My Brother Eddie

When Edward Higgins was born, his parents were devastated, hard-pressed to imagine what kind of a future lay ahead for their newborn son. But before he was one year old, it became apparent that Eddie would conquer all obstacles faced by a boy who was born without arms. This loving tribute by his older sister is an inspiring account of how her brother met life and the matter-of-fact way in which he overcame setbacks.

Drama script of the play by Willy Russell in which twins are separated at birth.

Dear reader, what do we do when our children are being abused and neglected. What do we say? How do you respond when your love ones are being repeatedly raped by a family member? What do you do when your facing being homeless with 9 children and a few dollars to your name. Or what do you do when your name is being slandered for doing whats right. What do you do when your plate is full, but you have to make a decision to take care of your sick father, or commit him to a home? What do you do when your heart has been crushed by family members who are supposed to support and love you? All of these answers can be found in this wonderful book that I believe is going to touch the hearts of millions of people.

In 1971, Eddie Conway, Lieutenant of Security for the Baltimore chapter of the Black Panther Party, was convicted of murdering a police officer and sentenced to life plus thirty years behind bars. Paul Coates was a community worker at the time and didn't know Eddie well – the little he knew, he didn't much like. But Paul was dead certain that Eddie's charges were bogus. He vowed never to leave Eddie – and in so doing, changed the course of both their lives. For over forty-three years, as he raised a family and started a business, Paul visited Eddie in prison, often taking his kids with him. He and Eddie shared their lives and worked together on dozens of legal campaigns in hopes of gaining Eddie's release. Paul's founding of the Black Classic Press in 1978 was originally a way to get books to Eddie in prison. When, in 2014, Eddie finally walked out onto the streets of Baltimore, Paul Coates was there to greet him. Today, these two men remain rock-solid comrades and friends – each, the other's chosen brother. When Eddie and Paul met in the Baltimore Panther Party, they were in their early twenties. They are now into their seventies. This book is a record of their lives and their relationship, told in their own voices. Paul and Eddie talk about their individual stories, their work, their politics, and their immeasurable bond.

The former mayor of New York City and his little sister pen this story based on their childhood with their big brother, Harold. Although Eddie tries to play baseball like his brother, Harold sees where Eddie's true talents are and starts him on an amazing career. Full color.

Raised with twelve brothers in a part of the segregated South that provided no school for African American children, Sylvia Bell White went North as a teenager, dreaming of a nursing career, but in Milwaukee she and her brothers found only racial discrimination, and she had to persevere through racial rebuffs to find work. When a Milwaukee police officer killed her younger brother in 1958, the Bell family suspected a racial murder but could do nothing to prove it?until twenty years later, when one of the officers involved in the incident unexpectedly came forward. Sylvia was the driving force behind the family's four-year quest for justice through a civil rights lawsuit.

Damekio Gardner was the girl who had it all: designer clothes, lavish jewelry, fancy cars, and a few streetwise hustlers to provide it all. After dating Miles for a while, her life became a continuous, vicious cycle, dating one thug after another, all of whom wanted to live their lives in the fast lane. Her life was consumed by street drama, destruction, and tragedy. For many years, Damekio struggled against constant animosity, the slandering of her name by jealous women, and constant battles with her lovers. She was beginning to feel she was running out of options. She finally reached her breaking point in response to the death of her son's father; that's when she resolved to seek the guidance of God. Damekio now knows that every experience of her life the positive and the negative was a lesson. Making mistakes and learning from them helped her to become the strong, passionate woman she is today. She now hopes to share her testimony to give hope to others who may be facing the dilemmas she did.

I have a story to tell you! It is a very familiar story to me because it is my story. Please let me take you with me back in time so you can see how God has changed my life. My life was shattered and empty until I met Jesus. As you read the following pages, you will see how sin can break a family and individuals. You will also read how God can take not just one but three children, whose lives were broken, and make them apart of his family and service. This is my story.