4 Books Published by Sabayt Publications on AALBC — Book Cover Collage

It was the sixties. Everything was changing. People were demanding freedom of every kind. Freedom from racism, from the war in Vietnam, from sexism, from police brutality, from college courses that ignored the achievements of everyone except those of European descent. So, why not, also, the freedom to marry whomever you choose?

In 1965, before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the ban on mixed marriages was unconstitutional, in many states it was a crime to marry “outside your race.” And less than 1% of Americans chose to commit that crime. This is the story of how I came to defy that ridiculous law.

Janet Cheatham Bell’s riveting memoir recounts her experiences coming of age as an African American girl in Indianapolis during the 1930s to the mid-1960s. In taut chapters, Bell introduces the reader to a life defined largely by race and racial discrimination. She begins with her birth in 1937 and her parents’ early struggles after relocating to Indianapolis from Tennessee. Bell describes her first job as a maid in a wealthy white household and her humiliating experiences at a "white" high school. She describes experiences of racism at Indiana University and how she copes with personal tragedy that she is able to overcome.

Devoid of hyperbole or the trauma that defines so many memoirs, particularly those of celebrities, the strength and appeal of Bell’s memoir lies in her direct, but personal tone, and her deft use of anecdotes. "I think of myself as ordinary," writes Bell, "but the lives of ordinary people are not identical, and the details of those lives are worth knowing.

These essays will rock your mind and nurture your soul They are about identifying and using the power we have as members of the American body politic to work together for our common good. The essays also emphasize our mutual dependency and cover a range of topics from personal and spiritual development to issues that impact our interactions with one another in the public sphere: the environment, economics, entertainment, mass transit, politics, and race relations.

An inspiring and provocative collection of personal essays about the author’s life experiences. This very popular title sold more than 50,000 copies when it was initially published in 1996. Now revised and updated, the essays are divided into sections like, “Being Black, Being Educated,” “Cherishing Family,” “Knowing Who You Are,” “Living Long and Well,” and “Risking the Unknown.”