Second tier men like Jesse O. Thomas  finalized the dreams of mega stars like Booker T. Washington, Mary Mcleod Bethune, and Eugene Kinkle Jones.

"My Story in Black and Whiteis an engrossing picture of Negro-white relationships as seen through the eyes of an active participant in the drama of race relations in America for more than half a century. The life story that Jesse O. Thomas recounts in simple and straightforward fashion is made vivid by well-chosen anecdotes skillfully told. Many of the important personalities that people these pages have gone from the scene; and the events involving them have been forgotten by many, or have never been known by some who will read this book.

"This is a personal history that will give its readers a kaleidoscopic view of the institutions and agencies, the patterns and attitudes, and the black and white people-to-people relationships that helped to shape the education and economic condition of the Negro in America during the decades when Jesse O. Thomas moved about on the national scene."  ~ Whitney M. Young, Jr.