Charles B. Shepperson, a lover of classical music, introduced his
sixteen-year-old stepson to the world of opera when he brought home
a new Victrola, and played for him Red Seal recordings of grand operas.

The music found a home in the heart of the young boy.
And from that moment on, WILLIAM GRANT STILL knew that he wanted to compose grand operas.

William Grant Still did, in fact, come to write eight operas. He had persevered in the field of serious music as an African-American in a White-dominated field and distinguished himself as the "Dean of Negro Composers."  However, his dream of seeing his opera, Troubled Island, produced had still not been realized by the time he reached middle-age. It was at this point, in the mid-1940s, that the NEW YORK CITY CENTER OPERA company seemed prepared to bring the first significant Afro-American grand opera, Troubled Island, to production. And, as events developed, it appeared that numerous obstacles were being overcome in order to realize Still's dream.

In a radio interview a few days before the premiere of Troubled Island, Still confessed, "I have waited 37 years for this.  It has looked, oh, ...so dark at times, impossible. But I believed the time would come.   ...There is nothing that could have come that means as much to me as this does."  Still was clearly anticipating a great outcome from this significant event, both for his family and for American race relations. However, he underestimated the forces working to destroy the success of the production and to prevent the introduction of a minority composer into the closed society of elitist grand opera.

Just Tell the Story ~ Troubled Island
presents a collection of documents pertaining to the first significant Afro-American grand opera, by William Grant Still. These materials will shatter the smugness of those in the serious arts who believe that bigotry and politics do not exist in the upper echelon of society.

These never-before-published papers will leave readers with the question:
"Will William Grant Still's operas ever be
allowed to pass through the racist/political gauntlet
toward a fair hearing?"

 Go to WWW.WILLIAMGRANTSTILL.COM
to order this book and other products about William Grant Still.