Faithful Servants: The Collector's Edition

[Guest Marc Curtis Little]

Nehemiah Garvey is a man of faith and a high school basketball star in Newark, New Jersey. It's the 1960s and the city has been torn apart by riots (or rebellions, depending on one's perspective). Nehemiah wants to keep playing ball at Weequahic High School, where the talented and nationally celebrated Mickey Marcus is the coach. But Mickey is the only white coach left in the city and many powerful figures in the black community want to see him go. Nehemiah and Mickey undertake some basketball diplomacy to help turn Newark's reputation around. Mickey keeps the reins and with Nehemiah leading the community on and off the court, the team launches a bid to win the consensus national title. This fictional tale during the very real and turbulent events of the '60s, using Newark as a window into the changing demographics of urban areas across the country.