Told mostly through verse and essays, with occasional journal entries scattered throughout, and also many pop-culture references, this powerful debut Told mostly through verse and essays, with occasional journal entries scattered throughout, and also many pop-culture references, this powerful debut memoir is A MUST READ!
Author, Walela Nehanda was diagnosed at age 23 with advanced stage Leukemia. All of a sudden they were thrust into all things cancer - continued tests and treatments, including a stem-cell transplant - compounded by a support system that was practically nil, Walela reflects on their relationships, both past and present.
At the beginning, the author states that this is not a John Green novel, but their emotions are raw. Readers have a front-row seat to all the thought; all the feels.
I thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful story about a little boy who loves to play pirates and is just looking for a friend(s) to play with, but Joe is miI thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful story about a little boy who loves to play pirates and is just looking for a friend(s) to play with, but Joe is missing a leg (literally), and the other kids are hyper-focused on wanting to know what happened to his leg. Eventually, the kids move away from talking and on to playing. It was great to see this transition....more
An exceptional reimagining of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that places Jim as the main protagonist. This award winning novel not onAn exceptional reimagining of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that places Jim as the main protagonist. This award winning novel not only shows the brutality of slavery, but racism at its absolute worst. This story also does an excellent job of showcasing the classes or black people and / or slaves. One of my friends said it best when she stated that this was, “a profound read.”
An interesting biography about Georgia Gilmore and her role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
At the end of this picture book is a page that tells what hAn interesting biography about Georgia Gilmore and her role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
At the end of this picture book is a page that tells what happened to Georgia, "After the Boycott," an Author's Note on Sources, and a list of Sources.
"You cannot be afraid if you want to accomplish anything. You got to have the willing, the spirit, and above all, you got to have the get-up." - Georgia Gilmore...more
Originally I was thinking that this would be better as an audiobook, but you have to understand the subject. Evelyn Glennie lost her hearing at a younOriginally I was thinking that this would be better as an audiobook, but you have to understand the subject. Evelyn Glennie lost her hearing at a young age, when she was just beginning to play music, but she did not let deafness stop her. She wanted to make music and found an instructor who would help her feel the vibrations of the drums. WOW! An impressive read about how she handled this adversity. ...more
A beautiful biography that shares important people, places, and things from Maya Angelou's life. There is a lot to learn from this introduction to a wA beautiful biography that shares important people, places, and things from Maya Angelou's life. There is a lot to learn from this introduction to a wonderful author [and more]. My only beef it that the font is pretty small for a picture book.
At the end of the book is a Timeline of Maya's life, and a mention of her becoming the first black woman to appear on the United States quarter in 2022. There is also an Author's Note and Illustrator's Note.
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” - Maya Angelou...more
A powerful story about the Willowbrook State School, located on Staten Island in New York, and once exposed in real life by Geraldo Rivera when he wasA powerful story about the Willowbrook State School, located on Staten Island in New York, and once exposed in real life by Geraldo Rivera when he was a reporter for WABC-TV, (70s) about the deplorable conditions and treatment of the residents, which staff attributed to over-crowding.
Early on, readers are introduced to Sage Winters when amongst all of her teenage angst, she overhears her stepfather telling someone about her twin sister living at Willowbrook, after his wife had her daughter committed six years earlier. Sage had been told her sister died.
The story really takes off after Sage goes to Willowbrook to find her sister, and is mistaken for Rosemary, once it is discovered that Rosemary is missing. All of a sudden, Sage finds herself a resident of what seems like the most deplorable institution on the planet, but all is not lost …
As an author who has endeavored to cast light on social injustices of the past within her novels, Author, Ellen Marie Wiseman, does an AMAZING job in illustrating [with words] the horrific conditions of Willowbrook, and distinguishing each character, and their role in the story. Along the way, readers are introduced to murder & mayhem, a serial killer, and more!
The ending may seem a little too neatly tied up, it after everything else that happens, I’ll take it!
After being committed to an asylum by her husband, Elizabeth Parsons Ware Packard became a FIERCE ADVOCATE for the rights of women and psychiatric patAfter being committed to an asylum by her husband, Elizabeth Parsons Ware Packard became a FIERCE ADVOCATE for the rights of women and psychiatric patients. This is her story.
Although interesting, this book often made me mad, and not just because of what was happening to Packard and her compatriots. Was there a page count requirement? This book was much longer than it needed to be!
Also, a minor issue, but the brief "political" addendum at the end did not need to be there.
"I will die fighting, before I will not think as I please . . . No one has any . . . right to call me insane, because I do not think as they do, . . . My thoughts are as much my own right as my eyes; and I would as soon part with one as the other."...more
A bit dry at times, but overall, an AMAZING account about one young adult, his "work" roles in Auschwitz and Birkenau, his path of escape, and after. A bit dry at times, but overall, an AMAZING account about one young adult, his "work" roles in Auschwitz and Birkenau, his path of escape, and after. I was not at all surprised by his PTSD, after all Walter / Rudi had been through; just sad that his life turned out the way that it did....more
These types of books are always subjective, but I feel like there is a good selection of people representing the areas of Perseverance, Creativity, StThese types of books are always subjective, but I feel like there is a good selection of people representing the areas of Perseverance, Creativity, Strength, Innovation, Inspiration, and Eloquence, and while some of the people included are familiarly famous, most are not. It was a joy to read their stories.
For each person, there is a color photograph of them, what they are known for, where they live, who interviewed them, who took their photo, an introduction about them, an interview with them, a quote by the person, and 2-3 additional photographs.
At the end of the book are thumbnail photos of the interviewers along with a thumbnail sketch about who they are. There is a similar list for the photographers for this project. ...more
This book is not only about the friendships of 4 senior girls, but also the relationships they have with those around them (and I'm not just talking aThis book is not only about the friendships of 4 senior girls, but also the relationships they have with those around them (and I'm not just talking about the opposite sex).
At the start of the story, the time is 2049 and one of these young ladies is getting ready to be inaugurated as our newest president. The story quickly shifts back to senior year and all of the drama this year creates - what are you going to do next, where are you going to school, senior essays, SAT scores, the person most likely to ... Now, you see where the title comes from. However, the person who was most likely to be president is ...
You'll have to read the book to learn more, but the author does a fabulous job of keeping you guessing until she wants you to know....more
I had a little bit of trouble getting through this book – it is packed with a lot of valuable information, but at the same time I kept thinking that DI had a little bit of trouble getting through this book – it is packed with a lot of valuable information, but at the same time I kept thinking that Dr. Kendi had packed a 15-week college level course into one book, and I did not have 15 weeks to dedicate to this one title.
Still, I did read the whole thing and often went back and reread the definitions and other passages that supported a particular theme, in order to [hopefully] better understand what Kendi was saying.
I (and I know others before me have said this, as well) often say you can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been. Well, Kendi tells us where everyone has been. He lays out the history – the doctrines, the bills, the laws, and when some people seemed to take the law into their own hands, he also talks about this. Additionally, he provides specific examples of experiences that he had growing up and beyond. One of his examples that really broke my heart was when he talked about attending school as a child and the teacher overlooking most of the kids in the class, except the three white children. I’m happy to say that not all teachers are like that. It’s just too bad that Kendi saw one of the poorest examples that I’m sure still exists, today and the only way to get rid of the bad teachers is to go up against the unions who defend them.
Also, throughout the book, Dr. Kendi talks about equity, as opposed to equality, but did you know the difference in these two terms before reading this book? If you read Jodi Picoult’s Small Great Things, you learned that equality is giving two people the same written test, but equity is when you give one of those people a test in Braille because you see that they are blind and the other person gets a written test, both covering the same material. The reader needs to keep Equity in mind while reading this book.
Dr. Kendi looks at race from a wide variety of angles – everything from power to biology to body to ethnicity to culture, and beyond. He even looks at light-skinned black people vs. dark-skinned black people. He talks about reverse racism towards white people – this is a thing.
For each topic where race can (but should not) play a role, Kendi first provides definitions on what being a racist or antiracist means as it pertains to that topic. The only place that he doesn’t do this is in the chapter where he talks about “Dueling Consciousness.” Here, he provides definitions for the Assimilationist, Segregationist, and the Antiracist. However, Kendi doesn’t take into account other people’s life experiences. You’re one of these three; there is no gray, period.
One thing that I was somewhat disappointed in was that Dr. Kendi did not talk about Bias. If you read Jennifer Eberhardt’s Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think or Do, you know that every single one of us is biased and we all learn this at an early age. I will admit to being biased, but based on Kendi’s own definitions, I am an antiracist. In reality, I’m also a little assimilationist, because for better or worse, I have always been a “rule follower.”
If you get this far (in the book) and think things are horrible already, just wait until Kendi starts his discussions on gender, and in turn, sexuality. I’m not going to argue, but although a non-white man has problems, a non-white man who is not a heterosexual or a non-white person who is not a man or not heterosexual has it even worse.
Some passages that really grabbed me and made me think:
At the beginning of the book, Dr. Kendi provides definitions for what is Racism, Racial Inequity, and Racist Policy.
“The most threatening race movement is not the alt right’s unlikely drive for a White ethnostate but the regular American’s drive for a race-neutral one.”
“David Hume declared that all races are created unequal, but Thomas Jefferson seemed to disagree in 1776 when he declared “all men are created equal.” But Thomas Jefferson never made the antiracist declaration: All racial groups are created equal.” Jefferson, being a typical politician, was what I would call guarded with his words and was excellent at the listen to what I say, but pay no attention to what I do way of living. He was known to say that slavery was a “moral depravity” and a “hideous blot,” and yet he owned over 600 African-American slaves during his adulthood and only freed a total of 9 slaves before and after his death, with the greater number coming after he passed, but I digress.
The brief discussion on the history duels and the undeniable history of antiracist progress vs racist progress, before and after the Civil War, where Kendi wrote about The American Body, The White Body, and The Black Body in relation to consciousness really made me think. Consider our collective history, and then look at it from an antiracist or racist perspective. I actually reread this passage a few times and each time I reread it, I thought about antiracist and racist progress in relation to the following: I already mentioned slavery, but in relation, also think about things such as the 3/5 Compromise – Congress counted any person who was not free as 3/5 of a freed person for congressional representation, but at that time in history no slaves were allowed to vote (and I won’t even discuss how you get 3/5 of a person. A person is a person, period. Think about the end of the Civil War when slaves were “freed,” but were they really? They were turned loose, but most did not know how to read, write, or figure; they had no roof over their head, and didn’t know where to go to find a job or how to get a roof over their head, etc. This is another place where Equity comes into play. Think about Reconstruction, “Jim Crow,” the Olympics (1932 & 1936 for example), Civil Rights, the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Act, fighting for our country, playing professional sports, etc. What were the expectations of a non-white person during these periods? If you still don’t get it, think about the Tuskegee Airmen, the Navajo Code Talkers, and the Negro Leagues in baseball to name a few. Hank Aaron passed away last week. Sportscasters talked about how he was threatened numerous times while he was chasing Babe Ruth’s record, but as soon as he passed him, even southern white people (their phrase) were on their feet and cheering. Go one step further and think about the Japanese Internment Camps in the US. Kendi said, “. . .there is a way to get free. To be antiracist is to emancipate oneself from the dueling consciousness.”
When we say that someone acted in such and such a way because they are white, or they are black, or they are Asian, is called racial categorizing – “stuffing our experiences with individuals in color-marked racial closets.” Who knew there was a label for this?
The evidence about the correlation between violent crime levels and high unemployment levels and poverty in low-income black neighborhoods was not surprising.
The whole discussion on how to measure intelligence in the chapter on Behavior was jaw-dropping. Also, I had no idea that there was somebody who believed that the SAT would reveal the natural intellectual ability of white people.
The chapter on color was eye-opening, especially where Kendi stated that light communities, meaning light-skinned black people, also built walls of segregation to keep dark-skinned people out and that “Light people were wealthier than Dark people and more likely to have good-paying jobs and schooling.”
By the way, I loved all of Kendi’s stories / comments about his college marching band. As someone who marched (Ohio University Marching 110), I appreciate what he said in defending the Marching 100. They really are impressive! Go to YouTube and search FAMU Marching 100 and watch a few of their videos.
“Going after White people instead of racist power prolongs the policies harming Black life. In the end, anti-White racist ideas, in taking some or all of the focus off racist power, become anti-Black. In the end, hating White people becomes hating Black people.”
While I admittedly struggled with reading and more importantly, retaining the information that Dr. Kendi provided, the one area where I could relate was when he shared his and his wife’s personal journeys of dealing with Cancer. Without going too far down this path, Dr. Kendi is right, it IS a scary time. You don’t know what’s going to happen – if they are going to get it all, what the treatment plan will be like, and how often will you have to follow up with your oncologist and go through the next round of tests. I sincerely feel for him and the rest of us who have been / are on this journey.
Having said this, in regards to health, I know there are some diseases that have a greater impact on black people than on white. Heck, just look at cancer. I cannot explain why certain diseases have a greater impact on one race as opposed to another, but I did go do a little research on this topic. The American Cancer Society has information on their website at: about what they are doing to combat this issue, including funding 59 health disparities research grants (as of March 2020). Hopefully, one day, medical researchers will discover the why.
“Asking antiracists to change their perspective on racism can be as destabilizing as asking racists to change their perspective on the races. How can antiracists ask racists to open their minds and change when we are closed-minded and unwilling to change?” I’m not sure change is needed, maybe just bend a little. Racists do have to open their minds and bend a lot more than a little.
One important thing for all of us to keep in mind is just because one member of one race does something bad does not mean the whole race is bad and just because one member of one race does something good does not mean the whole race is good. This is an individual thing.
If you have the time, check out this book. If you do not, read Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram Kendi and Jason Reynolds. Also, I had the opportunity to see Dr. Kendi during the American Library Association’s (ALA) Midwinter Conference and he was captivating. If you get a similar chance, take it!
Having said all of this, I AM looking forward to Kendi’s next book which he co-wrote with Keshia Blaine. It’s called Four Hundred Souls. During his talk at ALA, he stated that this new book is "very readable."
I felt bad for bird's disability, but a really cute book that shows his worth.I felt bad for bird's disability, but a really cute book that shows his worth....more
" A novel in verse about a young deaf boy during World War II, the sister who loves him, and the conscientious objector who helps him. Inspired by tru" A novel in verse about a young deaf boy during World War II, the sister who loves him, and the conscientious objector who helps him. Inspired by true events." - This is the tagline on this page and it nails the synopsis to a T!
Overall a great story, but it did take me a bit of time to get used to reading in verse. Author, Frost uses mostly Free Verse and Sonnets to tell her story, which is based on the life of her husband's mother's brother, who was "institutionalized" back in the early 1900's. It's a fascinating history and the real-life information may be found at the end of the book.
Bring the tissues - you're going to need them! ...more
WOW! First, I cried most of the way through this book - Francois Scarborough Clemmons aka Officer Clemmons from Mr. Rogers neighborhood faced much advWOW! First, I cried most of the way through this book - Francois Scarborough Clemmons aka Officer Clemmons from Mr. Rogers neighborhood faced much adversity in his life and even with the positive influence of his "Mentor," Fred Rogers, Clemmons really had to find a way to persevere on his own.
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