Hardcover edition of the memoir by black business icon Willie E. Artis. 

“Willie Artis lives a genuine American success story. From a childhood of hardship in the segregated South to founding his own business and, eventually, dinners at the White House, he forged a life his ancestors could never have imagined. He and [his interviewer] David L. Stanley vividly bring that story to the page in From Jim Crow to CEO: the Willie Artis Story, which combines autobiography with insightful observations on race relations over the last eight decades as well as cogent advice on how to thrive in business in good times and bad while living a fruitful life. The result is a delight."

--Tom Foster, author of How to Read Literature Like a Professor

“When you read Willie E. Artis’s story of how he persevered through Jim Crow’s school of very hard knocks in the South to become founder and CEO of a successful manufacturing business in Michigan, you will be astounded by the number of rungs he climbed despite all of the weight on his shoulders from racism and discrimination. The way Willie kept moving will keep you turning the page to find out what’s next. In this fascinating first-person account of his life, you will come to know his friends, family and co-workers like they are your own—except Willie’s includes B.B. King and President Obama. This is a remarkable memoir covering a chapter in American history of which too few people pay any attention. The era of segregation, as Willie reminds us, may return if our past is forgotten. With a touch of southern charm, Beale Street hustle, Chicago smarts, and Vehicle City muscle, Willie’s account of how he lived up to his own high standards, learned from his mistakes, based his decisions on merit, and changed his corner of corporate America and his local community, offers numerous lessons for today’s entrepreneurs, business managers, civic leaders and anyone aspiring to a good life and a better world.”

—Dayne Walling, Former Mayor of Flint and Rhodes Scholar