What's the one area from your past that you keep getting your flesh caught in over and over again? Where are you still wounded and bleeding? The good news is that the most unanticipated and rewarding turns in the story often start with the ugliest beginnings. Growing Up Ugly is an inspirational coming-of-age memoir that traces the upbringing of a painfully shy child with chronically low self-esteem-a Black boy reprimanded for daydreaming too much and raised in a struggling inner-city New York neighborhood-who eventually grew to become an artist, a leading educator, and an award-winning scholar. In this new release from Simple Word Publications, author James Haywood Rolling, Jr. composes a rich canvas of raw vignettes, family photos, original illustrations and poems in order to sketch a candid self-portrait that details: *His upbringing as the first-born son and namesake of Jim Rolling, a talented professional artist-and a domineering father. *The unexpected personal consequences of being bused to school daily from his home in a racially segregated area of Crown Heights to the predominantly white neighborhood of Sheepshead Bay on the other side of Brooklyn at the start of the controversial school choice vs. public education debate and during the first efforts to desegregate schools across New York City in the early 1970s. *How being identified and tracked since elementary school as a gifted student contributed to a dangerously distorted view of himself and his own capabilities-until God intervened. No matter who or what first made you feel ugly, here is storytelling that elevates its readers beyond their own scars, social anxiety, or low self-esteem. This is a book for anyone who has ever been underestimated, bullied, abused, or simply overlooked. It's time to re-imagine your way from daydreams to destiny. Growing Up Ugly makes a great gift for any family raising African American children, for anyone committed to mentoring Black boys, or anyone teaching and serving in marginalized and under-resourced communities. An in-depth reflection on the power to reshape how one's presence is seen and felt in the world, this book is also an ideal addition to libraries serving multicultural populations!
James Haywood Rolling, Jr. is Dual Professor of Arts Education and Teaching and Leadership, and an affiliated faculty member in African American Studies at Syracuse University. Dr. Rolling has been elected as the 37th President of the National Art Education Association (NAEA) beginning his term in 2021, and currently serves as the inaugural Chair of the new NAEA Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Commission. A member of the 2017 class of NAEA Distinguished Fellows, Dr. Rolling served as the Senior Editor of Art Education journal from 2015-2017 and is also a 2018 graduate of the School for Art Leaders, a flagship professional development program of NAEA supporting art + design educators in their quest to excel as leaders. In 2021, Dr. Rolling will add an additional role to his creative leadership responsibilities as a new member of the Board of Trustees at the Everson Museum of Art. The author of dozens of peer-reviewed articles and papers, numerous book chapters, encyclopedia entries, and books on the subjects of the arts, education, creativity and human identity, Dr. Rolling continues to expand the reach of his message about the social origins of our common creativity while advocating for the development of each individual's unique creative superpowers, especially those typically overlooked among the children of marginalized and under-resourced communities.
Show moreWhat's the one area from your past that you keep getting your flesh caught in over and over again? Where are you still wounded and bleeding? The good news is that the most unanticipated and rewarding turns in the story often start with the ugliest beginnings. Growing Up Ugly is an inspirational coming-of-age memoir that traces the upbringing of a painfully shy child with chronically low self-esteem-a Black boy reprimanded for daydreaming too much and raised in a struggling inner-city New York neighborhood-who eventually grew to become an artist, a leading educator, and an award-winning scholar. In this new release from Simple Word Publications, author James Haywood Rolling, Jr. composes a rich canvas of raw vignettes, family photos, original illustrations and poems in order to sketch a candid self-portrait that details: *His upbringing as the first-born son and namesake of Jim Rolling, a talented professional artist-and a domineering father. *The unexpected personal consequences of being bused to school daily from his home in a racially segregated area of Crown Heights to the predominantly white neighborhood of Sheepshead Bay on the other side of Brooklyn at the start of the controversial school choice vs. public education debate and during the first efforts to desegregate schools across New York City in the early 1970s. *How being identified and tracked since elementary school as a gifted student contributed to a dangerously distorted view of himself and his own capabilities-until God intervened. No matter who or what first made you feel ugly, here is storytelling that elevates its readers beyond their own scars, social anxiety, or low self-esteem. This is a book for anyone who has ever been underestimated, bullied, abused, or simply overlooked. It's time to re-imagine your way from daydreams to destiny. Growing Up Ugly makes a great gift for any family raising African American children, for anyone committed to mentoring Black boys, or anyone teaching and serving in marginalized and under-resourced communities. An in-depth reflection on the power to reshape how one's presence is seen and felt in the world, this book is also an ideal addition to libraries serving multicultural populations!
James Haywood Rolling, Jr. is Dual Professor of Arts Education and Teaching and Leadership, and an affiliated faculty member in African American Studies at Syracuse University. Dr. Rolling has been elected as the 37th President of the National Art Education Association (NAEA) beginning his term in 2021, and currently serves as the inaugural Chair of the new NAEA Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Commission. A member of the 2017 class of NAEA Distinguished Fellows, Dr. Rolling served as the Senior Editor of Art Education journal from 2015-2017 and is also a 2018 graduate of the School for Art Leaders, a flagship professional development program of NAEA supporting art + design educators in their quest to excel as leaders. In 2021, Dr. Rolling will add an additional role to his creative leadership responsibilities as a new member of the Board of Trustees at the Everson Museum of Art. The author of dozens of peer-reviewed articles and papers, numerous book chapters, encyclopedia entries, and books on the subjects of the arts, education, creativity and human identity, Dr. Rolling continues to expand the reach of his message about the social origins of our common creativity while advocating for the development of each individual's unique creative superpowers, especially those typically overlooked among the children of marginalized and under-resourced communities.
Show moreJames Haywood Rolling, Jr. is Dual Professor of Arts Education and Teaching and Leadership, and an affiliated faculty member in African American Studies at Syracuse University. Dr. Rolling has been elected as the 37th President of the National Art Education Association (NAEA) beginning his term in 2021, and currently serves as the inaugural Chair of the new NAEA Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Commission. A member of the 2017 class of NAEA Distinguished Fellows, Dr. Rolling served as the Senior Editor of Art Education journal from 2015-2017 and is also a 2018 graduate of the School for Art Leaders, a flagship professional development program of NAEA supporting art + design educators in their quest to excel as leaders. In 2021, Dr. Rolling will add an additional role to his creative leadership responsibilities as a new member of the Board of Trustees at the Everson Museum of Art. The author of dozens of peer-reviewed articles and papers, numerous book chapters, encyclopedia entries, and books on the subjects of the arts, education, creativity and human identity, Dr. Rolling continues to expand the reach of his message about the social origins of our common creativity while advocating for the development of each individual's unique creative superpowers, especially those typically overlooked among the children of marginalized and under-resourced communities.
"A deeply moving and clear-eyed memoir filled with poetry, art and
most of all - love." Jacqueline Woodson - 2020 Winner of the
MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Grant; Former Library of Congress
National Ambassador for Young People's Literature "Growing Up Ugly
is a coming-of-age story that represents those most often unheard
and unseen. At the heart of Rolling's memoir is the weaving
together of multiple creative modes of expression to invite in
adolescent readers and to share stories with language, prose, and
illustrations that will resonate with generations to come. This
book should especially be introduced to male readers of color whose
identities and experiences are least represented in the field of
children's and adolescent literature. Growing Up Ugly signals a
turn toward more honest and authentic first-person accounts of the
Black male experience in America." Dr. Marcelle Haddix - Professor
of Literacy, Syracuse University; 2019 President, Literacy Research
Association "Once again the United States is being called upon to
take an unflinching look at what it means to be Black in America.
James Rolling has given us a gift; an honest account of his own
experience. Told in vignettes, photos, and original poetry, Growing
Up Ugly reveals the struggle with self-image and discovery of
purpose that marks every human life, but is particularly acute for
men of color. While the narrative of the African diaspora on this
continent remains unfinished, this poignant memoir adds to our
collective journey toward understanding and healing." Rev. John
Carter - Lead Pastor, Abundant Life, Syracuse, NY; Author of The
Transformed Life (Harrison House, 2014) "Rooted in poignant
personal experiences, Rolling's unflinching narrative and evocative
poems shed compelling insights into youth anxieties through the
lens of his own struggles with identity, appearance, friendships,
and a lifetime of racialized spaces and encounters. Candidly
sharing a series of short vignettes ranging from bouts with asthma,
bullying, abuse, a father's flaws, and shattered dreams, this
memoir is ultimately a tale of transcendence as an ugly duckling
becomes a swan. Growing Up Ugly is a transformative journey for
every adolescent, parent, and educator." Dr. Uzo Unobagha - ALA
Notable Book Award-winning Author of Off To The Sweet Shores of
Africa and Other Talking Drum Rhymes (2000) "James Rolling has
given the world the greatest of all gifts: HOPE, especially for
those of us whose personal histories have left us marginalized,
invisible, and without a healthy sense of self. Being the son of a
Mohawk mother, I have found my face in Rolling's memoir, Growing Up
Ugly. Yes, we have all been shaped by our personal histories. But
we can all be more than those histories. Rolling's incredible book
lights the way." H. Dale Lloyd - Author of October's Dying: The
Tragic Story of the North American Indigenous Peoples (2019) "In
Growing Up Ugly, Dr. James H. Rolling, Jr. allows his readers a few
precious moments inside the skin of a brilliant young man during
his most formative years. We begin to grasp the complicated roots
of his perceived ugliness. Yet from these roots, Rolling forges a
network of circuitous routes toward identity formation...Through
his art and his intellect, our protagonist discovers a voice that
has something to say to the world, and a beauty worth
beholding."
Dr. Sonny Kelly - Author of The Talk
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