Summary of Billy Porter's Unprotected

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

#1 My mother, Cloerinda Jean Johnson Porter-Ford, was born with a degenerative neurological condition that no doctor or specialist could name. She had to wait until the civil rights movement to sue for medical malpractice, and even then, the courts did not care about black lives.

#2 My mother was born with a disability, and she was treated like a outcast throughout her elementary school years. She was eventually saved by William Ellis Porter, who married her on a wager.

#3 I spent my childhood in a house full of women: my mother, Grandma, and Aunt Dot. My mother and I shared the attic, which provided us with some privacy and the opportunity to bond as a single mother and her child.

#4 My mother and I moved to Pittsburgh in 1976. I was excited to start first grade, but my mother was sad. She was always sad. She was afraid of the people who made fun of how she walked.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Apr 19, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669387053

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Insights on Billy Porter's Unprotected

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 14

Insights from Chapter 15

Insights from Chapter 16

Insights from Chapter 17

Insights from Chapter 18

Insights from Chapter 19

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

My mother, Cloerinda Jean Johnson Porter-Ford, was born with a degenerative neurological condition that no doctor or specialist could name. She had to wait until the civil rights movement to sue for medical malpractice, and even then, the courts did not care about black lives.

#2

My mother was born with a disability, and she was treated like a outcast throughout her elementary school years. She was eventually saved by William Ellis Porter, who married her on a wager.

#3

I spent my childhood in a house full of women: my mother, Grandma, and Aunt Dot. My mother and I shared the attic, which provided us with some privacy and the opportunity to bond as a single mother and her child.

#4

My mother and I moved to Pittsburgh in 1976. I was excited to start first grade, but my mother was sad. She was always sad. She was afraid of the people who made fun of how she walked.

#5

The first twenty minutes of the day were promising, but soon I was shepherded down the hall to the gymnasium, where a man with a whistle around his neck lined me up on a bench. I couldn’t do any pull-ups, and the kids laughed at me.

#6

I was pushed down the hill by a boy in gym class, and when I woke up in the hospital, my mother was by my side. She told me that I would be fine, and that I had to go back to school. I didn’t like it at all.

#7

I had a special gift, and I was proud of it. I could sing, and I was in the choir at the Friendship Baptist Church. But when I was in the choir, I was treated like a child.

#8

I was humiliated in church, and the experience left me with a hard truth: if I wanted to stand in the spotlight, I would have to fight for it. I would have to wage a fierce and tireless