Highlighting how children living in poverty-stricken areas find ways to succeed, even when surrounded by seemingly insurmountable hardships, There is Good in My Hood illustrates the realities of the environment of impoverished families and demonstrates there is always hope, sometimes just around the corner. Author Dr. Shanta Barton-Stubbs narrates the story of a young man making decisions that will affect the rest of his life, describing the challenges he faces in realistic and relatable language. It features the New Image Youth Center, a community resource center that can change the lives of families forever. Based on real stories of real people, this picture book for children also offers poems written by the staff and board members of the New Image Youth Center; the works give deeper perspective about the purpose of the organization. Theres Good in My Hood takes an honest look at how organizations like the New Image Youth Center can affect the lives of kids and families in poverty-stricken areas, as well as modeling healthy decision making.

Every city has a hood, and every hood has a drug-infested corner. As a once successful businesswoman, Desiree "Rae-Rae" Johnson use to avoid driving through that section of the neighborhood--until she fell on hard times. After becoming a crack addict, she starts living with her soul mate Bilal "Bunchy" Wilson, the man who introduced her to cocaine. After witnessing a double murder and struggling to survive the everyday dramas to support their drug habits, they manage to pull off one of the biggest robberies in New Jersey's history. Bilal is sentenced to life for murder and armed robbery and meets his sudden death in prison, leaving Desiree to face the demons of her past alone. After turning her life around, she meets one of the top men in the game, Ishmael Jenkins, and falls for him, not knowing his secret past. Ishmael is comfortable in his position in the hood and falls for Desiree just as hard. All hell breaks loose as Ishmael's loyalty is tested and Desiree struggles to maintain her sobriety. Between love, murder and a possible relapse, will they survive? Or will they be another statistic in this society in which we live? Have you seen this in your hood? Well, this is what happened In My 'Hood.

How does gentrification affect residents who stay in the neighborhood?

From ex-drug dealer to success phenomenon, Johnny Wimbrey's story of overcoming life's adversities will inspire anyone to press on and never give up.Your past does not necessarily determine your future! Where you've been has nothing to do with where you're going. International motivational speaker Johnny Wimbrey shares the principles and keys for success over any and all obstacles. We ALL deserve a second chance!

Winter is here and it's time to put on your gloves and mittens and scarf and hat and... Only award-winning poet Karla Kuskin and illustrator Fumi Kosaka could make bundling up for the snow so much fun!

A New York Times Best Seller "Essential reading for all adults who work with black and brown young people...Filled with exceptional intellectual sophistication and necessary wisdom for the future of education."—Imani Perry, National Book Award Winner author of South To America An award-winning educator offers a much-needed antidote to traditional top-down pedagogy and promises to radically reframe the landscape of urban education for the better Drawing on his own experience of feeling undervalued and invisible in classrooms as a young man of color, Dr. Christopher Emdin has merged his experiences with more than a decade of teaching and researching in urban America. He takes to task the perception of urban youth of color as unteachable, and he challenges educators to embrace and respect each student’s culture and to reimagine the classroom as a site where roles are reversed and students become the experts in their own learning. Putting forth his theory of Reality Pedagogy, Emdin provides practical tools to unleash the brilliance and eagerness of youth and educators alike—both of whom have been typecast and stymied by outdated modes of thinking about urban education. With this fresh and engaging new pedagogical vision, Emdin demonstrates the importance of creating a family structure and building communities within the classroom, using culturally relevant strategies like hip-hop music and call-and-response, and connecting the experiences of urban youth to indigenous populations globally. Merging real stories with theory, research, and practice, Emdin demonstrates how by implementing the “Seven Cs” of reality pedagogy in their own classrooms, urban youth of color benefit from truly transformative education.

Synopsis:It is known as The Hood to the Bounty Hunter Watts Blood Gang. The Vatos Locos Muchachos call it El Barrio, and those in the 77th Division of the Los Angeles Police Department refer to it simply as The Beat. With all the money, power, and respect at stake, royalty is crowned through determination, but there can only be one King of the Nickerson Gardens Housing Projects.