My Grandfathers Blood by Lebanons “BEST” Substitute Teacher Jack Bland

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Eli Bridges (Junior), Reporter

A man who you may see walking the hallways of LHS, wearing a hat that says “1944 Model,” has officially finished up his book and it is for sale on Amazon. This man is Mr. Jack Bland.

On April 25, a Lebanon graduate shared this on Facebook, “I’m not sure if anyone remembers Mr. Bland but he wrote a book and it’s on Amazon 🤍 it’s a pretty touching book everyone should go get a copy!” Some of the comments on the post were “I love him” in reply to this was a “me too! I was excited to get the book!” And then more support to Mr. Bland, “Oh my goodness!! I need a copy asap!!”

The post received 83 shares. Some of them saying “The best sub and nicest man ever” “Just ordered mine. Love Mr. Bland.” and “Mr. Bland is an amazing teacher. He’s so sweet! Go check out his new book! 💙”

This is a testament to what kind of man he is and his book speaks even more volume to his character.

When I spoke with Mr. Bland about why he decided to write the book he said “I wrote the book to expose what was going on (racism) in the south. I knew it was wrong, but I knew to keep my mouth shut because my grandaddy and pops… they’d put me in my place.”

Mr. Bland saw some gruesome things in Georgia where he grew up. In his book he talks about a young African American who was living with his family. One night he heard some commotion in his house and then he heard a gunshot. He just went back to sleep and the next morning he was told to dig a hole. He never knew for sure what had happened, but he has a pretty good guess. This never settled with him.

“Through all the stages of my life, ups and downs, I’ve seen that no matter what you’ve done Christianity is still open for you,” said Mr. Bland.

For about the last 15 years, up until recently, Mr. Bland has serviced as the leader of the bible study at the Boone County Jail. I spoke with someone who attended Mr. Bland’s’ studies while they were in the Boone County Jail. He said, “He helped me become closer with God. He guided us and always remained positive and optimistic about us.”

Mr. Bland grew up in a racist household. This household wasn’t very much like him.

He joined the military at the age of 17, quickly getting injured and being honorably discharged due to injury. He did not have a high school diploma because he always thought he was just meant to be a marine. Prior to leaving the marines though, his sergeant offered him an opportunity to test for his General Education Diploma (GED) and fortunately for Mr. Bland he passed the GED test.

This started the 3rd stage of his life. He went and got a degree in education.

“Mr. Bland,” said senior Wyatt Boyett when I asked him who the best substitute teacher in the school was.

“Mr. Bland isn’t a substitute teacher that pushes anything on us kids, but he is always friendly, approachable, and charismatic around the building. He talks to everyone,” said senior Katie Smith.

These two comments from Katie and Wyatt are just a reassurance of who Mr. Bland is.

You can purchase a copy of the book at https://www.amazon.com/My-Grandfathers-Blood-Jack-Bland/dp/B0BYRC97S8/ref=sr_1_1?crid=15MQXURM7XBW4&keywords=my+grandfather%27s+blood&qid=1683909770&sprefix=my+grandfather+blood%2Caps%2C314&sr=8-1