Current Politics

Often regarded as more of a myth and legend than man, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was many things throughout his storied life: student, activist, preacher, dreamer, father, husband. From his Atlanta childhood centered in the historically Black neighborhood of Sweet Auburn to his precipitous rise as a civil rights leader on the streets of Birmingham, Selma, and Montgomery, Dr. King would go on to become one of the most recognizable, influential, and controversial persons of the twentieth century.

In his senior year of high school, Michael hits rock bottom. Having been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, he has now been suspended from the track team and lost his college scholarship. His coach is angry, his parents are disappointed, and he's diving headfirst into a downward spiral. Facing the bleak future ahead, he sees no way out and wonders if life is really worth living. But with some divine intervention, he's given a second chance when he's offered a once-in-a-lifetime journey of discovery.

"Aren't you a terrorist?" "There are no roles for people who look like you." "That's a sin." "No girls allowed." They've heard it all. Actress Alia Shawkat reflects on all the parts she was told she was too "ethnic" to play. Former NFL player Wade Davis recalls his bullying of gay classmates in an attempt to hide his own sexuality. Holocaust survivor Fanny Starr tells of her harrowing time in Aushwitz, where she watched her family disappear, one by one. What made them rise up through the hate? What made them overcome the obstacles of their childhood to achieve extraordinary success?

Jere Van Dyk was on the wrong side of the border. He and three Afghan guides had crossed into the tribal areas of Pakistan, where no Westerner had ventured for years, hoping to reach the home of a local chieftain by nightfall. But then a dozen armed men in black turbans appeared over the crest of a hill.

You want to do hard things. But you don’t know where to start. You are changing the world around you. But you are tired and burned out. You feel called to do the extraordinary for God. But you feel stuck in the ordinary. Do Hard Things inspired thousands of young people around the world to make the most of the teen years. Now Alex and Brett Harris are back and ready to tackle the questions that Do Hard Things inspired: How do I get started? What do I do when I get discouraged? What’s the best way to inspire others?

Pocket Change Collective is a series of small books with big ideas from today's leading activists and artists. In this installment, arts writer and co-editor of Black Futures Kimberly Drew shows us that art and protest are inextricably linked. Drawing on her personal experience through art toward activism, Drew challenges us to create space for the change that we want to see in the world. Because there really is so much more space than we think.

Pocket Change Collective is a series of small books with big ideas from today's leading activists and artists. In this installment, The New Queer Conscience, Voices4 Founder and LGBTQIA+ activist Adam Eli offers a candid and compassionate introduction to queer responsibility. Eli calls on his Jewish faith to underline how kindness and support within the queer community can lead to a stronger global consciousness. More importantly, he reassures us that we're not alone. In fact, we never were. Because if you mess with one queer, you mess with us all.

A timely and heartfelt collection of essays inspired by the #MeToo movement, edited by acclaimed young adult and middle-grade author Janet Gurtler. Featuring Beth Revis, Mackenzi Lee, Ellen Hopkins, Saundra Mitchell, Jennifer Brown, Cheryl Rainfield, and many more.

This timely and media-driven approach to the Parkland shooting, as reported by teens in the journalism and broadcasting programs and in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas newspaper, is an inside look at that tragic day and the events that followed that only they could tell. It showcases how the teens have become media savvy and the skills they have learned and honed. Students will also share specific insight into what it has been like being approached by the press and how that has informed the way they interview their own subjects.

In his first ever book, The IF in Life: How to Get Off Life’s Sidelines and Become Your Best Self, NFL running back and Dancing with the Stars champion Rashad Jennings shares his inspiring story and experiences, imparts practical advice, and encourages listeners to follow their dreams.

From singer, model, and YouTube celebrity Natasha Bure, the daughter of Candace Cameron Bure, comes a real, honest conversational audiobook that doesn’t hold back. Everywhere she goes and every video she posts has one basic message: this is real, this is life, and we all go through it. Whether it’s acne, boyfriends, faith, stress, or having fun, Natasha’s view is to simply be honest, simply be real, no matter what you face. Natasha’s real and relatable tone paired with personal notes and stories will help listeners see that living a “real” life is the best life.

How did the lowly potato plant feed the poor across Europe and then cause the deaths of millions? How did the rubber plant enable industrialization? What is the connection between malaria, slavery, and the outcome of the American Revolution? How did the fabled silver mountain of 16th-century Bolivia fund economic development in the flood-prone plains of rural China and the wars of the Spanish Empire? Here is the story of how sometimes the greatest leaps also posed the greatest threats to human advancement.

This edition of The Secret Door to Success has a new, creative flair! Immediately following each chapter is a short, theatrical exercise. So teens, young adults, and thespians of all ages can act out an affirmation that embodies the positive message in each chapter. A fun way to practice the principles herein! The more we practice, the more it sticks. You do not have to have any prior acting experience in order to do these exercises. All you have to do is believe....

It didn't just start with #MeToo. Today's feminism is more diverse than ever before and asks all kinds of questions. Feminism Is... tackles topics including intersectionality, the gender pay gap, the male gaze, and mansplaining. Find out what equality for women really means, get a short history of feminism, and take a look at the concerns affecting women at work, in the home, and around sex and identity. Get answers to the big issues and meet some of the most groundbreaking feminists like Audre Lorde and bell hooks.

Conoce esta maravillosa obra que nos cuenta la historia de Santiago Zapata, un niño de 16 años que, a pesar de sufrir una enfermedad muscular de Duchenne, aprendió a leer y escribir por su propia cuenta. Luego de leer más de 650 libros decide escribir su primer ejemplar ‘Caminando con mi Mente’, un manual de vida que describe de manera precisa los pasos para tener una vida sin limitaciones, de igual forma, nos brinda las herramientas para ser mejores personas y lograr tener una mejor versión de si mismo. ¡No te pierdas este espectacular audiolibro y disfruta el viaje de caminar con la mente!

In the early morning of June 1, 1921, a White mob marched across the train tracks in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and into its predominantly Black Greenwood District - a thriving, affluent neighborhood known as America's Black Wall Street. They brought with them firearms, gasoline, and explosives. In a few short hours, they'd razed 35 square blocks to the ground, leaving hundreds dead. The Tulsa Race Massacre is one of the most devastating acts of racial violence in US history. But how did it come to pass?

America in 1982. Japanese car companies are on the rise and believed to be putting American autoworkers out of their jobs. Anti-Asian-American sentiments simmer, especially in Detroit. A bar fight turns fatal, leaving Vincent Chin - a Chinese-American man - beaten to death at the hands of two white men, autoworker Ronald Ebens and his stepson Michael Nitz. From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry is a searing examination of the killing and the trial and verdicts that followed.

"What constructs in your life must you unlearn to support inclusivity and respect for all?" This is a question that artist, actor, and activist Chella Man wrestles with in this powerful and honest essay. A story of coping and resilience, Chella journeys through his experiences as a deaf, transgender, genderqueer, Jewish person of color, and shows us that identity lies on a continuum - a beautiful, messy, and ever-evolving road of exploration.

At sixteen, Perla is the youngest graduating senior of the hypercompetitive Monte Verde High. Praised—and not-so-quietly bashed—as “Perfect Perlie Perez,” Perla knows all the late nights, social isolation, and crushing stress will be worth it when she gets into the college of her (and her parents’) dreams: Delmont University.

In this comprehensive, inspiring, and all-too-relevant history of the Black Panther Party, Kekla Magoon introduces listeners to the Panthers’ community activism, grounded in the concept of self-defense, which taught Black Americans how to protect and support themselves in a country that treated them like second-class citizens. For too long the Panthers’ story has been a footnote to the civil rights movement rather than what it was.