Diversity & Identity In The 21st Century.
This year we have seen a series of racial injustices happen from Starbucks to the Waffle House and even at Yale. In our turbulent world where human rights and justice are being challenged all the time, it is increasingly important for young people of color to stand strong in the face of adversity and embrace their heritage.
Deborah Santana is helping young women embrace their heritage by sharing stories of cultural strength in the new anthology All the Women in My Family Sing.
“My color isn’t a history, ethnicity, badge of honor, flag to wave, trump card or anchor point. I am just a person, whose color comes from my collective life experiences. It is the unique shades of me, my internal prism worn on my sleeve and lived out loud…”
…says Janine Shiota, one of the contributing authors of All The Women In My Family Sing. The anthology is a collection of prose and poetry by sixty-nine women of color from ages 16 to 77. African American, Native American, Asian American, Muslim, Cameroonian, Kenyan, Liberian, Mexican American, Korean, Chinese American and LGBTQI women are represented in the collection.
Young women of color need female role models to inspire success. This book features stories of strong, heroic, and inspirational women of color. This book celebrates diversity and gives people much needed real-life experiences of what it means to be a woman of color today.
It is a watershed title, not only written, but produced entirely by women of color, including the publishing, editing, process management, book cover design, and promotions. Editor Deborah Santana is on a mission to empower underrepresented voices and to impact the world of publishing in America — particularly important in a time when 80% of people who work in publishing self-identify as white (as found recently in a study by Lee & Low Books, and reported on NPR).
“The many ways one can receive an education is a running thread throughout and will comfort students unsure of their own future and underline the necessity of voicing their experiences…VERDICT: A top purchase for most young adult nonfiction collections.”
– Della Farrell, School Library Journal
About The Book.
This new book from Nothing But The Truth Publishing, LLC is an anthology documenting the experiences of women of color at the dawn of the twenty-first century. It is a vital collection of prose and poetry whose topics range from the pressures of being the vice-president of a Fortune 500 Company to escaping the killing fields of Cambodia, to the struggles inside immigration, identity, romance, and self-worth.
Contributors include America Ferrera, Samina Ali, Natalie Baszile (Queen Sugar), Porochista Khakpour (Sons and Other Flammable Objects), Lalita Tademy (Cane River), Mila Jam, Marian Wright Edelman (Children’s Defense Fund), and many more.
“In their common pursuits of acceptance, friendship, and social justice, these writers demonstrate that there are truths and desires that transcend lines of color, sexuality, and class. In sounding common chords of humanity, their voices, together, create a mighty chorus.”
– USA Today
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Deborah Santana
Deborah Santana is an author, business manager, and activist for peace and social justice. Her non-profit, Do A Little, serves women and girls in the areas of health, education, and happiness. With a passion to provide educational opportunities for girls and women, Ms. Santana collaborates with organizations that work to prevent and heal relationship and sexual violence, improve the lives of America’s abused and neglected children, and a worldwide community of artists and allies who work for empowerment, opportunity, and visibility for women artists.
In 2005, she published her memoir: Space Between the Stars that told of her experiences growing up as a bi-racial child, and her coming of age.
Ms. Santana has produced five short documentary films, four with Emmy-award winning director Barbara Rick: Road to Ingwavuma, Girls of Daraja, School of My Dreams, and Powerful Beyond Measure. These films highlight the work of non-profit partners in South Africa, and the Daraja Academy, a free secondary boarding school for girls in Kenya.
She has served as a trustee for ANSA (Artists for a New South Africa), the Smithsonian Institution, and is a supporter of Marian Wright Edelman’s Children’s Defense Fund. She is a mother to three beloved adult children: Salvador, a songwriter and instrumental artist, Stella, a singer/songwriter, and Angelica, an archivist and film producer.
Ms. Santana holds a Master of Arts in Philosophy and Religion with a Concentration in Women’s Spirituality.
A leadership donor of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, she works for the rights and advancement of people of color.