>> guest: byron skinner is my father, and i'm somewhat of a namesake. i'm kiron skinner. i was supposed to be a boy, and when i wasn't they made up a name that rhymed. c-span: how do you like that, by the way? >> guest: i think it's fine. and so at least i'm not byronetta, which was another choice. i don't think i'd like that very much, though i--i've been told i have a cousin with that name. c-span: byronetta. >> guest: yes. he is a historian of american history, of afro-american history. he got his phd at berkeley, but he spent most of his career in academic administration. and i think he wishes that he'd done more as a writer, and he's really proud of this book. and he s... c-span: where is he now? >> guest: my parents are retired in southern california, in victorville, and he spent much of his career in the community college world. he was president of san jose city college; at one point in the early '80s at university of maine at augusta. i believe he was the first black person to be president of a state university or a university in that--in maine. and then he ended