Show Me Justice: The Happy Life Journey of Alvin Lee Sykes; An Autobiography

Civil rights activist Sykes (1956–2021) lived a newsworthy, event-filled life fighting injustices. He held no law degree, but he was instrumental in pushing the federal government to reopen the 1955 Emmett Till murder case. Told mostly in a down-to-earth, modest tone, his posthumously published book, written with former Kansas City Star editor Dodd (Washburn University 150 Years), is part autobiography and part primer on how to make change locally and nationally. Sykes, raised by an adoptive mother, loved reading. This book shows how he relied mostly on resources he found at the Kansas City Public Library, where he gleaned a scholar’s worth of information for arguing legal cases. He asserts that the library is where he earned his secondary and higher education. His self-taught lessons helped him overturn convictions and change and create new laws. He remained willing to learn and practice diplomacy, and part of his sustainability stemmed from his Buddhist beliefs and practice, introduced to him by jazz great Herbie Hancock.