Being Pakeha now

Sample

Jacqueline M. Moore

"Historians of the African American experience after Reconstruction have tended to imply that the black elite served only their own interests, that their exclusive control of black institutions precluded efforts to improve the status of African Americans in general. In Leading the Race, Jacqueline M. Moore reevaluates the role of this black elite by examining how their self-interest interacted with the needs of the black community in Washington, D.C., the center of black society at the turn of the century."--BOOK JACKET.

Sample

Michael Vinson Williams

Civil rights activist Medgar Wiley Evers was well aware of the dangers he would face when he challenged the status quo in Mississippi in the 1950s and '60s, a place and time known for the brutal murders of those who challenged the status quo. Nonetheless, Evers consistently investigated the rapes, murders, beatings, and lynchings of black Mississippians and reported them to a national audience, all the while organizing economic boycotts, sit-ins, and street protests in Jackson as the NAACP's first full-time Mississippi field secretary. He organized and participated in voting drives and nonviolent direct-action protests, joined lawsuits to overturn school segregation, and devoted himself to a career that cost him his life. This biography of a lesser-known but seminal civil rights leader draws on personal interviews from Evers's widow, his remaining siblings, friends, schoolmates, and fellow activists to elucidate Evers as an individual, leader, husband, brother, and father. His story is a testament to the important role that grassroots activism played in exacting social change.--From publisher description.

Sample

Jean Sasson

The Princess Trilogy consists of Princess, A True Story; Princess Sultana's Daugthers; and Princess Sultana's Circle. Sultana is a Saudi Arabian princess, born to uncountable wealth. She has four mansions on three continents, her own private jet, glittering jewels, designer dresses galore. But she has no freedom, no control over her own life, no value but as a bearer of sons. Sultana is a member of the Saudi royal family, closely related to the king. For the sake of her daughters, she has decided to take the risk of speaking out about the life of women in her country, regardless of their rank. She must hide her identity for fear that the religious leaders in her country would call for her death to punish her honesty. Only a woman in her position could possibly hope to escape from being revealed and punished. Although Sultana lives with constant fear of retribution, her passion to provide her daughters a better life transcends her fear and fuels her desire for change. Review "A fascinating look at the lifestyles of the rich and Saudi." -- Kirkus Reviews "Absolutely riveting and profoundly sad..." -- People "Fascinating...one is compelled to read just one more page, one more chapter once one has started this Arabian nightmare." -- Oxford Review "Must reading for anyone interested in human rights..." -- USA Today

Sample

Heidi Moore

A biography of Ida B. Wells-Barnett, a former slave who became a journalist dedicated to equal rights, and who fought especially for women's right to vote and an end to lynching.