Showing results by narrator "Lisa Reneé Pitts" in All Categories

Natalie is different from the other kids in Dreenie's fifth-grade class. She comes to school in a wheelchair. She always wears a knitted hat. And she's allowed to bring her puppy to class. The kids in the class call Natalie "Bluish" because her skin is tinted blue from chemotherapy.

Is it okay to enjoy this life? Watching a gorgeous sunset. Sharing a laugh with a friend. Tasting a sun-ripened strawberry. Each day is full of opportunities for you to savor the countless gifts the creator has given. But do you feel free to delight in God's abundant gifts, or is your joy sometimes distorted by guilt, fear of idolatry, or simply an overwhelming awareness of sin's effects on this world?

Confessions of a Token Black Girl is a snappy comedic tale framing Danielle's first-hand experiences in Wisconsin and other places as the perpetual "token Black girl", fraught with dark moments and hate crimes. It's a coming-of-age-story but instead of finding herself during a road trip, Danielle found herself through the effects of racism. This book humorously chronicles Danielle's quest for understanding what Black identity means to her - instead of what it means to everyone else.

In Making All Black Lives Matter, award-winning historian and longtime activist Barbara Ransby outlines the scope and genealogy of this movement, documenting its roots in Black feminist politics and situating it squarely in a Black radical tradition, one that is anti-capitalist, internationalist, and focused on some of the most marginalized members of the Black community.

In this fourth and final book, tween twins Cassie and Caitlyn Waters are excited to be returning to their hometown, San Antonio, on a class trip. But as they reach their destination, trouble finds them as quickly as a vision, and one of their friends soon disappears. Using their Sight and their street smarts to try to save the day, the twins also begin to see things they didn’t expect - a man in captivity who looks exactly like their father’s pictures. Could he really be alive? And can they use the clues they see to save him before it’s too late?

Have you ever been thrust into a surprising place of leadership? Are you looking for a mentor who has had similar experiences? Ebony S. Small is a young leader with a wealth of experience in both churches and organizations. She's got practical and biblical wisdom to offer whether you are just starting or are looking for a fresh start in your life and leadership. Every life experience - good, bad, or indifferent - is a distinct marker that God used to hardwire you for purpose and help you lead from an authentic and healthy place.

Not long ago, no one could even imagine a 28-year-old Latina upstart running for Congress representing Queens and the Bronx: It required facing the city’s nearly all-white, all-male political machine. But since Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez graced the scene in all her bartending, tweet-talking, mold-breaking glory, the face of politics in the 21st century has changed. Today, Ocasio-Cortez is a foremost advocate for progress, whipping up support among her colleagues and gaining the secret admiration of her foes.

Navigating the world of dating can be like wandering an enchanted forest, full of creatures with peculiar habits and baffling behavior. In Wood Nymph Seeks Centaur, Francesca Lia Block provides a guide to this often-treacherous terrain, classifying all those mystifying men and women into various types of mythical forest fauna - Fauns and Werewolves, Mermaids and Banshees. After answering questions to determine your own type, you can learn to identify others.

Black Lives Matter at School succinctly generalizes lessons from successful challenges to institutional racism that have been won through the Black Lives Matter at School movement. This book will inspire many more educators and activists to join the Black Lives Matter at School movement at a moment when this antiracist work in our schools could not be more urgent and critical to education justice. The book includes essays, interviews, poems, resolutions, and more from educators, students, and parents around the country who have been building Black Lives Matter at School on the ground.

Identical twins Cassie and Caitlyn Waters have adjusted to small-town life, but they’re still not used to seeing visions of the future. When a troubling and mysterious package arrives with a connection to the father they’ve never known and the grandmother they never knew they had, the twins distract themselves by planning a birthday bash with their new friends. But when the visions of the upcoming party show it will be more of a catastrophe than a celebration, the girls have to work together to keep it fiasco-free.

Sarah E. Goode was one of the first African American women to get a United States patent. Working in her husband's furniture store, she recognized the need for a multi-use bed, and through hard work, ingenuity, and determination, invented her unique cupboard bed. She built more than a piece of furniture. She built a life far away from slavery - a life where her sweet dreams could come true.

In a world that is often overwhelming, it’s time to return to the simple things, the AWESOME things, all around us...if only we take a moment to see them. Our Book of Awesome is an injection of joy, a heartfelt gift, and a smacking high five for humanity. Listen to it to be reminded of the endless AWESOME things that give laughter and happiness to our beautiful and brief lives.

Deanna Gillespie traces the history of the Citizenship Education Program (CEP), a grassroots initiative that taught people to read and write in preparation for literacy tests required for voter registration - a profoundly powerful objective in the Jim Crow South.

From 1955 to 1975, Vera Pigee (1924-2007) put her life and livelihood on the line with grassroots efforts for social change in Mississippi, principally through her years of leadership in Coahoma County's NAACP. Known as the "Lady of Hats," coined by NAACP executive secretary Roy Wilkins, Pigee was a businesswoman, mother, and leader. Her book, The Struggle of Struggles, offers a detailed view of the daily grind of organizing for years to open the state's closed society.

Dylan Rudee's life is an epic fail. He's bullied at school and the aunt who has raised him since he was orphaned as a child just lost her job and their apartment. Dylan's one chance to help his family is the only thing he's good at: video games. The multibillion-dollar company Mee Corp. has announced a televised tournament to find the Game-Changers: the 44 kids who are the best in the world at playing Xamaica, a role-playing fantasy game that's sweeping the planet. If Dylan can win the top prize, he just might be able to change his life.

The manner in which corporations are run globally is over. The author examines how corporations worldwide have failed when it comes to inclusion and gender equality and provides ideas on how businesses can address these issues.

Maxine Waters is an icon for a generation of women powerbrokers in politics. She is an "unbought and unbossed" acolyte of all the legendary firebrands, like Shirley Chisholm, Barbara Jordan, Tupac, and Malcolm X. The daughter of a single mom from St. Louis, she’s smart, sassy, and an outright firecracker. She is the first woman of color, and the first person of color, to regulate the boyz at the big banks as the powerful chair of the House Financial Services Committee.

Check it out: not just a book about sex, but a look at girl culture by teenagers. No stuffy school textbook. No nosy adults. Just a diverse group of teen girls from a community youth project who had questions about sexuality. To find answers, they collected stories, poetry, and artwork from other youths. They also interviewed frontline health experts to get solid facts about the personalities and pressures that young women have to deal with. It's a great mix of real-life examples and life-saving info.

This book draws from the successes of award-winning schools, teachers, students, and parents to help leaders understand how they can positively change the educational experience of Black students. When Black Students Excel offers real-life examples of outstanding elementary, middle, and high schools where teachers and school leaders have rejected policies and practices built upon deficit perceptions about the capacity of Black students.

When we experience personal struggles, we often want to heal in our own ways - or we hope God can just miraculously remove our pain and instantaneously lift us from despair. But God’s plans for our lives may not always work out that way, and so often God wants us to instead take a journey of healing that can change our lives. All Things New! shares one woman’s own struggle and her journey of thoughts and conversations with God. Author Tracy Hester invites fellow believers to join her on a 90-day devotional walk with God, where she opens up to her own dark times.