Empowerment Shelf

By Elizabeth Sammons with love from Neighbor-to-Neighbor

Dorothy Height, The Origin of Others, and Someone Like Me are Neighbor-to-Neighbor’s books of note for this month.  This literature intends to expand our awareness, theology and/or acceptance of diverse viewpoints. We hope you’ll discover how these writings from various generations embrace what it means to be human and to walk in spirit. …

 Dorothy Height by Lyons, Kelly Starling

Growing up as a Black girl in the 1920s and 1930s, Dorothy Height was denied access to a local swimming pool, as well as admission to Barnard College. But she persisted in pushing for change and became a seminal figure in both the civil rights and women's rights movements. She went on to win the Presidential Medal of Freedom. For third-grade readers and up.

 The Origin of Others by Morrison, Toni

What is race and why does it matter? What motivates the human tendency to construct Others? Why does the presence of Others make us so afraid? America's foremost novelist reflects on these themes and more in this collection of essays, drawing on her own memories, as well as history, politics, and especially literature and its representations of race. 

 Someone Like Me by Arce, Julissa

This best-selling young writer shares her story about her journey to belong in America while growing up undocumented in Texas. For grades 6-9 and older readers.