Based on an incredible true story.
Yvonne graduated from the University of Michigan in Ann arbor with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. She acquired a Master of Education in Adult Education and Training, Master of Education in Curriculum Instruction and Literature Arts, and a Master of Science in Sports and Health Science. She is a life learner, and an avid fitness enthusiast.
Book Summary
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Yvonne moved back to her small hometown of Saginaw, Michigan. An extremely hard worker, her daughters attended private schools and participated in various activities such as swimming, gymnastics, violin lessons, dance, and tennis. When Elizabeth was diagnosed with Type I juvenile diabetes, their lives spiraled out of control and into utter chaos with racist and discriminatory reports of child abuse and neglect reported by Irene Hensinger the Principal of Handley Gifted School. The Saginaw School District’s Superintendent, Dr. Gerald Dawkins, African American, and the Saginaw Board of Education which had African Americans and Hispanic Americans on their board were completely complicit to the racism and medical non-compliance occurring at the school. Yvonne once called the model parent by Covenant Health Care Diabetes Management Team destroyed her daughter's medical records showing continuous excellent medical care and accused her of medical negligence and non-compliance. Police investigations, interrogations, arrest warrants, investigations by Child Protective Services, Family Independence Agency, Friend of the Court, and court room battles tested every fiber of Yvonne's being. However, the determined mother held true to her courage, tenacity, love, and devotion and fought for her family. Never Give Up proves that David can fight Goliath and prevail.
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Are your children worth fighting for?
Yvonne Lewis, M.Ed., M.Ed., M.S.
Long History of Racism
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Saginaw Michigan has a long history of discriminating against African American children. Honestly, discriminating against African Americans. These children attending Handley Gifted School in kindergarten parents were informed they failed and recommended retention. The parents’ perplexed by this decision, knew their children did not deserve to fail. There is a mandatory entrance examination every student must pass to attend. These children passed with excellent scores, parent teacher meetings did not reflect retention, homework assignments did not reflect retention, test scores did not reflect retention, report cards did not reflect retention, but yet these children failed. The teachers and principal conspired against these gifted children’s removal from the school. Most parents opted to remove their children from this hostile racist environment and signed the documentation for retention of their child if the decision was made to continue. I chose to fight for my daughter, and I would do it again. In addition, African American children were placed on Ritalin a mind-altering drug as young as six years old when deemed hyperactive. These children could only attend if they were taking this potent drug. The goal was to destroy these children and make them believe they were not smart or good enough to attend these schools. I remember when I was a little girl the racism I experienced from my first-grade teacher, Mrs. Tap. I vowed if I ever had children, I would fight for them no matter what and that is what this book represents. Now I am asking you this question. Is your child worth fighting for?