Last school year, I was excited to introduce my seventh grade students to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor. Teaching at an all boys military academy, I had carefully selected texts that would give students a broad understanding of American society during different historical periods, while also giving them stories of young people whose lives or personalities they could relate to. I deliberately chose to balance the curriculum between male and female authors..

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry tells the story of Cassie Logan and her family fighting for their land and dignity in the Jim Crow South. Cassie and her three brothers - Stacey, Christopher-John and Little Man - were raised to take pride in themselves, their families and education - so its a culture shock for them to go out into the world and discover that they're treated as less than because of their race. They don't take the ill-treatment quietly however...

Homegoing follows the story of two half-sisters and their descendants from the Gold Coast (Ghana) from the beginning of British colonialism and the slave trade to modern day. In Ghana, the protagonists hover on the edges of a family involved in the slave trade, while across the Atlantic their family members experience slavery and discrimination in a myriad of forms. Spanning a large breadth of human experiences, the characters retain a strong sense of themselves while facing

As a Californian who grew up in the border county of San Diego and now lives in the North San Diego city of Vista, which is approximately...

When I first saw Latin History for Morons on Oceanside Theatre Company’s (OTC) 2025 season plans I was thrilled. Finally, a play that will reach out to San Diego’s North County Latinx community that I live in. The play’s star Rick Najera and director Herbert Siguenza have personalized Leguizamo’s history with up-to-the-moment jokes that hit home. Najera blends his own story seamlessly with Leguizamo’s so that it is difficult to remember where one’s tale ends and the other be