This play within a play opens in the present time in a Minneapolis, Minnesota soul-food restaurant where a group of youth discuss the meaning of Juneteenth. They decide to attend a play on the subject and the story shifts into the American Civil War era, with Frederick Douglass as narrator. While on a cattle selling trip for his Master, Lewis, a young slave, learns that Abraham Lincoln has freed the slaves. To prevent this knowledge from spreading to other slaves, Lewis is murdered by slave patrollers. Over the next two years, Lewis's spirit works to protect his people until the 1865 Juneteenth announcement of freedom.

Kumbayah...The Juneteenth Story is a fictional, two-act play that addresses a factual and traumatic event - the rape of emancipation against African people who were held as captives in the United States. Lewis, is a brilliant young slave who is about to turn twenty-one years old. As a birthday present, Mastah Turner has promised Lewis his freedom. In 1863, while on a cattle-selling trip in Galveston, Texas for the ailing Mastah Turner, Lewis learns that President Abraham Lincoln has freed the slaves. As he returns to the plantation, exuberant over the news of freedom, Lewis is stopped by Pattyrollers (slave catchers). Since Lewis knows the guarded secret, fatality becomes inevitable. Over the next two and a half years, his mythical spirit (perhaps interpreted by devout storytellers as John De Conqueror) soars over the earth and through the skies as an eagle serving as a "protector" to his people. Finally, word of freedom gets delivered to the Texas captives via General Gordon Granger who issues the mandate on June 19, 1865... thus the term Juneteenth.

This exploration of model storytelling projects shows librarians how to expand their roles as keepers of the stories while strengthening their communities. Community life is built on its stories. Our history and culture—those of society and of individuals—are passed from generation to generation through stories. Engaging Community through Storytelling: Library and Community Programming examines a wide variety of model storytelling projects across the country, reflecting how storytelling can encourage community attachment, identity, and expression in libraries, community centers, and schools. The contributed essays—written by experts in their fields, many of whom served as developer, fundraiser, director, and implementer of their project—provide detailed information about the inner workings of a wide variety of model storytelling projects from across the country. The authors delineate the need, scope, and audience for each project and offer riveting anecdotes that evaluate the success of that project. Many of the articles are accompanied by one or more photographs documenting the work or practical how-to-do-it guides to encourage and enable replication. Thoughtful commentary on and review of the key concepts in each chapter are provided by the book's editors.

Sweet Burden of Crossing details the story of Chris and Rikki, two college students in the 1980s as they share a journey of father loss that forms a deep bond in surprising ways. While they grew up near one another in Indiana, their lives could not have been more different. Chris grew up in the quiet, midwestern town of LaPorte, and Rikki was raised by foster parents in the industrial town of Gary. The novel follows the young women as they explore their own identities and the intergenerational trauma that has challenged their lives, while also bringing muscle and capacity to their process of growth. Wrapped in the rich dynamics of race, the story also highlights how Chris, the white narrator, grapples with her father's early death during the Civil Rights Movement and awakens to the lived experiences of Blacks in the United States. The story surfaces many thresholds that remain relevant today as we learn to move beyond our comfort zone to access deeper perspectives that free us to live more authentically. As the characters care for one another, they learn that every moment offers a sweet burden, some type of heart lesson and the gift it brings.Sweet Burden of Crossing, in its fictional portrayal of the bumps and joys of cross-racial friendships, is a model for exploring our feelings about race and breaking down barriers of injustice. The book includes questions for group dialogue that offer rigorous inquiry for building our resilience as individuals, as friends, and in community.

The Juneteenth Story is an illustrated history of Juneteenth for kids, detailing its evolution from the first celebration in 1865 until it became a national holiday in 2021.

In her new book, prominent professional developer Yvette Jackson focuses on students' strengths, rather than their weaknesses, To reinvigorate educators to inspire learning and high intellectual performance. Through the lens of educational psychology and historical reforms, Jackson responds To The faltering motivation and confidence of educators in terms of its effects on closing the achievement gap. The author seeks to "rekindle the belief in the vast capacity of underachieving urban students," and offers strategies to help educators inspire intellectual performance. Jackson proposes that a paradigm shift towards a focus on strengths will reinvigorate educators' passion for teaching and belief in their ability to raise the intellectual achievement of their students. Jackson addresses how educators can systematically support the development of motivation, reflective and cognitive skills, and high performance when standards and assessments are predisposed to non-conceptual methods. Furthermore, she examines challenges and offers strategies for dealing with cultural disconnects, The influence of new technologies, and language preferences of students.