February was Black History Month and while there’s no shortage of Black people who are awe-inspiring, there’s a local woman making her own piece of history right here in Dayton. De’Shawna Yamini, a 2005 graduate of Sinclair and former coordinator of the African American Male Initiative (AAMI), is a new and upcoming author of her first book, “If She Can Do It, I Can Too!”
“We could write a children’s book, or there was another option,” Yamini said. “I chose to write the children’s book, “If She Can Do It, I Can Too.” It seemed like I was supposed to write it, I knew the women I wanted to write about.”
Yamini feels she was drawn to write this book and hopes to inspire young children to see that they can do or be anything they want to be. She hopes they read the book and see the women who paved the way and made it easier for them to achieve their goals. However, she notes that the book also talks about the struggles they went through as well.
“I wanted kids to see that some of these women had to overcome insurmountable obstacles and even leave the US to achieve their goals,” she said. “I want young people to see that ‘she made the path easier’ for them.”
The book features twelve women who have made their mark in Black history. Yamini began the book in 2018, when she wanted to encourage students at Sinclair to take African-American History courses, so she decided to take them alongside her AAMI students and earn the certificate as well. However, Yamini didn’t go straight to publishing after completing the book for class. She put it away for a while and forgot about it. Later on, she found it and let one of her students, Daniel Peoples III, take a copy and read it to his daughter, who loved it. He encouraged her to publish it.
“She [Skylarr Marsh] told me she had written a book. She texted me the information for Valerie Lewis-Coleman, who owns Queen Bee Publishing. I reached out to Valerie and took one of her workshops on how to self-publish,” said Yamini. “I used the photos of the women but realized it could be a licensing issue and realized I need an illustrator.”
This led her to Ayzha Middlebrooks, a Sinclair graduate and former employee of The Clarion. Middlebrooks was the executive editor during her time at The Clarion, and while there, began to develop her skills in graphic design in her free time. Originally, Yamini had hired a young man to do the illustrations but wondered if she might be able to find a young black woman to do it. Yamini took to Facebook and that’s where she saw some work of Middlebrooks. After some back-and-forth messaging, Middlebrooks was hired as the illustrator for the book; she notes that it’s very surreal seeing her work in a published book.
“It hasn’t fully processed in my mind yet, I know it’s going to happen but when I’m working I’m focused on making the illustrations as good as they can be,” said Middlebrooks. “When I got the link to the Amazon version and saw my name, it felt weird. It’s a great accomplishment. When I was younger my dream was to write books and illustrate them.”
“If She Can Do It, I Can Too!” releases on Feb. 15. Those who wish to purchase a copy can do so through her website directly, at https://www.ifshecandoit.me/, or through Amazon for Kindle. Those that order also have a chance of getting a signed copy.
Jeri Hensley
Managing Editor