Christopher was born in Washington, DC. He is in the band and plays the tuba, also called the Sousaphone. He is also a Reach tutor. He goes to Simon Elementary School and tutors 2nd and 3rd graders. He is an AVID student and a member of the Ballou Story Project.
BOOKS BY CHRISTOPHER
ISBN: 978-0692455388
2015 INDIEFAB Finalist: YA Nonfiction Book of the Year
2015 INDIEFAB Finalist: Child Author Book of the Year
Proceeds from book sales go to a Ballou HS scholarship fund and to empower new authors.
Through the course of a historic year of civil unrest and the emergence of the #BlackLivesMatter Movement, thirty teen writers from Frank W. Ballou High School in Washington, DC came together to take part in this national conversation about race, inequality, violence, and justice. Through their powerful, personal stories these writers intend to Change the Narrative about youth of color. We are not thugs, they say. We are not victims. We are big sisters and sports stars, academic strivers and everyday heroes. We speak out for justice. We dream big dreams. These writers want more for themselves, more for their community, more for their generation. And they are challenging their readers to listen, and to recognize in each story a common humanity worthy of dignity, support, and respect. This riot of voices must be heard. Learn more.
ISBN: 978-0692309568
Proceeds from book sales go to a Ballou HS scholarship fund and to empower new authors.
"Your Story Is Your Strength." This is the mantra that emerged from a six-month writing project at Ballou High School in Washington, DC, in which eleven dedicated freshmen and six determined seniors told their stories of ambition and struggle in what came to be known as The Ballou Story Project. Together their poignant, powerful voices come together to tell a collective story of How To Grow Up Like Me, a kind of instruction manual for determination, grit, and daily acts of hope and courage.
NONPROFIT PARTNER
Ballou High School is located "East of the River," in Ward 8, SE Washington, DC. The Ballou Story Project series provides a platform for these students to tell their own stories on their own terms and act as leaders in their community. Learn more.
REVIEWS
See! This book right here demonstrates how a movement should be constructed. Instead of focusing on the negative people within a community who often times get the publicity for their actions, it's best to demonstrate to others, especially minorities and those of low economic status, that there are individuals out there who are trying their best to change their outcome. Our lives matter showed me, a fellow African, that there are kids in inner cities who are going against the status quo of doing or selling drugs, getting pregnant or just not caring about life. It was refreshing and sad to see that some of these teens had to grow up quickly because of their parents and their situations.
The common theme through “Our Lives Matter” is one of hope and determination. These teenagers refuse to be judged and pigeonholed, offering their stories to emphasize their differences, their commonalities, their dreams and their commitment to education and change. Through it all forms a thread of hope that the new generation will make the world a better place and fight the barriers that keep us separated.
–Louisiana Book News
Mini essays by a bunch of high school students about their hopes, dreams, aspirations, and pasts. Highly enjoyable read, and very timely too.
--John, goodreads reviewer and Indiefab award judge
Literally one hour after I had cataloged and displayed the book How to Grow up Like Me by The Ballou Story Project in our middle school library, it was seized upon by an 8th grade boy who is a reluctant reader, and to my knowledge, had only checked out one other book while in middle school. He made an instant connection with the honest and powerful stories written inside. This student ran down to show the book to his reading teacher and, according to her, he is absolutely captivated and now can’t wait to come to class to read the stories and hear the voices of these courageous authors. This is a great victory. Thank you for sharing this inspiring collection with our students. This is real. This is life-changing. -- Librarian, Hardy Middle School, Washington, DC
“I was so inspired by the powerful stories published by your students from Ballou! The narrative is so similar to my students here in Memphis and so many kids from urban school districts around the country. There is a need for a writing project like this in Memphis. Our students just don’t have as many opportunities as they should to express how they feel and to be listened to.” -- Teach for America Instructor, Memphis, TN
ISBN: 978-1945434006
Proceeds from book sales go to a Ballou HS scholarship fund and to empower new authors.
The students of Ballou High School know a different Washington, DC than do the more than 18 million tourists who visit our nation’s capital each year. They live in Southeast DC, across the Anacostia River, and the tour buses don’t go through their neighborhoods. Some travel guides explicitly call the communities East of the River “areas to avoid.” Even some residents of the District don’t often visit Wards 7 and 8, as the river acts as not only a literal boundary, but a metaphorical one. The bridge that should connect these two Washingtons is all too rarely crossed.
The statistics about poverty or crime or violence in this community tell such a limited story, and it’s not the only story to tell. Those statistics should not build a wall that hides the humanity on the other side. Young people grow up in these neighborhoods, often too quickly, facing adult challenges too young. But they also grow up as all young people do: with joy. With talent. With pride. With love for their families, both biological and chosen. With style and humor and ambition and charm. For them, Southeast DC, and their own Ballou High School, is more than the headlines that others write -- it is home. And for the educators who work with these young people every day, they know that the stories we tell--and hear--about ourselves make all the difference.
This is why we write. These are the stories not on the tour. As one student put it, “[Come] to my side of town and... see what’s monuments to me.” Meet these Humans of Ballou, both student and educator, who speak up not only for their school and their neighborhood, but for the many communities across the country who need to be seen and heard, on their own terms.
Humans of Ballou is the third volume of The Ballou Story Project, a program that provides a platform for these students to tell their own stories and act as leaders in their community. Learn more.