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..

Arnold Spirit, who is known on the Reservation as Junior, decides to attend high school at the wealthier white school about 22 miles away from home. While many people on the Spokane Indian Reservation, including his best friend Rowdy see it as a betrayal, his older sister finds his courage to leave the Res an inspiration.

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

Warning: Mild Spoilers Our names identify us, individualize us, and connect us. Yet, as Shakespeare writes in Romeo and Juliet , "A rose...

When I sat down to read "The Ultimate Christmas Show: Abridged" by Austin Tichenor and Reed Martin in preparation for marketing the show...

As Marketing Manager of Oceanside Theatre Company at the Brooks in San Diego County, I make it a point to read the works I'm marketing as...