6.3: Books at CCC- eBooks

Chacaby, M. & Plummer, M. L. (2016). A Two-Spirit Journey : The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder. University of Manitoba Press.

A compelling, harrowing, but ultimately uplifting story of resilience and self-discovery.'A Two-Spirit Journey'is Ma-Nee Chacaby's extraordinary account of her life as an Ojibwa-Cree lesbian. From her early, often harrowing memories of life and abuse in a remote Ojibwa community riven by poverty and alcoholism, Chacaby's story is one of enduring and ultimately overcoming the social, economic, and health legacies of colonialism. As a child, Chacaby learned spiritual and cultural traditions from her Cree grandmother and trapping, hunting, and bush survival skills from her Ojibwa stepfather. She also suffered physical and sexual abuse by different adults, and in her teen years became alcoholic herself. At twenty, Chacaby moved to Thunder Bay with her children to escape an abusive marriage. Abuse, compounded by racism, continued, but Chacaby found supports to help herself and others. Over the following decades, she achieved sobriety; trained and worked as an alcoholism counsellor; raised her children and fostered many others; learned to live with visual impairment; and came out as a lesbian. In 2013, Chacaby led the first gay pride parade in Thunder Bay. Ma-Nee Chacaby has emerged from hardship grounded in faith, compassion, humour, and resilience. Her memoir provides unprecedented insights into the challenges still faced by many Indigenous people.

Fujiwara, L., & Roshanravan, S. (2018). Asian American Feminisms and Women of Color Politics. University of Washington Press.

Asian American Feminisms and Women of Color Politics brings together groundbreaking essays that speak to the relationship between Asian American feminisms, feminist of color work, and transnational feminist scholarship. This collection, featuring work by both senior and rising scholars, considers topics including the politics of visibility, histories of Asian American participation in women of color political formations, accountability for Asian American “settler complicities” and cross-racial solidarities, and Asian American community-based strategies against state violence as shaped by and tied to women of color feminisms. Asian American Feminisms and Women of Color Politics provides a deep conceptual intervention into the theoretical underpinnings of Asian American studies; ethnic studies; women's, gender, and sexual studies; as well as cultural studies in general.

Harris-Perry, M. V. (2011). Sister Citizen. Yale University Press.

Jezebel's sexual lasciviousness, Mammy's devotion, and Sapphire's outspoken anger—these are among the most persistent stereotypes that black women encounter in contemporary American life. Hurtful and dishonest, such representations force African American women to navigate a virtual crooked room that shames them and shapes their experiences as citizens. Many respond by assuming a mantle of strength that may convince others, and even themselves, that they do not need help. But as a result, the unique political issues of black women are often ignored and marginalized. In this groundbreaking book, Melissa V. Harris-Perry uses multiple methods of inquiry, including literary analysis, political theory, focus groups, surveys, and experimental research, to understand more deeply black women's political and emotional responses to pervasive negative race and gender images. Not a traditional political science work concerned with office-seeking, voting, or ideology, Sister Citizen instead explores how African American women understand themselves as citizens and what they expect from political organizing. Harris-Perry shows that the shared struggle to preserve an authentic self and secure recognition as a citizen links together black women in America, from the anonymous survivors of Hurricane Katrina to the current First Lady of the United States.

Hazarika, A. (2017). Walk the Talk : Women, Work, Equity, Effectiveness: Vol. First Edition. Sage Publications Pvt. Ltd.

If we recognize that economic growth requires the efficient allocation of resources, then how can half of the world's population be prevented from making a full contribution? We acknowledge that women are different, yet fail to realize their potential as equals. We accept that women need to be empowered, yet debate who should take the lead and who the stakeholders are. This book grows directly out of the personal challenges the author grappled with, the conversations she has had with women in a variety of settings, and the constructive debates with corporate representatives and policy planners on how the process of change should be initiated. It asserts that the responsibility of enhancing gender diversity at the workplace does not lie entirely with the companies, although much work needs to be done by them, but with several stakeholders—the government, NGOs, men, and women themselves—all of whom need to work together to bring about an equitable environment for women at the workplace. When these stakeholders operate in isolation they are less effective; they add greater value when networked. This book is a must-read for those who would like to walk the talk and suggests how together we can ensure equity with effectiveness. It provides ideas and agenda for action to create an ecosystem of empowerment.

Johnson, J. M. (2022). Queer & Trans Advocacy in the Community College. Information Age Publishing.

LGBTQ+ advocacy and support continues to be a priority in the U.S. higher education, and recent research shows this as a critical population who continues to be marginalized and mistreated on college and university campuses. Over the last few decades there has been significant research describing how LGBTQ students experience higher education and highlighting that these students are not graduating or succeeding at the same rates as the general population. However, few if any research studies or articles address LGBTQ advocacy on community college campuses. There are more than 1,000 community colleges in the U.S. Even with the extraordinary number of students that the community college system educates, approximately 15 institutions nationally have paid staff to provide LGBTQ services to students. That being said, community colleges are now putting a larger emphasis on understanding and supporting this community. For example, The California Community College (CCC) system's 116 colleges now require all campuses to create a plan on how to improve success rates of LGBTQ+ students. The CCC is the largest higher education system in the country serving over 2 million students. This comprehensive practitioner focused book will combine relevant research and guidance on practices to aid colleges in establishing services and programs to build effective LGBTQ+ services on their college campuses.

Mock, J. (2014). Redefining Realness : My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More: Vol. First Atria books hardcover edition. Atria Books.

In her profound and courageous New York Times bestseller, Janet Mock establishes herself as a resounding and inspirational voice for the transgender community—and anyone fighting to define themselves on their own terms.With unflinching honesty and moving prose, Janet Mock relays her experiences of growing up young, multiracial, poor, and trans in America, offering readers accessible language while imparting vital insight about the unique challenges and vulnerabilities of a marginalized and misunderstood population. Though undoubtedly an account of one woman's quest for self at all costs, Redefining Realness is a powerful vision of possibility and self-realization, pushing us all toward greater acceptance of one another—and of ourselves—showing as never before how to be unapologetic and real.

Stevenson, B. (2013). The Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins : Justice, Gender, and the Origins of the LA Riots. Oxford University Press.

Helicopters patrolled low over the city, filming blocks of burning cars and buildings, mobs breaking into storefronts, and the vicious beating of truck driver Reginald Denny. For a week in April 1992, Los Angeles transformed into a cityscape of rage, purportedly due to the exoneration of four policemen who had beaten Rodney King. It should be no surprise that such intense anger erupted from something deeper than a single incident. In The Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins, Brenda Stevenson tells the dramatic story of an earlier trial, a turning point on the road to the 1992 riot. On March 16, 1991, fifteen-year-old Latasha Harlins, an African American who lived locally, entered the Empire Liquor Market at 9172 South Figueroa Street in South Central Los Angeles. Behind the counter was a Korean woman named Soon Ja Du. Latasha walked to the refrigerator cases in the back, took a bottle of orange juice, put it in her backpack, and approached the cash register with two dollar bills in her hand-the price of the juice. Moments later she was face-down on the floor with a bullet hole in the back of her head, shot dead by Du. Joyce Karlin, a Jewish Superior Court judge appointed by Republican Governor Pete Wilson, presided over the resulting manslaughter trial. A jury convicted Du, but Karlin sentenced her only to probation, community service, and a $500 fine. The author meticulously reconstructs these events and their aftermath, showing how they set the stage for the explosion in 1992. An accomplished historian at UCLA, Stevenson explores the lives of each of these three women-Harlins, Du, and Karlin-and their very different worlds in rich detail. Through the three women, she not only reveals the human reality and social repercussions of this triangular collision, she also provides a deep history of immigration, ethnicity, and gender in modern America. Massively researched, deftly written, The Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins will reshape our understanding of race, ethnicity, gender, and-above all-justice in modern America.