Make a Difference: The Founder of the "I Have a Future Program" Shares His Vision for Young America

In 1995, Henry Foster, a professor at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, became President Clinton's ill-fated nominee for Surgeon General of the United States. In this autobiography, Foster traces his life from his childhood in rural Arkansas, where his father was a teacher and his mother a superintendent of colored schools. With his background--as a teenager he was a full partner in his father's chicken and egg business, making purchases and driving into town at just 13 to make deliveries--it's no surprise that he has led such a life of achievement. The only black student in his class at the University of Arkansas Medical School, Foster took to heart the advice of his parents and his elders, and decided to devote his life to working with those less fortunate than himself. What brought him to Clinton's attention was his I Have a Future program, which was designed to counter teenage pregnancy in two Nashville housing projects and encourage students to stay in school.