“Confessions of a Black Academic is a deeply personal and poignant memoir of an African American academician who negotiated segregated Louisiana in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, the decade in which he entered the Vietnam War. Alvin Schexnider has offered a riveting account of his time as a soldier during the emergence of the Civil Rights Movement, and as higher educational opportunities were opening for African Americans at majority white institutions. During his climb up the academic ladder, he experienced successes right along with blatant racial discrimination in a time when many professors of color were seen as ‘affirmative action hires’ and hence not as qualified as their white counterparts. Confessions of a Black Academic in many ways is a blueprint for faculty members of color and how they might navigate their careers in higher education which continues to evolve during the era of the Black Lives Matter movement and COVID-related educational changes.”—Christopher A. Brooks, professor of anthropology, Virginia Commonwealth University