The Raleigh Boys: Ric's Last Run

HOME

Ric’s Run First Slide

credit_card_paymentbutton2

About the Book

The Raleigh Boys are five offspring of women who came of age during the Civil Rights era. One by one, they migrated toward the suburbs, which held the mirage of promise during the mid-eighties, where the seemingly lustrous opportunity to provide their children a fair chance at the American dream seemed within reach.

Raleigh, a once a budding suburban neighborhood perched in northeast Memphis, possessed its share of prominence. The 20 plus square-mile area was the first home to the county seat of Shelby County, Tennessee.

It served as a resort destination for well-heeled patrons in its heyday. Decades later, Raleigh garnered offered remnants of hope to the next generation Researchers have long questioned and examined numerous hypotheses of nature versus nurture and how they shape us. Undoubtably, these five youngsters who came of age during this era where shaped by both.

Author Ric Smoothe takes the reader on a journey through the Raleigh Boys’ senior year in high school where they each faced personal coming-of-age challenges. This story is told from the perspective of Richard Collins, a promising basketball sensation who attempts to navigate a minefield of scholastic hurdles and newfound stardom. Ric and his teenage cronies head into their senior year while confronting the challenges of life in the suburbs. Read along and be enlightened by the trials and tribulations they encountered as they raced to gradation and the real-world that awaited.

QUESTIONS:

I am one of the Raleigh Boys. I wrote this story for several reasons, but the primary reason is because I did not read for personal enjoyment as a youth until I was 19. I came across a copy of Donald Goines’ Street Players. This is where I began to realize that I could read a book if it appealed to my personal interest. Before then, books such as Beowulf, Red Badge of Courage, and Shakespeare did not speak to me—I could not relate to them on a personal level.

Donald Goines and Robert Beck (Iceberg Slim) are authors that opened my eyes to a world of literacy I had not known before, so I began writing stories based on my experiences. I wrote this story for those who can relate to the trials of a young African-American men growing up in America—you know who you are! I hope readers take come away with a sense of inspiration that they too can achieve whatever their hearts desire. I am simply a man who lived, tried, bumped my head, skinned my knees, and learned from those experiences that you can achieve the so-called “good life”, if you believe, set a goal, and work your ash off to accomplish it!

Events/Book Signings

March 3, 2026 @ 12:00pm
Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library
3030 Poplar Avenue
Memphis, TN 38111

March 10, 2026 @ 2:00pm
Barnes and Noble Bookstore-Wolfchase
2774 N Germantown Pkwy
Memphis, TN 38133

GET IN TOUCH

Need to get in touch with me or schedule a booking? Please call me at (901) 230-3832 or
email me at [email protected]