La Porte County Public Library System

In reprinting these orations the editor has endeavored to present them here as nearly as possible in their original form. No effort has been made to improve the English. Published in this form, then, these orations will be of value not only to persons studying the development of the Negro in his use of a modern idiom but also in the study of the history of the race. It is in this spirit that these messages are again given to the public.

Nella Larsen was an important writer associated with the Harlem Renaissance. While she was not prolific, her work was powerful and critically acclaimed. Collected here are both, of her novels, "Passing" and "Quicksand", as well as all three of her published short stories; "Freedom," "The Wrong Man", and "Sanctuary". "Quicksand" was autobiographical in nature and examined a woman's need for sexual fulfilment balanced against respectability and acceptance...

Although born with it, it seems as though it takes a lifetime to discover beauty within one's self. How does one even begin to define it? The simple appreciation of beauty is another feat in itself. It's always been there waiting to be unearthed. Flower In My Hair is like being born again...into beauty. Be Introduced or reacquainted with self love. BLESSEDselling Author E. N. Joy gifts her readers with her most personal and private thoughts. In the...

First published in December 1853, Clotel was written amid then unconfirmed rumors that Thomas Jefferson had fathered children with one of his slaves. The story begins with the auction of his mistress, here called Currer, and their two daughters, Clotel and Althesa. The Virginian who buys Clotel falls in love with her, gets her pregnant, seems to promise marriage-then sells her. Escaping from the slave dealer, Clotel returns to Virginia disguised as...

Kimberly. Hahna. Twila. Three successful forty-somethings who broke all their dating rules. They found more straight-up satisfaction-and commitment-than they ever believed possible. But with their bold choices have come unexpected challenges . . . At last, shy Kimberly has the love she's longed for-complete with a lavish destination wedding. But her fiancé's past relationships, and her own personal baggage, are about to turn their special dream...

Befriending Traci Calloway Cole is the best thing Simone Phillips has ever done. Traci is the kind of woman Simone wants to be-in every way possible. She begins copying her role model. Not because she wants to be Traci. She just wants to be exactly like Traci. Traci doesn't worry, though. She knows Simone doesn't mean any harm and that her mimicry is only sincere admiration. Until she discovers how far Simone's obsession has gone. It is then that...

Lights, camera, action…Tamara Collins is poised to become the next great American actress. The problem is Hollywood doesn't know that just yet…. . and since her bills aren't paying themselves, Tamara signs on to star in the new stageplay, It Should've Been Me. Get in, get out, get paid…that's all Tamara wants to do. But her co-stars – including Donovan Dobbs, her ex that left her at the altar and Camille Woods, a young starlet with a serious...

In most popular literature, vampires are portrayed as charming, classy, and sexy creatures. While werewolves are portrayed as lower class, filthy, and dirty. This story reverses that image and portrays werewolves as elegant, classy, powerful, and beautiful. At the same time, a group of werewolves portray black characters as smart, cunning, and just as powerful as their white counterparts who are vampires. This story also lays out a fictional theory...

There are several reasons that African Americans can say accurately, on behalf of their enslaved African American Ancestors and themselves, "WITHOUT US, NO U.S." Just two of the reasons are the following: 1. Without the agreement to keep the African American Ancestors enslaved, the union of the thirteen colonies would not have been formed and the United States would not exist in its present form; and 2. Without the wealth created by the unpaid,...

The African American people fought for the basic right afforded to us by the constitution to live free, then to be seen as equals, in a world that often dismisses us. We have overcome many obstacles placed in front of us. While we can quickly recognize problems caused by others such as police and rightly seek justice, the biggest impediment we have yet to overcome is our intentional destruction of our people based on greed, success, money, and drugs. We,...