About the Book
Tyree Turner, a Detroit High School, All City All Star basketball MVP, recent University of Michigan scholarship awardee, model student, community member, son and brother, always does what is expected of him.
Raised in substance abuse treatment programs since a young boy, no one would think in a million years that Tyree would involve himself with drugs in any way. This makes him the perfect drug runner according to Uncle Tony," a local dealer who uses his video store as a front for his drug operations. In Uncle Tony's mind, the plan is perfect except Tyree would need a little convincing.
Uncle Tony has his work cut out for him if he intends to get Tyree to see things his way. The local "poster boy" for the Bureau of Substance abuse is well respected among adults, educators and peers as much as he is on the basketball court.
Uncle Tony devises a plan to manipulate Tyree into a contract using his nephew Jamal, who is also Tyree's former teammate and current classmate. When slyly offered, Tyree accepts money from Jamal not understanding that on the street, when money is accepted, it's contract that can't be broken. There is a debt to be paid.
Stuck in a situation he can't get out of, Tyree is forced into make some very serious decisions and has to accept responsibility for his choices, but to what degree? Find out in this thought provoking, emotion-packed story, where readers find themselves rooting for the protagonist with hope, praying that he makes the right choices.
In the end, readers are encouraged to place themselves in Tyree's shoes, identify traps, and suggest ways he could have avoided them. They are also challenged to apply the same to their own lives - identify their own personal traps and determine how to avoid them.
They are encouraged to take education and learning seriously and to seek viable alternatives when traditional education doesn't meet their needs or is not conducive to their growth and development - to stand strong while facing adversity and avoid drug or alcohol when dealing with frustrations.
While the target audience for this heart-felt story is young-adult, the messages within are universal. Parents, students and teachers are encouraged to read it.
About the Author :
Lawrence "Baba" Kenyatta dedicates his adult life to working in the field of substance abuse prevention, treatment and recovery. Having witnessed first-hand the devastation that drug abuse and the drug culture and lifestyle has devastated inner-city America. As a Certified Substance abuse Therapist, Prevention Consultant and Family Life Educator, Baba has worked throughout the State of Michigan educating individuals, families and communities about the negative consequences of alcohol, tobacco and drug/substance abuse. Baba Kenyatta has prevented young people from becoming involved with drug abuse, assisted adults with overcoming their addictions and helped to restore families from drug and alcohol addiction. The founder of Real Brothers, Inc., a non-profit organization that provides after school programs for young men, Baba Kenyatta currently services young men attending Central High School, where he helps them develop positive self-esteem, self-concept, dignity, pride and encourages them to serve their communities. Lawrence Baba Kenyatta is considered an expert on the topic of male responsibility. Working with the Detroit Public School System, Baba has tutored and mentored hundreds of young Men toward achieving their educational goals circumventing the school-to-prison pipeline, redirecting them toward higher education, skilled trades and entrepreneurship. As a trained conflict resolution facilitator, Lawrence has intervened working with gangs and neighborhood rivalries to avoid conflicts and to resolve issues peacefully. Beth "Batyah" Roberts is a Author, Publisher, Speaker and humanitarian. Her work in criminal justice has won national awards with programs she helped to establish serving populations in the largest county jail system in Michigan. It is during that time that she published her first book, "Batyah's Real Ease - One Woman's Journey Out" an autobiographical book of poems and prose about the personal experience of a mixed race child born in the sixties to a white mother who marries a man in the KKK when the child is five years old. The book details the author's life of love, hell, healing and restoration and was adopted as mandatory reading in local substance abuse treatment centers and incorporated in the jails by request from counselors working with men sentenced for domestic violence related crimes and women sentenced for street-level prostitution. Her written work helped these men learn and understand intrinsically, true love, which is not violent, and truth, which is liberating and empowering. The universal messages in the stanzas crossed all barriers, particularly religions. After presenting a piece before a large body to include multiple faith leaders from various religious sects, all stood in line to share with me how deeply her work touched them. Her work speaks to the hearts and minds of her readers, who uniquely and intimately identify with her and find solace in her words. Batyah established Batyah and Associates Publishing in 2004 to self-publish. It wasn't until she attended Full Sail University, graduating with awards, with a BS-Creative Writing for Entertainment in 2016, that she decided to publish the work of others and establish a platform for ethnic, disenfranchised writers who seek true representation of their written work in graphics and cover designs. Her first opportunity came in April 2018 when she was approached by Lawrence, Baba Kenyatta to publish his book, and here we are partaking in the first (of many) bonafide projects published by Batyah & associates publishing. Having worked with Lawrence Kenyatta in the past, seeing her own children grow up in prevention programs under his guidance, she was honored when she was asked to work with him on this project. "Once I got in and started editing, I knew it was a hit, I was becoming emotionally involved. Then, one night Baba and I were on the phone discussing the main character. Having somehow fallen in love with the boy, I saw a better outcome for him and pleaded with Baba to allow me to write a better ending where he learns his lesson and still comes out on top. Baba wasn't hearing it. He raised his voice at me and sternly said, "TYREE MADE A DECISION, HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING WHEN HE MADE IT! HE HAS TO FACE THE CONSEQUENCES OF HIS DECISION! It was though we were his parents, Baba his father and I the coddling mother. The emotional involvement was the true indication that this book will definitely connect with readers, for which I am eternally grateful." The Editor/Publisher seeks to publish works that are designed to uplift and inspire humanity, with special focus on writers of color who write with for and on purpose.
Review :
The title of this work, "When the Streets Call, Don't Answer" is a powerful statement/assessment and truly words of wisdom to the wise. I was intrigued by the title and felt I was in for a rollercoaster ride through the street culture. After reading the dedications, I saw where the author was leading us, and I tried to become as objective a reader as possible. It was an emotional, yet very instructive incursion into the life of a conflicted young person.
The unfolding story of life-choices around a star athlete are compelling. As most of us know, many of the superior athletes come from very humble backgrounds. We are from poverty-stricken neighborhoods, crime and drug-ridden sectors of the cities, oftentimes from single-parent and struggling families, incarcerated parent(s), low-income homes, warehouses being introduced to us as schools, administrators that don't give a care about the students, privateers and capitalists, just to name a few of the obstacles young men face growing up in America. Our author draws us into the narrative with the portrait of a young man who has it all in front of him and all he must do is make the right choices.
He has the support network needed to be successful, a fantastic mind, a loving parent and coach and teammates who respect him. However, he lacks that 'almighty dollar' that has led many astray. Decisions, decisions, and he made a few that benefitted him, and some, not so good.
I applaud the work of the author in his real life; his many years of trying to uplift the downtrodden, the youth, the victims of the street life; including drug distribution and use and alcohol addition, along with many of the other addictive patterns we take on in our daily lives. He offers hope to all willing to make correct decisions, seek wise counsel, and dare to stay focused on their future.
To the young reader, I repeat his admonition; when the streets call, I hope you hear the busy signal, as you go about building a solid future for yourself and those to follow. The rewards are too numerous to count and the resultant life is a gift to self for not allowing your decisions to pull you down into the various gutters of life; prison, homelessness, loss of family, freedom and self-pride.
Please share this message with all the young men you know and encourage them to read this work and help them apply the lessons to their own lives.
Namaste` (I salute the divinity in you)
Nuumo Taalib El Amin, African History Lecturer
