Book Review

Terri Schichenmeyer  |   OW Contributor
Nov 3 2011

Author Nikki Grimes

Aliens have kidnapped your best friend.

At least that’s what it seems like. The two of you used to do things together all the time. You’d hang out, watch TV, shoot hoops or climb trees. You liked the same things and you knew each other’s secrets.

But now, sometimes, you feel like you barely know her any more. She never wants to do the things you used to do, and everything’s different. It’s almost like your best friend got kidnapped and replaced with someone who just looks like her.

Terri Schichenmeyer  |   OW Contributor
Oct 27 2011

Author Gillian Royes

You were so sorry.

Of all the things you regret, this one is right at the top. The bad haircut, that horrible outfit you loved at the time, things lost or lent and never found—those are all unimportant.

No, you’re most remorseful for the thing you didn’t do. You missed saying words that would have meant so much to someone.

Terri Schichenmeyer  |   OW Contributor
Oct 20 2011

Author Greg Anderson

Though you tried, there was really no way you could ignore it.

The first time your fingertips spotted the lump, you were sure it was nothing. Just a little abnormality beneath the skin, probably one of those weird things everybody’s body does now and then.

But the lump was there the next time, and the next, and you couldn’t ignore it anymore. With a big lump in your throat (ironic, huh?) you saw your doctor and got the diagnosis you dreaded.
So what next? How can you get past breast cancer and stay well?

Terri Schichenmeyer  |   OW Contributor
Oct 6 2011

Author: Ralph Richard Banks

The groom can’t help himself.

His smile is ear to ear as he watches his bride slowly make her way down the aisle. He’s so in love with her, and for good reason: it’s their wedding day and she’s lovely, both inside and out, a vision in white. But what color is her skin?

According to Ralph Richard Banks, the odds are that it’s not black. Learn more in his new book “Is Marriage for White People?” (c.2011, Dutton, $25.95 / $30.00, Canada, 289 pages, includes notes).

Terri Schichenmeyer  |   OW Contributor
Sep 29 2011

Author: Kimberly Reid

Guilty until proven innocent.

That’s what you feel like sometimes, just for the “crime” of being a teenager. You catch blame for things you didn’t do, you’re looked upon with suspicion, followed for SWBT (Shopping While Being Teen), accused of all kinds of trouble, and are generally mistrusted—all because of your age.

Teens get a bad rap and that gives you a bad headache.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.