The English Schoolhouse & Hands Up United

this is just a repost of my Facebook post this morning.
i really am moved by this collaboration. grateful for it.

i was in Dallas the evening they announced the ‪#‎Ferguson‬ decision.
that entire afternoon, waiting on that decision, felt like the lull of food poisoning before you finally vomit.
uncomfortable. not right.
cried in disbelief as i watched the city on fire.
tried to keep the ever-growing fire inside of me in check.

what i do when i write is reconcile.
it's art therapy.
my books are filled with messages, many known only to me or the people who are close to me. i can say the same for my home.
i know kids are smart enough to read between the lines, to draw their own conclusions. this is what makes them brilliant. their ability to reason, to think, and then apply that knowledge.

Ferguson inspired so many projects that i'm working on now.
because one of the many never-ending battles, as always, is for your mind. and books are one of the purest foods for your mind...

i am a person who doesn't say i'm proud of myself often.
this morning i am PROUD that my books, all five of them, have been chosen as the featured books for Hands Up United 's Books and Breakfast initiative for the next five months in Ferguson and the surrounding St. Louis areas.

i'm grateful for my true friend and PR/Marketing director Latrice Gardner, whose passion not just for her own culture, but for fairness and equality through education has forged some of the most beautiful working relationships The English Schoolhouse has.

in tears right now as i'm typing this.
because the Ferguson decision really angered and hurt so many,
and i'm just glad that when something doesn't make sense to me, like the loss of my sister, or discrimination, or one-sided fairytales...i make art.

people pay attention to art.

i'm proud my books are part of the discussion.