Born To Struggle

Demonstrates how critical race theory can be useful in real-world situations. Rooted in the initial struggle of community members who staged a successful hunger strike to secure a high school in their Chicago neighborhood, David Omotoso Stovall’s Born Out of Struggle focuses on his first-hand participation in the process to help design the school. Offering important lessons about how to remain accountable to communities while designing a curriculum with a social justice agenda, Stovall explores the use of critical race theory to encourage its practitioners to spend less time with abstract theories and engage more with communities that make a concerted effort to change their conditions. Stovall provides concrete examples of how to navigate the constraints of working with centralized bureaucracies in education and apply them to real-world situations. David Omotoso Stovall is Professor of Educational Policy Studies and African American Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago and is coeditor (with William Ayers and Therese Quinn) of Handbook of Social Justice in Education.

'Born to Struggle' is the journey of a young man, born as a stateless refugee to the world's most persecuted people, the Rohingya. Muhammad Noor's escape from the limbo of statelessness to chart his own path is a rare untold story of the Rohingya and a testament to the indomitability of the human spirit. Beginning from his birthplace in the hills of Makkah in the eighties, we witness Noor's battle to receive a basic education, his stay in a hellish detention center and his later contributions to the cause of his people. But amidst the trials, we also hear the heartwarming tales of his forefathers and daily acts of kindness given and received within the community of the Rohingya. 'Born to Struggle' gives us a special view into the world of a people suffering from the everlasting effects of genocide through the lens of a special Rohingya. It is a story of hope and of finding a way to persevere through life's worst challenges.

In a world overwhelmingly unjust and seemingly deprived of alternatives, this book claims that the alternatives can be found among us. These alternatives are, however, discredited or made invisible by the dominant ways of knowing. Rather than alternatives, therefore, we need an alternative way of thinking of alternatives. Such an alternative way of thinking lies in the knowledges born in the struggles against capitalism, colonialism, and patriarchy, the three main forms of modern domination. In their immense diversity, such ways of knowing constitute the Global South as an epistemic subject. The epistemologies of the South are guided by the idea that another world is possible and urgently needed; they emerge both in the geographical north and in the geographical south whenever collectives of people fight against modern domination. Learning from and with the epistemic South suggests that the alternative to a general theory is the promotion of an ecology of knowledges based on intercultural and interpolitical translation.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • More than one million copies sold! A “brilliant” (Lupita Nyong’o, Time), “poignant” (Entertainment Weekly), “soul-nourishing” (USA Today) memoir about coming of age during the twilight of apartheid “Noah’s childhood stories are told with all the hilarity and intellect that characterizes his comedy, while illuminating a dark and brutal period in South Africa’s history that must never be forgotten.”—Esquire Winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor and an NAACP Image Award • Named one of the best books of the year by The New York Time, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, NPR, Esquire, Newsday, and Booklist Trevor Noah’s unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents’ indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa’s tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle. Born a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man’s relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother—his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life. The stories collected here are by turns hilarious, dramatic, and deeply affecting. Whether subsisting on caterpillars for dinner during hard times, being thrown from a moving car during an attempted kidnapping, or just trying to survive the life-and-death pitfalls of dating in high school, Trevor illuminates his curious world with an incisive wit and unflinching honesty. His stories weave together to form a moving and searingly funny portrait of a boy making his way through a damaged world in a dangerous time, armed only with a keen sense of humor and a mother’s unconventional, unconditional love.

What if your struggles aren’t a barrier to thriving but an invitation into your most vibrant days? Discover how to live a life of joy and fullness, even in the midst of disappointment and broken dreams. How can you find a way forward when life throws you sucker punches, when you face obstacles that seem to snuff out your faith, when you lose someone precious to you? It is in the sacred space of pain and promise that we can begin to flourish. Even in the midst of disappointment and broken dreams it is possible to grow, be strong, and draw near to God. In The Fight to Flourish, Jennie Lusko draws on her experiences after the loss of her five-year-old daughter, Lenya, to show you that the ingredients for a fresh and thriving life are right in front of you. Jennie's story will help remind you of how much God loves you, even when life feels unbearable. With grit and grace, Jennie will help you: Discover that flourishing is not an impossible destination but a divine revelation of where you are right now Find relief from the weight of overwhelming circumstances by resting in the realization that God is fighting for you Trust that God is growing you in the gap between your expectations and your experience The word flourish is written all over you and your future. Discover the ongoing strength that Jennie has found and learn to reengage in life with renewed strength and confidence.

Born to War is intended to, through my eyes as a Berlin child, point out how easily freedom can be lost, and the pain and suffering required to regain that lost freedom. It's a message that war does not distinguish between guilt and innocence. The pain and suffering of war is ladled out equally to all in its path. Ours was a constant struggle for survival, for food, water, and warmth, the bare necessities of life. For many months we lived above ground when possible, and below ground when necessary, as hundreds of Allied aircraft dropped bombs on the city both day and night. Fear and fury were my reality during the many hours spent in the musty and uncomfortable bomb shelter. I had not even the luxury of hope for better times, for I had no concept of better times. I knew only war, and the suffering and misery that it brought. The war would end, but misery lasted long after. And death was to remain a constant companion to Berliners due to starvation, hypothermia, suicide and other war-related circumstances. I lost many people dear to me during and in the wake of WWII. Yet I was one of the lucky children born to war who survived. And I survived largely due to the love and care of "Oma," my grandmother, to whom this work is mainly dedicated. It remains very difficult for me to imagine the anguish she must have suffered in that terrible period.

Andy Konigsmark is more than an American Gladiator: he is a role model and the embodiment of what it means to stay focused on your dreams. He managed to overcome dyslexia, a bipolar disorder, and thrive as a true renaissance man. It is difficult to label Andy: he is a fitness model, an American Gladiator, and Ninja Warrior. He is a stand-up comedian, bartender, and a winner on the CBS Show Million Dollar Mile. Television audiences will recognize him for multiple performances, but his local community views him as their Presbyterian minister and bartender at the local watering hole. People told him he wouldn't become a comedian, he would never leave the Peach State, and did not possess the mental acumen to graduate high school. Despite these struggles, he continued to persevere. Much to his surprise, he received his Doctorate of Ministry from Fuller Seminary in 2018. Based out of Angel Fire, New Mexico, Andy keeps pursuing his dreams and leads a blissful family life, while also embracing a new path: writing. In his free time, he loves to snowboard, mountain bike, and hike. He loves to laugh with Dodi, his wife, perform science experiments with his daughter, Emmi Claire, and smash superheroes with his son, Crew.