Showing titles in Social Activists

Growing up disabled can be an isolating experience. As much as you might be surrounded by loving and well-meaning friends and family, chances are no one close to you is going through this alongside you . . . until now! From navigating sports at school, to facing the confusion of getting given free stuff all the time, to juggling hospital trips alongside your social life, this anthology of firsthand experiences of childhood disability will be a welcome companion for disabled children.

In The Warrior's Heart, an adaptation of his best-selling memoir, The Heart and the Fist, Eric Greitens brings his adventures to life, sharing stories of friendship, struggle, and hard-earned wisdom. This remarkable book will inspire listeners to live every day with compassion and courage.

In middle school, Gabrielle "Gabe" Ford developed a degenerative muscle disease, and was harassed by bullies as a result. She did her best to keep her head high, but it wasn't easy. Then Gabe got a dog, Izzy, who developed an uncannily similar disorder. They were invited to appear on Animal Planet to talk about their bond, which in turn led to an invitation to speak at a school. And so began Gabe's career as an anti-bullying advocate.

Austin Channing Brown’s first encounter with race in America came at age seven, when she discovered that her parents had named her Austin to trick future employers into thinking she was a white man. Growing up in majority-white schools and churches, Channing Brown writes, “I had to learn what it means to love Blackness,” a journey that led to a lifetime spent navigating America’s racial divide. For students navigating a time of racial hostility, and for adults and educators who care for them, I’m Still Here is an empowering look at the experiences of young Black kids.

In 1956, one year before federal troops escorted the Little Rock 9 into Central High School, 14-year-old Jo Ann Allen was one of 12 African American students who broke the color barrier and integrated Clinton High School in Tennessee. At first things went smoothly for the Clinton 12, but then outside agitators interfered, pitting the townspeople against one another. Uneasiness turned into anger, and even the Clinton Twelve themselves wondered if the easier thing to do would be to go back to their old school.

When Charles Mulli was a child, his family repeatedly abandoned him, and he lived in fear of his abusive, alcoholic father. With an extraordinary will, the young Kenyan struggled to feed and educate himself and, encountering hope in the gospel, found a reason to live and to forgive. Later, as a multimillionaire and father of eight, the entrepreneur sold his businesses to devote himself to caring for street children throughout Kenya. Since 1989, Charles and his wife, Esther, have taken into their protection thousands of the most vulnerable through Mully Children's Family.

Exposed to the horrendous living conditions of women prisoners and their children, Elizabeth Fry pledged to improve the lives of society's most desperate people—something no one else dared to do. Telling doubters, "If I don't, who will?" Betsy became one of England's greatest reformers and one of the nineteenth century's most beloved people. Guided by her Quaker values, she led efforts in education and literacy, prison reform, and—together with figures such as William Wilberforce and Thomas Fowell Buxton—the abolition of slavery.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in 1869 in British-occupied India. Though he studied law in London and spent his early adulthood in South Africa, he remained devoted to his homeland and spent the later part of his life working to make India an independent nation. Calling for non-violent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights around the world. Gandhi is recognized internationally as a symbol of hope, peace, and freedom.

As a youth, Malcolm endured violence, loss, hunger, foster care, racism, and being incarcerated. He emerged from it all to make a lasting global impact. As a Muslim. As a family man. As a revolutionary. Malcolm’s life story shows the promise of every human being. Of you! To trace Malcolm’s childhood and adult years, Kendi draws on Malcolm’s stirring oratory style, using repetition and rhetoric. Short, swift chapters echo Malcolm’s trademark fast walk.

Featuring 18 trailblazing Black women in American history, Little Leaders educates and inspires as it relates true stories of breaking boundaries and achieving beyond expectations. Among these biographies, listeners will find heroes, role models, and everyday women who did extraordinary things - bold women whose actions and beliefs contributed to making the world better for generations of girls and women to come.

As a child he dreamt of changing South Africa; as a man he changed the world. Nelson Mandela spent his life battling apartheid and championing a peaceful revolution. He spent 27 years in prison and emerged as the inspiring leader of the new South Africa. He became the country’s first Black president and went on to live his dream of change.

For two hundred years, British slave ships plied in the Middle Passage, taking African men, women, and children to their doom. Ending slavery in the mighty British Empire seemed like an impossible dream, but once William Wilberforce resolved to represent the abolitionists in Parliament, he would fight to the bitter end—for nearly half a century—to achieve that goal. Together with a community of dynamic reformers, Wilberforce struggled to rid his nation of evil and to give dignity and freedom to all people—slave and slave trader, poor and powerful.

When the United States entered World War II, it had to face its own contradictions at home. Opportunities opened up for Black people and women in support of the war effort. But ideas about race and gender didn't change as swiftly. Listen to the story of the first all-Black battalion in the Women's Army Corps—the Six Triple Eight—and its leader, Major Charity Adams. These women bravely confronted the racism and sexism they experienced. And they did it while creating a system to make sure millions of letters and packages got to soldiers fighting in Europe.

At age six the sharp bite of a whip taught Harriet Tubman what it meant to be a slave. The other slaves scoffed when Harriet resolved to escape north someday. Little did they know that this girl would one day lead hundreds of slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad. Even huge rewards for her capture—dead or alive—did not stop Harriet from risking her life again and again in the fight for liberty as the nation spiraled into the Civil War.

At age two, Helen Keller became deaf and blind. She lived in a world of silence and darkness and she spent the rest of her life struggling to break through it. But with the help of teacher Annie Sullivan, Helen learned to read, write, and do many amazing things. This inspiring biography is perfect for young middle-grade listeners.

It was April 5, 1943, and the Gestapo would arrive any minute. Dietrich Bonhoeffer had been expecting this day for a long time. He had put his papers in order - and left a few notes specifically for Hitler's men to see. Two SS agents climbed the stairs and told the boyish-looking Bonhoeffer to come with them. He calmly said good-bye to his parents, put his Bible under his arm, and left. Upstairs there was proof, in his own handwriting, that this quiet young minister was part of a conspiracy to kill Adolf Hitler.

Once a kidnapped slave baby, George Washington Carver found freedom in learning everything he could about the world around him. Overcoming poverty and racism, George became a brilliant scientist and a gifted professor who dedicated his expertise to helping black farmers escape the devastating grip of poverty. George's scientific creativity knew no limits. His ingenious experimentation with peanuts and other plants helped rescue the failing Southern economy.

The New York Times best-selling true story of an all-American girl and a boy from Zimbabwe and the letter that changed both of their lives forever. It started as an assignment. Everyone in Caitlin's class wrote to an unknown student somewhere in a distant place. Martin was lucky to even receive a pen-pal letter. There were only 10 letters, and 50 kids in his class. But he was the top student, so he got the first one. That letter was the beginning of a correspondence that spanned six years and changed two lives.

Malala Yousafzai was a girl who loved to learn but was told that girls would no longer be allowed to go to school. She wrote a blog that called attention to what was happening in her beautiful corner of Pakistan and realized that words can bring about change. She has continued to speak out for the right of all children to have an education. In 2014, she won the Nobel Peace Prize.

When Ruby Bridges was only six years old, she made history by being the first Black child to integrate William Frantz Elementary School. She became best friends with her teacher, Mrs. Henry. Excited to come back for her second year, Ruby is soon devastated to learn that Mrs. Henry isn't her second-grade teacher. Where did Mrs. Henry go? Can Ruby ever reconnect with her favorite teacher?