New Book Details Life of Community Pioneer

The East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library will host a special event celebrating Press L. Robinson Sr.'s new memoir, "Pressing Forward: My Life as a Baton Rouge Community Pioneer.""Pressing Forward: My Life as a Baton Rouge Community Pioneer."

This candid memoir details Robinson's journey through a challenging upbringing in South Carolina, academic success in earning a doctorate and an extensive career in education and social justice.

"Dr. Robinson is a civil rights veteran with more than 50 years of organizing to amplify Black political voices across the American South," said Phillip Norman, oral historian of Grassroots Democracy.

Robinson is a graduate of Morehouse College and Howard University with a doctorate in physical chemistry and physics. He is a former chemistry professor at Southern University and A&M College and chancellor of Southern University New Orleans.

However, in 1980, he distinguished himself as the first Black American elected to the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, after filing a federal lawsuit to alter the at-large ward system and establish three, majority-Black districts. He served on the board from 1980 to 2002 and held its presidency for three terms. Robinson's steadfast advocacy for racial equity was significant as the board sought to align the school system with federal desegregation laws.

He is known for his ongoing work to enhance the social and educational landscape of Baton Rouge. Even this year, at the age of 86, he continued his fight for equal representation as the lead plaintiff in a federal lawsuit challenging the Louisiana Legislature's 2022 redistricting map for electing the state's six members of the United States House of Representatives. It resulted in a second majority-Black district.

"Pressing Forward is a clarion call to all who concern themselves with the work of racial justice and democratic resilience,” said  Norman.

On Sept. 15, 2024, from 6-8 p.m., Robinson will read excerpts from his book and engage in a Q&A session in the East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library.