read it. All that I can say is that you should, you must read it to appreciate the sad history it reflects and the ray of hope for better understanding it portrays.
Please just read it, and be prepared for the range of emotions it will conjure up.
(While your at it read also “Daddy was a Number Runner” , a classic by Louise Meriwether. I read these two novels back to back an now I am emotionally spent.)
September 22, 2015
This is a fascinating story of racism in the south that's ultimately incomplete. It tells the story of the Christian community, Koinonia, and the end of segregation at Americus High School in Georgia. It focuses on white student Greg Wittkamper as he struggles with the fallout of Koinonia's support of the civil rights movement. It's a powerful story. But it's only a road to forgiveness for the white community. Spoiler Alert: While Greg gets an apology from the students who persecuted him, the black students don't. This fact comes up in the epilogue, almost as an after thought. It might be a story of forgiveness, but it's only partial forgiveness and definitely not a story of racial reconciliation.
April 1, 2015
This book reads with a suspenseful intensity that makes it impossible to put down. It begins with the founding of a pacifist, Christian commune in southwest Georgia named Koinonia (Greek for fellowship). But as their views of racial equality become known, local racists dynamite their market, try to kill their founder and shoot at their children playing outside. The story escalates into the heart of the civil rights struggle; a story that is not as well known as Selma, though it should be. King, Abernathy, John Lewis and SNCC are all there. But the power of this story is that we feel it personally through a boy living out nonviolence in the high school crucible. And then in the story of his classmates who had the courage to seek forgiveness.
June 11, 2015
A true story that touches the heart
Extremely well researched look at the civil rights era of the 1960s as it roiled a small southern town. In this book the political is very personal. It's alternately heart wrenching and heartwarming at the same time.
Extremely well researched look at the civil rights era of the 1960s as it roiled a small southern town. In this book the political is very personal. It's alternately heart wrenching and heartwarming at the same time.
August 11, 2022
I have had a lot of thoughts since finishing this book. I will now do a poor job of highlighting a few of them: I love Americus, GA. Sure...I have only been twice, but both times provided great memories. I know people who live in Americus, I have enjoyed walking around, eating, drinking, and shopping in Americus, and I have loved walking, running, and driving the streets of Americus, because it honestly is a beautiful small southern town...that seems, in this day and age, to be somewhat racially harmonious and even progressive by most small southern town standards. CLASS OF 65 reveals that things haven't always been this way, which comes as no surprise, but let me be frank: This book is not a be-all, end-all book about racism in Americus, GA in the 1960s. People who read the book and were disappointed that the book is about a white kid in Americus '65, rather than a black kid, should have read the dust jacket before opening it. Rather, it is about Greg Whittkamper, a white Americus High School student who was raised a Christian pacifist and living on a racially-progressive Christian commune named Koinania just outside of Americus, and his experiences at AHS as the most-hated kid, if only because there were no black students to hate in the Class of '65. The book dives deep into Koinonia and the regular harassment that the agrarian commune dealt with (including economic terrorism, shootings, bombings, etc) as well as the treatment that Greg received at school. It follows Greg until a high school reunion, some 40 years later, when a few of his classmates write him letters of apology and invite him to a reunion.
The theme of the final act of the book is rooted in guilt and redemption and a basic "we are so very sorry that we did this to you, or that we did nothing to prevent it" while also mentioning that not all of Greg's classmates felt that way. The reunion takes place after Greg has literally travelled the world, many times over, and grown in maturity and spiritually, while most of his classmates never traveled far outside of the southeastern United States. As they were asking him for forgiveness for their sins (and sins of omission) I could not help but think of some of the things I have heard and seen school children say, 50+ years later. Ignorance, intolerance of every stripe, and pack mentality did not end with the Class of '65 and that admission was the reason I had trouble sleeping after finishing the book.
The theme of the final act of the book is rooted in guilt and redemption and a basic "we are so very sorry that we did this to you, or that we did nothing to prevent it" while also mentioning that not all of Greg's classmates felt that way. The reunion takes place after Greg has literally travelled the world, many times over, and grown in maturity and spiritually, while most of his classmates never traveled far outside of the southeastern United States. As they were asking him for forgiveness for their sins (and sins of omission) I could not help but think of some of the things I have heard and seen school children say, 50+ years later. Ignorance, intolerance of every stripe, and pack mentality did not end with the Class of '65 and that admission was the reason I had trouble sleeping after finishing the book.
May 27, 2015
When you say "Southern history," people think either "Civil War" or "civil rights." In fact, there's a fascinating and distinguished history of social activism in Southern history, and the story of south Georgia's Koinonia Farm ranks up there with the Highlander Folk School as an incubator of the civil rights movement. I've known Jim Auchmutey since we were college classmates, so I knew he was a superb writer. He makes this story of a white kid from Koinonia who chose to stand with black kids on the front lines of school integration in the 1960s, at considerable cost, a fascinating read. The book is dedicated to "all the people who stand up for what they know is right"--a poignant reminder that the lessons of that period of history are never out of date.
October 11, 2018
I was in the Class of '64 of the same school and this book was hard for me to read because I was one of those who stood by and did nothing. In reading this book, I learned much about what went on in our town and school during this period of time that I did not know. I was sheltered from most of it by my parents and too interested in sports and girls to keep up with local politics and racial tensions. I worked at a camp all summer during the summers when most of the events away from the school occurred and was saddened by what I read. This is no excuse, however, for doing nothing when the kids from Koinonia were ostracized and harassed during school. I have and do apologize. God forgive us. God forgive me.
July 29, 2016
Former AJC journalist Jim Auchmutey does real justice to this great Georgia story.
The story of Greg Wittkamper and his generation resonates. In fact, the Georgia Center for the Book just included this fine book on its annual list, Books all Georgians Should Read for 2016. I will say it is also a page turner.
Highest recommendation.
The story of Greg Wittkamper and his generation resonates. In fact, the Georgia Center for the Book just included this fine book on its annual list, Books all Georgians Should Read for 2016. I will say it is also a page turner.
Highest recommendation.
December 3, 2017
Some great history lessons in this book. It did drag in parts though. Also, for the record I started this book a week ago. I would give this 3.5 stars.
January 31, 2024
Well, it was a book club book so I really had to read it. It’s about (quite boringly) the fight to integrate schools in Americus, Ga. Or, Southern white people behaving badly. Oddly, the author, who was a reporter for the AJC, writes the book from the perspective of this white kid who was raised in a commune-type environment which supported integration, so he was thoroughly ostracized throughout high school. So yeah he was picked on and bullied and no one would be his friend, but still he was a white kid in America and when he left Americus, Ga he had no problems. I mean unlike black people who had to deal with White hatred pretty much everywhere and all the damn time. So it was hard for me to get all exercised on his behalf.
Plus, it was an account. Written by a reporter, and that’s what it sounded like. Mr. Auchmutey should stick with the newspaper and not be trying to write books.
Plus, it was an account. Written by a reporter, and that’s what it sounded like. Mr. Auchmutey should stick with the newspaper and not be trying to write books.
July 1, 2023
This is hard to articulate. The story was intriguing and the book well written and very readable. I just kept thinking the whole time about the actual Black people who were and are affected by racism, though this story centers it all on white people (of course). If it was this bad for a white kid in the south, then it was a ton worse for any Black kid or person!
The fact that years later still only a small percentage of Greg’s classmates were willing to admit they were fucking assholes (or the palest version of “fucking assholes”) should remind us all that white supremacy is alive and thriving.
The fact that years later still only a small percentage of Greg’s classmates were willing to admit they were fucking assholes (or the palest version of “fucking assholes”) should remind us all that white supremacy is alive and thriving.
April 10, 2015
This untold story of the civil rights era is an inspiring read for high school students, parents, educators, and speakers – anyone who will relish a remarkable tale of “turning the other cheek.” The story elicits hope that although the brain may not be fully developed until age 25, it is possible for a teenager to resist impulse and create a reasoned strategy for coping with bullying and peer pressure. “The Class of ’65” is a perfect book for required summer reading for high school students. Not to be overlooked is its value for parents and grandparents who wonder if they will ever see any fruit from “teaching their children well.”
“The Class of ’65” is a true story of hope and redemption and the power of personal choice to impact the future, even when there is no indication that anything good will ever come from one’s actions. The story captures the essence of both the worst and the best behaviors which characterize the human condition, not only individual behavior, but also collective behavior.
The opening setting is Sumter County, Georgia in the early 1950s, and the story ends there in 2006 with the fortieth reunion of the Americus High School Class of 1965. The author weaves the coming-of-age biography of a young white teenager into the political and social backdrop of the development of the civil rights movement in the small rural town of Americus, Georgia.
The young man, Greg Wittkamper, is a high school student who lives with his family in an intentional Christian farm community called Koinonia. The contrast between a utopian Christian farm community and the established small town white Protestant churches is just one of many contrasts explored in this book. The members of the Christian communal farm espouse the values of racial equality and non-violence, yet they are smack dab in the middle of the Jim Crow South at the time when school segregation is being challenged.
But the issues do not divide easily into good versus evil. The author does a skillful job of letting the nuances of the dilemmas speak for themselves as the characters and personalities emerge. The main character, Greg, realizes even as a bullied high school student that, “... if our cribs had been switched at birth, they’d be me and I’d be them.” Greg’s belief in racial equality and non-violence were woven into the fabric of his upbringing, but there came a time when he was faced head on with owning his beliefs as he is daily ridiculed, provoked and threatened at high school. He suffers much at the hands of his peers who blatantly taunt and ostracize him.
The crux of the story is how Greg, at age seventeen, chooses to handle the abuse and the subsequent unforeseen consequences of his actions forty years later. This true story of healing and culture change over time is a hopeful testament to the redemptive power of paying a price for one’s convictions. The reader will not forget the emotional pain and the courage revealed not only in the life of the persecuted high school student, but also in the lives of the tormentors as they come to terms with their own behavior many years later. I am so grateful to those who were willing to come forward and share this incredible story.
“The Class of ’65” is a true story of hope and redemption and the power of personal choice to impact the future, even when there is no indication that anything good will ever come from one’s actions. The story captures the essence of both the worst and the best behaviors which characterize the human condition, not only individual behavior, but also collective behavior.
The opening setting is Sumter County, Georgia in the early 1950s, and the story ends there in 2006 with the fortieth reunion of the Americus High School Class of 1965. The author weaves the coming-of-age biography of a young white teenager into the political and social backdrop of the development of the civil rights movement in the small rural town of Americus, Georgia.
The young man, Greg Wittkamper, is a high school student who lives with his family in an intentional Christian farm community called Koinonia. The contrast between a utopian Christian farm community and the established small town white Protestant churches is just one of many contrasts explored in this book. The members of the Christian communal farm espouse the values of racial equality and non-violence, yet they are smack dab in the middle of the Jim Crow South at the time when school segregation is being challenged.
But the issues do not divide easily into good versus evil. The author does a skillful job of letting the nuances of the dilemmas speak for themselves as the characters and personalities emerge. The main character, Greg, realizes even as a bullied high school student that, “... if our cribs had been switched at birth, they’d be me and I’d be them.” Greg’s belief in racial equality and non-violence were woven into the fabric of his upbringing, but there came a time when he was faced head on with owning his beliefs as he is daily ridiculed, provoked and threatened at high school. He suffers much at the hands of his peers who blatantly taunt and ostracize him.
The crux of the story is how Greg, at age seventeen, chooses to handle the abuse and the subsequent unforeseen consequences of his actions forty years later. This true story of healing and culture change over time is a hopeful testament to the redemptive power of paying a price for one’s convictions. The reader will not forget the emotional pain and the courage revealed not only in the life of the persecuted high school student, but also in the lives of the tormentors as they come to terms with their own behavior many years later. I am so grateful to those who were willing to come forward and share this incredible story.
April 14, 2016
This is not your typical Civil Rights story. Told from the perspective of an ostracized white guy in South Georgia it weaves together the founding of a religious commune, illegalization of segregation and long overdue atonement. We were so fortunate to have the author, Jim Auchmutey, at our meeting this month to share his relationship with Greg Wittkamper, the ostracized white guy. What a treat to have him talk to us about his experience as an AJC writer where he reported on Koinonia, Jimmy Carter, the south and the founding of Habitat for Humanity. When he started on this journey he knew little about what had gone on in South Georgia in the 60s but quickly uncovered a compelling tale of deep rooted prejudice, teenage cruelty and corrupt justice.
Summer of 2006, the tail end of his time at AJC, Jim was on vacation with his wife when he got a message from a former coworker about an acquaintance who had just recently received messages from his former classmates about an upcoming reunion. The acquaintance, Greg, had graduated from Americus High in 1965 where he had been ostracized and further mistreated during his time in high school. He was even booed at his graduation.
The book is about Greg’s time in High School and the subsequent, 40 years later, requests for forgiveness. Mr. Auchmutey tells the story like a documentarian. Presenting the facts without a political or judgmental point of view he allows the reader to experience Greg’s reality. Nor does he sugarcoat Greg as a saint or savior. Greg is a real teenager who in hindsight is a real hero. It’s hard to imagine how this story might have unfolded if not for Greg.
The story includes small, but not distracting, stories of the early days of Jimmy Carter, Hamilton Jordan, Tom Brokaw and Habitat for Humanity. There is so much more to it than the integration of Americus High School in the late 60s. Well worth reading – should be on all high school book lists – and definitely worth the added bonus to have Mr. Auchmutey attend or Skype in for your discussion!
WSBCGA Rating (according to me)
Women :-) – While the Civil Rights are the backdrop the women involved are key to the telling.
Short :-) - Easy to pick up and put down but you won’t want to put it down.
Southern :-)) – The most…..
Depth :-)) – More than we bargained for.
Bookshelf :-)) - Yes.
Recommend :-)) - Yes.
Summer of 2006, the tail end of his time at AJC, Jim was on vacation with his wife when he got a message from a former coworker about an acquaintance who had just recently received messages from his former classmates about an upcoming reunion. The acquaintance, Greg, had graduated from Americus High in 1965 where he had been ostracized and further mistreated during his time in high school. He was even booed at his graduation.
The book is about Greg’s time in High School and the subsequent, 40 years later, requests for forgiveness. Mr. Auchmutey tells the story like a documentarian. Presenting the facts without a political or judgmental point of view he allows the reader to experience Greg’s reality. Nor does he sugarcoat Greg as a saint or savior. Greg is a real teenager who in hindsight is a real hero. It’s hard to imagine how this story might have unfolded if not for Greg.
The story includes small, but not distracting, stories of the early days of Jimmy Carter, Hamilton Jordan, Tom Brokaw and Habitat for Humanity. There is so much more to it than the integration of Americus High School in the late 60s. Well worth reading – should be on all high school book lists – and definitely worth the added bonus to have Mr. Auchmutey attend or Skype in for your discussion!
WSBCGA Rating (according to me)
Women :-) – While the Civil Rights are the backdrop the women involved are key to the telling.
Short :-) - Easy to pick up and put down but you won’t want to put it down.
Southern :-)) – The most…..
Depth :-)) – More than we bargained for.
Bookshelf :-)) - Yes.
Recommend :-)) - Yes.
February 27, 2019
Excellent true story about race relations in the South
October 20, 2015
This book had so much personal significance for me. First, I borrowed it from the brother of one of the black men who was chosen to integrate the school, Dobbs Wiggins. His brother Graham is a close personal friend of my family. I love him and his wife from the bottom of my heart. The copy of the book i'm reading is inscribed from Greg Wittkamper to Dobbs Wiggins. So I really have a reason to put myself in Greg's shoes.
Second, I've lived in Georgia since I was 8. I've been to many of the places the author describes, including Andersonville, so I can visualize much of the story.
Third, I went through a similar traumatic experience in school for my own religious beliefs. I wasn't part of the civil rights movement, but I know exactly how Greg felt about being the pariah for having different beliefs. I understood exactly what he was thinking when he explained why he stopped talking about what he was going through with his parents. I made that same decision in 4th grade to shield my mother from the pain of my daily horror. I know what it feels like to walk the halls and have a kid you've never met call you a communist and to realize (in the 5th grade) that he's just repeating the ignorant comments of his parents. And to know that your brethren in communist lands are suffering much worse than a little bit of schoolyard bullying. I know what it feels like to want to scream and punch and kick at your tormentors but to know that a) it's not really what you want to do because it goes against everything you've been taught and b) it wouldn't solve anything if you did.
Second, I've lived in Georgia since I was 8. I've been to many of the places the author describes, including Andersonville, so I can visualize much of the story.
Third, I went through a similar traumatic experience in school for my own religious beliefs. I wasn't part of the civil rights movement, but I know exactly how Greg felt about being the pariah for having different beliefs. I understood exactly what he was thinking when he explained why he stopped talking about what he was going through with his parents. I made that same decision in 4th grade to shield my mother from the pain of my daily horror. I know what it feels like to walk the halls and have a kid you've never met call you a communist and to realize (in the 5th grade) that he's just repeating the ignorant comments of his parents. And to know that your brethren in communist lands are suffering much worse than a little bit of schoolyard bullying. I know what it feels like to want to scream and punch and kick at your tormentors but to know that a) it's not really what you want to do because it goes against everything you've been taught and b) it wouldn't solve anything if you did.
January 9, 2024
Greg Wittkamper’s story gives a glimpse into a small Georgia town that grapples with desegregation in the 1960a. Although it was refreshing to see how folks grew in their perspectives regarding race, Greg’s own journey made me sad. Read it for yourself and we can talk about it.
February 12, 2017
Whew! This book gives a touching and harrowing account of growing up in the South in the 1950s and 60s. More importantly, it provides a glimpse into the Southern culture of the times. Individual white people may have been goodhearted or likable, but ugly racism permeated everything. Greg's life was bound up in the civil rights movement, so the book is a chronicle of one corner of that also. The story is one everyone should know, including younger people who may think it's ancient history. It's not, and it's relevant to much of today's news, from the meaning the Confederate flag to police brutality and the prison system.
The book promised to be about Greg's reconciliation with his high school bullies. And it was. But it was bullying for ideological reasons rather than personal (much like what gay and trans kids go through these days). And the bullies not only regretted their meanness, but changed their viewpoints on the issue, illustrating the cultural changes in this country since that time. Also, I've heard of Koinonia, and it was good to learn more about it.
I'd give the book 5 stars for content, but it dragged just a little at times. Still, excellent writing and well worth reading.
The book promised to be about Greg's reconciliation with his high school bullies. And it was. But it was bullying for ideological reasons rather than personal (much like what gay and trans kids go through these days). And the bullies not only regretted their meanness, but changed their viewpoints on the issue, illustrating the cultural changes in this country since that time. Also, I've heard of Koinonia, and it was good to learn more about it.
I'd give the book 5 stars for content, but it dragged just a little at times. Still, excellent writing and well worth reading.
December 28, 2015
It is a wonderful thing to read a book and learn about the world and expand your mind. Too many people prefer to stay where things and ideas are comfortable - physically and psychically.
And in a way, this book illustrates that. How these young men and women grew up in such a volatile period in America's history - not to mention in the South which was ground zero for racial tensions. But a lot of them experienced growth and understanding. Some of us grow up, some don't. That Greg Wittkamper stood up for his beliefs at such a young age is an inspiration for all ages. And that eventually his classmates came around to apologize and found a better path because of his stance is remarkable. My heart hurts for his friends that were treated so terribly. This story from Americus is a microcosm of what probably happened in schools across the country during that time. In 1965 I was 5 and ignorant to all this yet was a part of the problem as my schools were predominantly white. I didn't know anything different.
This book is a must read for all ages - if we don't know where we've been, we can't find a better way to where we're going. As a caveat, I do know the author, Jim Auchmutey. He was my editor and I learned so much from him then and now.
And in a way, this book illustrates that. How these young men and women grew up in such a volatile period in America's history - not to mention in the South which was ground zero for racial tensions. But a lot of them experienced growth and understanding. Some of us grow up, some don't. That Greg Wittkamper stood up for his beliefs at such a young age is an inspiration for all ages. And that eventually his classmates came around to apologize and found a better path because of his stance is remarkable. My heart hurts for his friends that were treated so terribly. This story from Americus is a microcosm of what probably happened in schools across the country during that time. In 1965 I was 5 and ignorant to all this yet was a part of the problem as my schools were predominantly white. I didn't know anything different.
This book is a must read for all ages - if we don't know where we've been, we can't find a better way to where we're going. As a caveat, I do know the author, Jim Auchmutey. He was my editor and I learned so much from him then and now.
October 6, 2017
Having grown up in Georgia -- South Georgia no less -- I'm amazed to have never heard of the Koinonia community in Sumter County. Koinonia was a pacifist, religious community that made a farm near Americus their home beginning in 1942. They favored integration of schools and life long before the Supreme Court overturned segregated schools. This is the story of what they endured -- bombings, beatings and boycotts, just to name a few things. Essentially, the story is built around a young man named Greg who was one of the first from the Koinonia to integrate Americus High School. Greg was white by the way but the community hated anything Koinonia. He endured extreme bullying. The book is about some of the reconciliation that occurred much later in his life when he was invited back for a high school reunion where groups of students apologized for their shoddy treatment of him. This is a work of non-fiction but it reads like a great novel. At the bottom of this story is a lot of hate, but it also highlights how fear and misunderstanding can create bad behavior. On the other end of the spectrum, you also can't help seeing how Koinonia's extreme views gutted the faith journey of the children who lived and endured life in the Utopian experiment.
May 27, 2015
I gave this book 5 stars because it brings the civil rights era to a very personal level showing the impact of bigotry in a way that, being white, I've read about but can not experience.
This is the true story of Greg Wittkamper, who lived grew up in the Christine commune of Koinonia in Georgia. Greg, who is white, supported the black students who integrated his high school, riding to school with them on the first day.
The Koinonia community, where Greg lived, was integrated from its beginnings in 1942. During the civil rights era this integration turned the entire town against the commune.
Greg endured his high school years, practicing nonviolence even as he was attack repeatedly and no one in the school spoke to him except for slurs. Minds do change though, and as his fellow students aged, moved away and experienced a wider world, some wondered about the results of their cruelty to Greg during their high school years and reached out to him. They did not initially reach out to the black students who integrated the school, however. This is a look into bigotry, nonviolence, change, forgiveness and race relations in the southern U.S.
This is the true story of Greg Wittkamper, who lived grew up in the Christine commune of Koinonia in Georgia. Greg, who is white, supported the black students who integrated his high school, riding to school with them on the first day.
The Koinonia community, where Greg lived, was integrated from its beginnings in 1942. During the civil rights era this integration turned the entire town against the commune.
Greg endured his high school years, practicing nonviolence even as he was attack repeatedly and no one in the school spoke to him except for slurs. Minds do change though, and as his fellow students aged, moved away and experienced a wider world, some wondered about the results of their cruelty to Greg during their high school years and reached out to him. They did not initially reach out to the black students who integrated the school, however. This is a look into bigotry, nonviolence, change, forgiveness and race relations in the southern U.S.
August 12, 2017
This is the kind of book that restores at least a little of one's faith in humanity. This nonfictional account follows a young man who was raised in the 1950s and 60s in a Christian commune in South Georgia. The group's pacifism and communal lifestyle puzzled local residents, but even worse was their view of racial equality. When the local schools were integrated in the mid-60s, black and white students from the commune were bullied and abused, and many left the school, unable to withstand the daily torment. The young man followed most closely in the book stuck it out and graduated, although throughout his school years classmates rarely even spoke to him unless forced to in class, or to insult him. He moved away and moved on, but 40 years later found himself receiving letters of apology from classmates and being invited to a reunion. While certainly not all of his former classmates had altered their views about race over the years or regretted the way they had acted as teens, the story shows that personal and societal change are possible, although they seldom occur as rapidly as some might hope.
May 27, 2018
“God bless you for you pacifist courage, and God forgive me for participating in your torment.”
These words came a little more than 40 years after Greg Wittkamper exited Americus High School for the last time, penned by a classmate seeking forgiveness. Greg grew up on Koinonia Farm, a bi-racial communal experiment in Christian living much misunderstood by its southwest Georgia neighbors. Former Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter and editor Jim Auchmutey has crafted a well-written look back on a largely forgotten chapter in the Civil Rights Movement. This well-researched book is hard to put down. The awe-inspiring courage of Robertiena Freeman, who endured an 30 days of harsh jail conditions before she became part of the first group of black students to integrate Americus High, is challenging in all the best ways. The central story is moving, but the other vignettes of moving through the turmoil of the 1960s in Georgia are equally worth a read.
These words came a little more than 40 years after Greg Wittkamper exited Americus High School for the last time, penned by a classmate seeking forgiveness. Greg grew up on Koinonia Farm, a bi-racial communal experiment in Christian living much misunderstood by its southwest Georgia neighbors. Former Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter and editor Jim Auchmutey has crafted a well-written look back on a largely forgotten chapter in the Civil Rights Movement. This well-researched book is hard to put down. The awe-inspiring courage of Robertiena Freeman, who endured an 30 days of harsh jail conditions before she became part of the first group of black students to integrate Americus High, is challenging in all the best ways. The central story is moving, but the other vignettes of moving through the turmoil of the 1960s in Georgia are equally worth a read.
January 15, 2016
The Class of '65 details the struggles of the children of the Koinonia community of Southwest Georgia. This intentional Christian community was founded on shared resources, passivist intentions, and racial equality. It is famous for its founder Clarence Jordan, who was active in civil rights, wrote the Cotton Patch Gospel, and later teamed up with Millard Fillmore (Habitat for Humanity). All this while being persecuted by their white neighbors. This is the known history, what this book details is the story of their children, especially during the time when the school system and local culture were fighting hard against racial integration. There struggle of persecution and isolation fueled later PTSD, but they were also amazing witnesses to a different faith and life, whether or not they chose it. And, some of the local community only figures that out decades later.
January 25, 2018
The single worst experience of Greg Wittkamper's life was attending Americus High School in the 1960s. Because he lived with is family on Koinonia Christian commune, he was shunned by the entire student body, labeled a communist, besten, bullied, and maligned for supporting racial equality. At graduation he received boos and cat calls. While his classmates celebrated after graduation, he was greeted with a barrage of hurled bricks and bottles. He immediately left Georgia with no intent of ever returning. some 40 years later, he received letters from some of those classmates asking his forgiveness and asking him to return for a class reunion.
This story is infuriating and heartbreaking while at the same time amazing as Greg remains nonviolent, humble, and silent while continuing to stand for what he believes is right.
This story is infuriating and heartbreaking while at the same time amazing as Greg remains nonviolent, humble, and silent while continuing to stand for what he believes is right.
July 29, 2015
I'm so happy to have been given this book. It's an important slice of civil rights history and a compelling story of one young white boy/man who suffered extreme mistreatment for his and his families' support of African-American civil rights workers and school integration in the segregated south. The tale includes the founding and history of the Koinonia Community, an idealistic commune of pacifists in Americus, Georgia, with which I was already familiar. The book ends with reconciliation between the protagonist and some of his former classmates who had bullied and scorned him in high school. How this comes about is a story of growth, self-examination, and forgiveness. Very satisfying book.
March 22, 2016
This is a book every American should read. This is not just about Greg Wittkamper, his experience at Americus High or Koinonia Farm. It is a book about the Civil Rights Movement in America and the brave men and women who stood up for their beliefs. It is also a book about healing a rift between cultures. This book was dry at times and often read like a history book, but it is so much more. I am in awe of the brave men and women who fought for justice and equality at a time when there was very little justice for all.
August 21, 2015
I was much engaged by this book. I graduated from college in 65 so that many of these events were happening. I had a copy of the Cotton Patch Version of the New Testament and knew about the Koinonia. I found myself experiencing the sadness and frustration of those years as I read this story of the amazing witness to the Scriptures and especially the courage of Greg. That it took 40 years for the witness to bear fruit demonstrated the prophecy of Clarence when he said it was like watching an egg hatch. I was moved to tears by the story. It is well researched and well written.
November 3, 2016
This book tells the little-known story of a Christian commune near Americus, Georgia. One of the primary beliefs of this community is the equality of the races. As a result, they were victims of many attack by white supremacists during the Civil Rights Movement. The incidents in Americus in the 1960s were much like those in Selma, Alabama. Many important people are included in this book including Jimmy Carter, John Lewis, and Millard Fuller (founder of Habitat for Humanity). This book reads like a novel, but is a true story. I highly recommend it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews