The Pettis Norman Story: A Journey through the Cotton Fields, to the Super Bowl, and into Servant Leadership

Imagine sitting down with an old-school Dallas Cowboy and hearing tales about the early days — the plays, the teammates, Coach Landry, the Ice Bowl, Super Bowl V, and much more. Then imagine if other players weighed in and gave you an insider view from the field.\nTHIS is precisely what you can expect in Pettis Norman’s autobiography, filled with stories that capture the blood, sweat, and tears that built a legacy on and off the field. Beyond football, Pettis didn’t rest on his laurels or sit idly by during the Civil Rights Movement. He wasn’t a bystander during the tense decades of the ‘70s and ‘80s when race relations dominated our country. Rather, Pettis was a navigator –– the North Star –– who forged political alliances with U.S. Presidents and emerged as an altruistic leader pioneering ground-breaking initiatives in Dallas that serve as models across the nation.\nUntold philanthropies and organizations welcomed him to their boards. His businesses were successful, and he never failed to help others by sharing his entrepreneurial spirit along the way. Pettis was involved — sometimes a lone voice of reason. A trusted voice. People listened and the community is better for it.\nFrom the cotton fields of his youth to the academic halls of North Carolina and the skyscrapers of Dallas, Pettis Norman’s journey is filled with love and loss, inspirational coaches and mentors, and a sense of duty that transcends multiple challenges. He begins life on a big stage and selflessly takes us by the hand and leads us through each era, teaching us so that history won’t repeat itself.\nHis greatest dream? That we can all achieve the oneness, the goodness, that we as a people deserve.