Los Angeles, 1968: Happy Ranch to Watts

Weeks before the assassination of Martin Luther King,
Allen Greene, a directionless young white man who never intended
to be a teacher, finds himself in a Watts classroom, standing
before thirty black seventh-grade girls. After a trial-by-fire
first day that includes run-ins with violent students and ominous
warnings from faculty members, Allen doubts his ability to follow
through on the whole venture. He finds some encouragement from
unexpected places: a teen mother who is unjustly accused of
striking a teacher, a low-achieving gang member with an unexpected
gift for poetry, and an elderly teacher with a commitment to social
justice who takes Allen under her wing.

As he builds a rapport with students as a tough-but-fair teacher,
Allen's outside-the-box approach evokes antagonism from some faculty
members, especially his department chairman, whose has a vile secret
that adds a mini-mystery to the plot. As pressure builds both inside
and out of school, Allen joins some students and teachers in peaceful
protests while gangs and vandals run wild. After Dr. King is
assassinated, the increased tension leads to dramatic showdowns for
Allen, who finds both an unlikely savior and an unexpected calling.

Not another oversimplified feel-good story of "white teacher saves
the ghetto," Los Angeles, 1968: Happy Ranch to Watts is a
novel based on first-hand experience and real events in a volatile
urban setting, a slice-of-life account of a young man's gradual
maturation toward personal commitment.