“As a young man, my father had been shot by a white policeman, but never spoke about the incident after leaving Alabama and moving north. He never even told my mother. He took the story to his grave… Every household is different but in my childhood home the window to that painful past was never widely opened.

Our parents felt we needed to know only so much. No time for tears. No yearning for sympathy. You see, you can’t keep your eye on the prize if your sight is clouded by tears. How can you soar if you’re freighted down by the anger of your ancestors?”
-- Excerpted from the Introduction (pgs. xi-xii)

I’ll be honest, I’ve listened to Michele Norris for years on National Public Radio in her capacity as host of All Things Considered without knowing that she was black. After all, I couldn’t see her, and she speaks in a fairly nondescript Standard American English accent which makes it difficult to discern her ethnic roots.

“This book is about more than the arrest of one man. It is abut how we need to examine our criminal justice system to ensure that fairness, not power, is the currency of our system. When we move from a presumption of innocence to a presumption of guilt, we diminish our sense of community and undermine our democratic ideals.

I examine the race and class dimensions of the Gates arrest by looking at how other successful, prosperous and noteworthy African-American men have grappled with a wide range of encounters not only with the police but with countless everyday citizens and have found themselves being judged by the color of their skin rather than the content of their character… Ultimately, if we are to move forward as a nation, we must… develop a justice system that is truly committed to the presumption of innocence.”
-- Excerpted from the Introduction (pg. 13)

When Dr. Henry Louis Gates was arrested for breaking into his own home last summer, black and white America’s diametrically-opposed response to the alleged misunderstanding was reminiscent of the two groups’ similarly contradictory reactions to the Rodney King beating, the Amadou Diallo shooting and the OJ verdict. But what made the Gates case more intriguing was the fact that here was a revered Harvard Professor who relies on a cane being carted off in handcuffs like a common criminal, and even after the cops knew full well that they had made a mistake.

Go Cook Something: A Cooking Survival Guide for Active Independent Children
by Tiana North with a little help from her mom Taliba Holliday
CreateSpace
Paperback, $15.95
240 pages, illustrated
ISBN: 978-1450574402

“My Mom and Dad separated when I was still in Underoos, so I’ve had to help Mom a lot…Ever since I could pick up a spoon, my Mom has had me in the kitchen… I think every kid needs to learn how to cook to some extent. This cookbook should get you started. The recipes are very simple…

I hope pre-teens and teens use this cookbook to better take care of yourselves, and to become more independent of your parents while eating healthy, nutritious meals. I can’t believe I’m saying that—I’m starting to sound just like my Mom already! ” - Excerpted from the Introduction

"Bitch Is the New Black"
A Memoir
by Helena Andrews
Harper Books
Hardcover, $24.99
244 pages
ISBN: 978-0-06-177882-7

“I’m such a badass. I am literally the baddest bitch on the planet. If there was a bitch contest between me and every other heartbroken, hissing, red-eyed, puffy-faced woman in the world, I would defeat every last one of them--handily… I’m a bitch, but I swear I don’t want to be. Really, I think I have to be.”
-- Excerpted from Chapter One (pg. 4)