Author cites the evils of segregation for both white and colored people and gives the history of race relations from pre-Civil War days.

DIV Through the story of the life of Joseph, you will discover how to embrace the voyage and learn to celebrate being a dreamer even when dream killers show up./div

All immigrants to America have a story with the American Dream, a story sometimes intimately intertwined with personal dreams. My story might be a surprising, if not maybe an unexpected one diverging from the usual account of pitiful existence in Haiti's slums or that of struggle for adaptation to America's way of life by one of Haiti's "boat people" who landed on South Florida's coast. It is a story that starts from the lower plains of the Artibonite Valley in Haiti with a dream from my great grandfather, Joizil Estimé, and continues in the United States, ultimately in Powell, Ohio. It is the story of a Haitian immigrant born in the small coastal town of Saint-Marc, Haiti. It evolves with my experiences growing up in my native country where my formative years were influenced by a connection to a diverse sociocultural environment. It progresses with my interaction with other societal enclaves in foreign lands like Germany and ultimately in the United States. It is an account of dreams fulfilled or unfulfilled, due not only to factors such as the convergence of different motivational agents (dreambuilders), the winds blowing on corporate America, whether in Haiti or the United States, but also to different conditions such as country of origin, globalization, social class, and Afro-ethnicity in America (dreamkillers). It is the story of coping with life changes, of integration into the American mainstream, of successes and disappointments of an immigrant from Haiti. But it is more than the story of an immigrant; it also reflects in a way the struggle of all immigrants coping with the pursuit of the American Dream and the quest for adaptation and continuous learning. It relates to all those who have wrestled with their dreams, those who have learned to make the best out of life's circumstances and keep a positive outlook in the era we live in. Dreambuilders, dreamkillers are in all walks of life.

This compelling volume offers the first full portrait of the life and work of writer Lillian Smith (1897-1966), the foremost southern white liberal of the mid-twentieth century. Smith devoted her life to lifting the veil of southern self-deception about race, class, gender, and sexuality. Her books, essays, and especially her letters explored the ways in which the South's attitudes and institutions perpetuated a dehumanizing experience for all its people--white and black, male and female, rich and poor. Her best-known books are Strange Fruit (1944), a bestselling interracial love story that brought her international acclaim; and Killers of the Dream (1949), an autobiographical critique of southern race relations that angered many southerners, including powerful moderates. Subsequently, Smith was effectively silenced as a writer. Rose Gladney has selected 145 of Smith's 1500 extant letters for this volume. Arranged chronologically and annotated, they present a complete picture of Smith as a committed artist and reveal the burden of her struggles as a woman, including her lesbian relationship with Paula Snelling. Gladney argues that this triple isolation--as woman, lesbian, and artist--from mainstream southern culture permitted Smith to see and to expose southern prejudices with absolute clarity.

Prelude and aftermath of a lynching in Georgia, depicting the South's unsolved racial problem.

A deep dive into James Earl Ray’s role in the national tragedy: “Superb . . . a model of investigation . . . as gripping as a first-class detective story” (The New York Times). On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was killed in Memphis, Tennessee, by a single assassin’s bullet. A career criminal named James Earl Ray was seen fleeing from a rooming house that overlooked the hotel balcony from where King was cut down. An international manhunt ended two months later with Ray’s capture. Though Ray initially pled guilty, he quickly recanted and for the rest of his life insisted he was an unwitting pawn in a grand conspiracy. In Killing the Dream, expert investigative reporter Gerald Posner reexamines Ray and the evidence, even tracking down the mystery man Ray claimed was the conspiracy’s mastermind. Beginning with an authoritative biography of Ray’s life, and continuing with a gripping account of the assassination and its aftermath, Posner cuts through phony witnesses, false claims, and a web of misinformation surrounding that tragic spring day in 1968. He puts Ray’s conspiracy theory to rest and ultimately manages to disclose what really happened the day King was murdered.

My name is Abraham Alexander. Since I turned 16, Ive been skeptical about everything in my life including my faith in God, but most recently I find myself wondering the most about the true purpose of dreaming. My life has been molded into an unceasing tragedy that I battle with everyday being saved by an unknown stranger. Ive always wanted to believe I was an ordinary person but my purpose in life is beyond a simple explanation. These are my dreams and my story to search for my purpose in life. May God have mercy on my soul.

The suns rays filtered in from the partially opened shades of the plane. They lit up the world in front of me and warmed my soul, knowing I was almost to my destination. The beautiful golden light replaced the grey and hazy cobwebs from my eyes, revealing the most spectacular scene I had ever seen in my entire life. I looked out the small seven-inch window and witnessed something that Ill never forget! I beheld something in this magnificent world that the majority of people never get to see. I was looking out at Mount Everest, the worlds highest peak! I was at the tail end of a three-flight journey with two layovers in between, nearly logging twenty-four hours of flight time. I hadnt gotten any real sleep in the last thirty-six hours. My bloodshot eyes were heavy, my mind was slow and sluggish, and my body was even slower in response. How did I get here? I thought to myself. Am I d-r-e-a-m-i-n-g? As Lao and Confucius once said, A journey of one-thousand miles begins with one step. My story is about inspiring you to take your own journey one step at a time. Its about dreaming and accomplishing the impossible. Its not only about aiming for the sky and reaching for the stars but enjoying the journey along the way. Begin your personal journey today, press forward to the top, and dont you ever stop. As you move toward your dreams, there will be obstacles and setbacks along the way; dont be afraid. You can get to the top of your world by following the signs and guide posts within these pages. You can do it with others! You can do it with me! We can do it together, one step at a time! Impossible! - Jeff Griffin

An acclaimed economist reveals that school integration efforts in the 1970s and 1980s were overwhelmingly successful -- and argues that we must renew our commitment to integration for the sake of all Americans We are frequently told that school integration was a social experiment doomed from the start. But as Rucker C. Johnson demonstrates in Children of the Dream, it was, in fact, a spectacular achievement. Drawing on longitudinal studies going back to the 1960s, he shows that students who attended integrated and well-funded schools were more successful in life than those who did not -- and this held true for children of all races. Yet as a society we have given up on integration. Since the high point of integration in 1988, we have regressed and segregation again prevails. Contending that integrated, well-funded schools are the primary engine of social mobility, Children of the Dream offers a radical new take on social policy. It is essential reading in our divided times.