Author of new book on Follis coming to Wooster
On Saturday, May 11 at 2 p.m., the Wayne County Historical Society and the Wooster-Orrville NAACP will host author Ralph N. Paulk to sign copies of his book, “Follis: Greatness Transcends,” a nonfiction novel about Charles W. Follis, a Wooster native who was the nation’s first African American professional football player. Paulk and co-author Herman D. Smith, Follis’ great-nephew, tell the story of Follis, his parents born into slavery in Virginia and their journey to Wooster in the 1880s for a better life.
Paulk will speak briefly about the book, which explores Follis’ career in the context of the early 1900s in Northeast Ohio, where discrimination against blacks was part of the times. The authors note Follis was aware of the struggle for black rights and had contact with early activists such as W.E.B. Dubois.
Paulk has spent more than 30 years as a sports reporter at newspapers including the Akron Beacon-Journal, Richmond Times-Dispatch and Detroit Free Press. He is the president of Tiretown Golf Club in Akron, the largest predominantly black golf club in the nation. He is a lifetime member of the NAACP, which he serves as veteran committee chair.
Hardcover and paperback copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event, which will be held in the Schoolhouse on the Historical Society’s campus, 546 E. Bowman St., Wooster. Refreshments will be provided. A special exhibit featuring the Follis family is on display in the Kister Building and is open for viewing before and after the book-signing.
