Showing results by narrator "Dion Graham" in All Categories

In profound, uplifting verse, beloved author Matt de la Peña explores the endless possibilities each child contains: A young dancer may grow into a computer coder; a basketball player might become a poet; a class clown may one day serve as an inspiring teacher; and today’s quiet empath might be tomorrow’s great leader. Here's a profound and uplifting new classic with an empowering message for listeners of all ages: Your story is still being written.

Voting is foundational in a democracy, yet over six million American citizens remain stripped of their ability to participate in elections. Once convicted of a felony, people who complete their sentences reenter society, but no longer with the civil rights they once had. They may return to school, secure employment to provide for their families, and become law-abiding, tax-paying citizens―sometimes for decades―and still be denied the voting rights afforded to every other citizen.

In "Master and Man," Bobbie is a black man who can outride, outfight, and outshoot any white man in the mountain desert. His unwavering moral code serves as a model for his often cruel and dissolute white master.

This original audio play is based on the life and writings of freed slave William Wells Brown. William’s Leap for Freedom is a two-part drama; a play within a play beginning with a fictionalized conversation between William Wells Brown and Mr. Polite. This audio drama then introduces Part Two of the play, which features selected portions of Well's The Escape or Leap for Freedom, as it relates to the tale of three slaves.

Cassandra Williams is twelve; her little brother Wayne is seven. One day, when they're alone together, there's an accident, and Wayne is lost forever. Though his body is never recovered, their mother can't stop searching. The missing boy cleaves the family with doubt: how do you grieve an absence? And how does it feel? As C grows older, she relives and retells her story, and she sees her brother everywhere: in cafes, airplane aisles, subway cars.

Justyce McAllister is top of his class and set for the Ivy League - but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. And despite leaving his rough neighbourhood behind, he can't escape the scorn of his former peers or the ridicule of his new classmates. Justyce looks to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for answers. But do they hold up anymore? He starts a journal to Dr. King to find out.

Bombingham by Anthony Grooms is the powerful story of a middle-class black family living in a time of great unrest. Accepting the charge of writing a letter to the parents of a fallen friend and fellow soldier, Walter Burke begins to reflect on the effects that segregation has had on his family and the effect the Vietnam war is having on him. Narrator Dion Graham provides an exceptional reading of Grooms’ unsentimental prose.

African-American reverend Joshua Clay welcomes the chance to minister in South Africa. Once there, however, he is caught between others' expectations and his own beliefs. Turning to God, Joshua must gather the strength to search for answers and bring some peace to a grief-stricken land.

When Bashar pays an unannounced visit to the J. Appleseed Foundation, he encounters the ghosts of his long past. And the trail of clues he follows will put his wife and daughter directly in the crosshairs - and threaten the very existence of Seattle.

These connected stories were originally published in METAtropolis: Green Space. In addition, Jay Lake's "Rock of Ages" was selected for inclusion in The Year's Best Science Fiction: Thirty-First Annual Collection, edited by Gardner Dozois.

From its modest beginnings in the 1960s in a Harlem church basement, to its meteoric rise to international fame, the Dance Theatre of Harlem ignited the world with one simple, still-revolutionary statement: All can do ballet. Into the 21st century, as the world, and the country, continue their historical struggles and triumphs, the story of this haven for dancers of all colors and backgrounds resonates more than ever. Here is the definitive portrait of the one-of-a-kind dance company that reflected—and shaped—our times, and whose enduring principle continues to inspire the future.

Books are one of humankind's greatest forms of expression, and now Book, in a witty, idiosyncratic voice, tells us the inside story. A wonderfully eccentric character with strong opinions and a poetic turn of phrase, Book tells of a journey from papyrus scrolls to medieval manuscripts to printed paper and beyond - pondering, along the way, many bookish things, including the evolution of the alphabet, the library (known to Egyptians as "the healing place of the soul"), and even book burning.

Joe Meno brings a novelist's eye to the true story of two young men from Ghana and their journey from the unjust political system of their homeland through the chaos of the United States' failing immigration system.

From noted journalist and professor David Dent comes this poignant and fascinating survey of contemporary African-American life.

In Search of Black America is compilation of eclectic personalities and rare insights. Dent spent five years researching and travelling across the continent interviewing America’s Black middle-class.

Paris is burning - and only Private's Jack Morgan can put out the fire. When Jack Morgan stops by Private's Paris office, he envisions a quick hello during an otherwise relaxing trip filled with fine food and sightseeing. But Jack is quickly pressed into duty after a call from his client, Sherman Wilkerson, asking Jack to track down his young granddaughter, who is on the run from a brutal drug dealer.

Fifteen-year-old Kermit Sanders knows grief and its all-encompassing shadows. After losing his beloved older sister in a tragic car accident, nothing quite punctures through the feelings of loss. Everywhere Kermit goes, he is reminded of her. But then Kermit finds a mysterious invitation in his locker, signed anonymously with “-1.” He has no idea what he’s in for, but he shows up to find out. Dubbed the “Minus-One Club,” a group of his school-mates has banded together as a form of moral support. The members have just one thing in common—they have all suffered the tragic loss of a loved one.

By beginning a conversation that encourages self-examination and compassion, Combined Destinies invites listeners to look at how white Americans have been hurt by the very ideology that their ancestors created. Editors Ann Todd Jealous and Caroline T. Haskell, both experienced psychotherapists skilled at facilitating dialogue about racial issues, are cognizant of the challenges that even the thought of such conversations often presents. Their book is based on the premise that for positive and lasting change to occur, hearts as well as minds must be opened.

Buster, a strong and proud boxer, spends his early days with a loving family in a public housing complex in Washington, DC. Abruptly, he is taken away by an abusive, alcoholic man, plunging Buster into a challenging, nightmarish existence. Over the course of his life, he will experience homelessness, tragedy, a harrowing stay in a kill shelter, and acts of kindness, including his adoption by an older gentleman grieving the death of his wife.

The story of one of the most controversial figures in all of hip-hop history, Dummy Boy tells the tale of Tekashi 6ix9ine and his meteoric rise to fame.

The Denzel Principle, also called "The Dizzle," according to journalist and author Jimi Izrael, is the belief that the perfect man, who is the epitome of all things women think Denzel Washington represents, exists off screen and not only can you get one for your very own, you also need not settle for less. The regular good man need not apply.

The story of one of the most controversial figures in all of hip-hop history, Dummy Boy tells the tale of Tekashi 6ix9ine and his meteoric rise to fame. In tracing Danny "Tekashi 6ix9ine" Hernandez's life from Bushwick to the heights of the rap scene, Complex reporter Shawn Setaro illuminates the story of the young rapper who forged an alliance with a notorious street gang to bolster his image and boost his internet clout.