The Gentle Giant of Dynamite Hill
(The Untold Story of Arthur Shores
and Our Family’s Fight for Civil Rights)
Helen Shores Lee & Barbara S. Shores (With Denise George)
These are the firsthand accounts of sisters Helen and Barbara Shores growing up with their father, Arthur Shores, a prominent Civil Rights attorney, during the 60s in the Jim Crow south Birmingham district---a frequent target of the Ku Klux Klan. Between 1948 and 1963, some 50 unsolved Klan bombings happened in Smithfield where the Shores family lived, earning their neighborhood the nickname Dynamite Hill. Due to his work, Shores' daughter, Barbara, barely survived a kidnapping attempt. Twice, in 1963, Klan members bombed their home, sending Theodora to the hospital with a brain concussion and killing Tasso, the family's cocker spaniel. The family narrowly escaped a third bombing attempt on their home in the spring of 1965.
The Gentle Giant of Dynamite Hill is an incredible story of a family's unfair suffering, but also of the Shores' overcoming. This family's sacrificial commitment, courage, determination, and triumph inspire us today through this story and the selfless service, work, and lives of Helen Shores Lee and Barbara Sylvia Shores.
Judge Helen Shores Lee serves as Circuit Judge, Tenth Judicial Circuit of Alabama. (She is the first African-American woman to serve in the Civil Division in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Birmingham, AL.)
Barbara S. Shores is the Director of the Jefferson County Office of Senior Citizens Services, Birmingham, AL.
Denise George is author of 27 books. She is co-founder and co-teacher of the Boot Camp for Christian Writers seminars (with author Carolyn Tomlin). You can email Denise George at cdwg@aol.com.
