Book excerpt: The Odyssey of Burt High School By: Dr. Joe Ann Burgess Burt High School takes center stage on an inspiring journey to literacy as blacks in small town Clarksville, TN struggle for the privilege to attain an education and to have equal access to facilities and equipment provided by the State. Interviews with teachers and students will remind readers or let them see for the first time the difficulties African Americans faced across the South as they fought to gain their right to public education and as they strove toward an integrated, unified system of education. The Odyssey of Burt High School is a celebration of the many teachers and others who took great interest in the educational welfare of students and their lives. Many BHS graduates led successful careers in medicine, business, athletics, the military, and more.