Silence Is Not Always Golden: A Poetic Revolution is a collection of poetry that is defying the norm. The title was inspired by the Black Panther Party's Huey Newton's quote, "You can jail a Revolutionary, but you can't jail the Revolution." Instead of writing what people want to hear, I wrote what people need to hear. The truth Sometimes the truth can be beautiful and sometimes it can be ugly. My words and my voice are my weapons and I have to speak up on my beliefs. Other people may not feel as powerful to speak up so I speak up for them. I could not sit there and not say anything. I was...

As an African American Studies undergraduate student at University of California, Berkeley, Joy Elan wrote papers that revolved around African American life and culture in the United States. This book is a collection of her favorite and best essay topics where she explored different issues in the African American/Black community. The topics ranged from family, education, legal, gender, and political. Institutional Freedom: A Collection of African American Essays is Joy Elan's voice and these were things that impacted her to be the person she is today: a writer, a teacher, a voice for change....

Silence Is Not Always Golden: The Power of Spoken Words is a collection of poetry that is defying the norm. Written words have power because anyone can refer to them. However, spoken words are more powerful because the words are brought to life once they leave the body or a piece of paper. Instead of writing what people want to hear, I wrote what people need to hear. The truth Sometimes the truth can be beautiful and sometimes it can be ugly. My words and my voice are my weapons and I have to speak up on my beliefs. Other people may not feel as powerful to speak up so I speak up for them. I...

New Version: Allegra Johnson is a young, vibrant entrepreneur with dreams. From the outside, she seems to have all the things that she dreamed of... except love. Her motto is the expression, "The best way to predict your future is to create it." As she paints the things that she wants in her life, she learns that not everyone will see her big picture.

The year is 2015 and Allegra Johnson is dealing with a lot of changes happening in Oakland, California. In nine years, she lost her business, became a single mother to a son, and had to find two jobs to survive. There are so many social issues affecting the natives of Oakland and Allegra finds herself holding on to her pride so she will not become extinct in the city she grew up in. This is the sequel to Life Is A Canvas.