Visions of Black Life: A Collection of Outstanding Short Stories and Poetry, Volume I, May 2005

This collection is the first of an annual monograph that captures the black experience from various perspectives: mature versus youth and those within versus those outside the community. The primary contributors are the winners of the publisher's annual literary contests. The short stories and poetry range from thought-provoking to humorous: “Like White” an interracial family in Newark, DE copes with a KKK march; “My Sister’s Keeper” a newly divorced mother of two finds help in a humble setting; the children at summer camp ask politicans for help when their lunch is a disaster in “P’nut Butter and Rubber”; “Just Asking” sharply criticizes black folk engaged in self-destructive behavior; “Freedom” recounts past challenges, progress, and failure in solving racism; “Black and White,” with sophisticated imagery, captures the essence of the conundrum, “separate but equal” education.