In this Thanksgiving‑themed episode of the My Unsung Hero podcast, host Shankar Vedantam introduces a gratitude prompt and then shares the story of Tony Ludlow, a Memphis‑based teacher who credits his 8th‑grade English teacher, Cecil Holman, as his unsung hero. Holman, the first Black woman Tony ever had as a teacher, impressed him with her dignified presence and introduced him to poetry. After initially resisting, Tony was given Tennyson’s Ulysses and other poems (e.g., Invictus, If, Dolce et Decorum Est), which sparked a lifelong love of literature. Holman’s personal encouragement—“I expect greatness from you”—left a lasting imprint. Tony later served ten years in the Marine Corps, earned a double major in English and history, and taught American history and English for nearly two decades. Years after Holman’s death, he connected with her niece, Sherry Tolliver, forming a new family bond rooted in shared admiration for the teacher. The episode closes with a promotion for the sister podcast and a warm sign‑off.
Chapters
Hi there, Shankar here. We're about to celebrate Thanksgiving in the US, and we thought we'd mark the moment with a question. Who are you most grateful for? Maybe it's a family member or a dear friend, or maybe it's a stranger who helped you in a moment of crisis. Our sister podcast, My Unsung Hero, is all about stories of people like this. Thanksgiving happens once a year. Please subscribe to My Unsung Hero so you can feel the warm glow of Thanksgiving every week of the year. Today's story comes from Tony Ludlow. When Tony was in 8th grade at a school in Fort Smith, Arkansas, he had an English teacher named Cecil Holman. She was the first Black woman he had ever had as a teacher. In fact, she was the first Black woman with whom he'd ever had a conversation. She left such an impression on him that he still vividly remembers what she looked like.
She was immaculately dressed, and she wore kind of large floral print dresses. Everything about her said class and dignity, and she had a particular perfume that she wore that Just seemed to fit.
That spring, she began to teach the class about poetry.
And I started to tank. I hated it.
His grades were falling, so Mrs. Holman told him he had to stay after school to get extra help.
And I didn't like Mrs. Holman. I hated her for keeping me from being able to play sports. And so I was angry at her. Well, one day I said— I was just fed up, and I said, Mrs. Holman, I don't relate to any of this stuff. Poetry is stuff like girls would write. It's about daffodils and butterflies and stuff like that, unicorns. And I don't relate to any of this stuff. And I am sure that none of the male members of my family have any use for poetry. So the next day I had to go back to her class again, and she handed me a book, and she said, I want you to take this book, and I've put a bookmark in there, and I want you to go home, I want you to read this poem, and then— and this was on a Monday— then on Friday I want you to tell me what the poem was about. Well, I hated the whole idea. And so I reluctantly went home and opened the book to read Ulysses by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and it changed my life. And she started to give me more poems like that. I read Invictus and If and Dolce et Decorum Est, and poems written by men about the lives that they were living. And it just absolutely changed my life. At the end of the school year, she went around the classroom and shook everyone's hand and said, good luck next year, and all of those things. And then when she came to me, she took my hand and she leaned in forward. Real close to me, and she said, Tony Ludlow, I expect greatness from you. And I'd never heard anybody challenge me with that kind of thing in my whole life. Fast forward, after 10 years in the Marine Corps, I went to college, and I was a double major in English and history. I was a— I majored in English because of Mrs. Holman. I never got a chance to tell her any of these things. She passed away the year I graduated from high school, and I never knew it. I didn't know about her passing. But years later, many years later, in fact, just a few years ago, I connected with her niece. And we have become family. Sherry Tolliver is her name, and Sherry and I have become family because we both love Mrs. Cecil Holman, my 8th grade English teacher, my unsung hero.
Tony Ludlow of Memphis, Tennessee. He went on to become a teacher of American history and English, and he taught for almost 20 years. For many more stories like this, be sure to follow our sister podcast, My Unsung Hero. I'm Shankar Vedantam. See you soon.
