Asante Sana, ‘Thank You’ Father James E. Groppi

About the Book

Forty years ago, thousands of Milwaukee residents marched for equal rights to join and participate in local organizations, receive equal and appropriate educational resources for their children, and live where they wanted. Thus, the purpose of the book, Asante Sana, ‘Thank You’ Father James E. Groppi is to commemorate and honor the Father James E. Groppi and the Milwaukee NAACP Youth Council/Commandos who unselfishly put their lives on line and made a significant difference in making Milwaukee’s history one that changed the livelihood for all living beings. Specifically, in the book: Asante Sana, ‘Thank You’ Father James E. Groppi, the author, who was one of the original founders of the Milwaukee NAACP Youth Council in 1964, poetically responds to some of the famous quotes of Father Groppi and the Milwaukee NAACP Youth Council members while they experienced life- threatening issues with racial discrimination in Milwaukee during the 1960’s. (Asante Sana, “Thank You” Father James E. Groppi by Dr. Shirley R. (Berry) Butler-Derge (2010).

About the Author

During her twenty-five successful years as a teacher, author, lecturer, and publisher, the author has received the following awards: Most Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award from the Wisconsin-Bell/ Ameritech, Most Outstanding High School Teacher of the Year Award from Metropolitan Milwaukee Alliance of Black School Educators (MMABSE), and the Black Excellence Award for Teaching from the Milwaukee Times and Channel 6. With her warm personality and great sense of humor, the author has the ability to tap into her students’ inner gifts and instill in them a lifelong passion for learning. She has written numerous innovative curriculum textbooks as well as urban classroom plays and ethnic poetry books. She has a BA in Education from The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, MA in Exceptional Education from The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Doctorate Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Sarasota and a founder and principal of an urban private high school, The Nzingha Institute of Creative Learning for Living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.