After experiencing and observing many years of visible and invisible racism, Minnie P. Stewart knew she needed to speak the truth. She and her family, like so many others, had been privately holding onto their family history. This memoiris her retelling and reflection on her and her family as they faced racism and oppression and the help they received from others as they themselves strived to serve.

Stewart wrote Hands within the Battle to preserve her family history. It will draw readers in as they learn the secrets of the smiles and the songs on the lips of Black Americans as they battle life’s stumbling blocks. It is a moving witness to the power of love and service to sustain a family through hardship.

About the Author

Minnie P. Stewart was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. She graduated from Jackson State College in 1970 with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. She received her first teaching position in 1970 in Waukegan, Illinois. She taught thirty years in Illinois public schools and in her hometown of Jackson from 2000-2003. She received many awards as a teacher, including the Golden Apple Award in 1998, and was named in Who’s Who Among American Teachers in 1996 and 1998.

Stewart is the mother of three adult children and grandmother to two wonderful grandsons. She lives in Rockford, Illinois, with her husband of forty-eight years.