Professor looks for ‘meaning’ in Norfolk's history of segregation

HUNTSVILLE — Historians aspire to ignite interest today in events of from the past, professors aspire to entice students with structured education, and authors aspire to evoke emotion through the power of words.

Jeffrey Littlejohn, associate professor of history at Sam Houston State University, is a combination of all three.

 He is the co-author of Elusive Equality: Desegregation and Resegregation in Norfolk’s Public Schools, published this year by the University of Virginia Press. Littlejohn wrote the 320-page tome along with co-author Charles Ford, department chair and professor of history at Norfolk University.

“We were determined to write something that people want to read but that also has a deeper message,” Littlejohn said. “I hope there are vignettes in our book that people will identify with and will think ‘this is a great story.’ ”...