Literary Las Vegas: Arby L. Hambric

"To Thee I See," local author Arby L. Hambric's memoir (written with local historian Trish Geran), chronicles Hambric's life from 1926 to 2014, a journey that took him from picking in the fields of Texas to cooking for dignitaries on U.S. Navy ships. Featuring a foreword by Col. Gerald D. Curry, the book delves into the challenges faced in Jim Crow-era politics and fighting in a segregated military. A portion of book sales are set to go to the Arby L. Hambric Scholarship Fund, which he established to help people of the community like his mother, who graduated from high school at 79. For more information, visit totheeisee.com.

Excerpt:

In Centerville and Teague, every opportunity for Black folks came with a sacrifice of self, and any glimmer of hope was soon washed away by senseless acts of discrimination. The military would not serve as an inconvenience or obligation it would be a way out.

After Momma calmed down and made peace with the idea of her only son leaving to as she called it "no man's land," my family scrapped together pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. On the day I was scheduled to leave, I kissed my family and walked out the door wearing my broken-in leather shoes. In one hand was a burlap sack of toiletries and in the other was a one-way ticket. I smiled and felt proud when I tugged on my pocket because pinned inside was a folded white starched handkerchief with $3 in change. It was the most money I had ever had to my name.