Dr. Harry Irving, an African American in his autobiography Uncle Harry's Stories, Looking Back Blackly And Proudly, Growing up in America tells about his great grandparents, who were slaves and his parents Louise and James Irving, his father was illiterate and his mother who only had a fifth grade education, raised nine children. Dr, Irving attended racially segregrated public schools in the 1940s and the 1950s in his native state of West Virginia. He served honorably in the United States Air Force during the Korean War. Dr. Irving earned his AA degree (1959) Los Angeles City College, BA (1962) and MA (1972) California State University, Los Angeles, and his Doctorate degree (1990) Pepperdine University.