Böcker av Tina Jones Williams

To fully understand the gifts of the present and the promises of the future, it's necessary to look back at the realities of the past. For a Black family, courage, hope, and despair in just the right measure can lead to the unthinkable. It was 1943, and it's likely our parents had never thought seriously about leaving home until they had children of their own. It's likely, until they saw the future through the eyes of their children, they had made peace with substandard housing, education, and lack of opportunity. But when they had children of their own, they gathered their courage and hope, set aside despair, and made the move. Theirs was the first generation, as part of the Great Migration, to settle in mass outside of the South. They had hoped Berkeley, California would be different, but they were welcomed only in South Berkeley, in an all-Colored, working-class neighborhood where they faced many problems they had left behind. Fast forward to 1970. We were the Affirmative Action generation. We graduated from high school in record numbers. Many the first in our family to attend college. Many of us were the first to flourish in jobs on a career-track. We walked the fine line of assimilation, all while reveling in and celebrating our Blackness. But others, who were not Black or did not celebrate Blackness continued to sing the anti-Black, hate-filled songs embedded in the soundtrack of America. And so it went, until the summer of 2021 as we tried to make sense of 2020, the years that led to it, and assessed our culpability. Tacitly we accept that it's time to relinquish the reins to the next generations. While we are held captive by years of experience, they are unencumbered by probabilities and see only possibilities. While we are looking back, their eyes are squarely set on the future. With untested skills and abilities, they execute on ideas that are beyond our imagination. We recognize that with untested skills and abilities they conjure up and execute on ideas that are beyond our imagination. Like us and those who came before, they are accustomed to firsts

Sara's Song: Bolstered by Hope ...a segregated train ride is only the beginning.More than anything Sara hoped her life on Julia Street would be a sweet melody, but fate had more of a haunting refrain in mind.After leaving Chicago behind, Sara and husband Ben Jameson settled into an all Black South Berkeley working-class neighborhood that sat in the shadow of the affluent East Berkeley Hills. They had left behind everyone and everything they knew and loved to go to a place they had never been. Armed with hope, Sara and family faced two wars, social injustice, economic challenges, personal sorrow, and harsh life lessons. Ultimately, they were defined by their unflagging hope, enduring friendships, strong neighborhood connections, and opportunities beyond their wildest dreams. Sara's Song, The Julia Street Series Book 1 lovingly spans 1940's - 1960's

Perfect Pitch: Galvanized by Grace.People thought Mr. Gregory had seen everything. He knew he hadn't. For seven decades, Mr. Gregory bore witness to history unfolding right before his eyes from his shop in his beloved South Berkeley neighborhood. His father had opened the cleaners before he was born and Mr. Gregory had joined him as soon as he was old enough to see over the counter. There was no place he would rather be. He had watched as businesses opened around him, all owned by Colored people- a medical practice, a pharmacy whose pharmacist went on to become a politician in Washington, D.C., a dental office, two beauty salons, a record shop, and the list went on. Those days had been South Berkeley's heyday and it had done Mr. Gregory's heart good to see Colored people owning businesses and buying homes in the neighborhood. But every silver lining has a cloud and a dark cloud descended on South Berkeley, bringing crime, drugs, and personal heartache. But, Mr. Gregory clung to Sara Jameson's words: "We fall from grace, but we always get up."Perfect Pitch, The Julia Street Series Book 3 lovingly spans 1943 through today.

Dance or Get Out: Unfettered by Fears ... a segregated train ride is only the beginning.She should have seen it coming.Life was becoming increasingly complicated for Sara Jameson in South Berkeley. She watched her neighborhood change as beloved neighbors and shop owners moved out and their replacements moved in. Life was moving too fast and spinning out of control as personal worries, neighborhood concerns, and world conditions became more tumultuous. But most disheartening was the widening gulf between her and her husband. When she and Ben had chosen one another, Sara had believed the choice had been made once and for all, but Ben continued choosing. Sara was facing fears she had never imagined and found herself dancing as fast as she could.Dance Or Get Out, The Julia Street Series Book 2 lovingly spans 1960's through the 1990's