We are honored to announce The Worst First Day: Bullied While Desegregating Central High received the Children’s Book Award at the 2019 Indie Authors Legacy Awards (IALA)! What is most significant about receiving this award is the fact that a selection criterion is the impact the book has on the community. Essentially, the IALA acknowledges our efforts to share Elizabeth Eckford’s anti-bullying message this past year to schools and organizations across the nation. What a joy!

 Elizabeth is truly excited about this award! She said, “This is quite an honor. It truly encourages us to continue our outreach. I am proud that my story is making a difference.” 

The Worst First Day details Eckford’s harrowing experiences desegregating Central High in 1957. The civil rights primer with an anti-bullying focus is resonating with audiences across the country because it shares the courage of the members of the Little Rock Nine. Despite enduring physical, verbal and psychological abuse at the hand of their peers, they remained at Central High to help implement the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision ending desegregation. 

Due to her experiences, Elizabeth with keen insight regarding being bullied. She notes, “I speak out now to ensure students being bullied feel empowered and know they aren’t alone. I also want bystanders to know by reaching out and showing compassion, they can literally save someone’s life. The issue is truly that serious.”

The IALA, sponsored by Black Enterprise, is a much-coveted award. There were more than 8,000 international entries this year for the 21 nonfiction categories distributed June 29, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. Tishena Davis, CEO of Purposely Created Publishing Group, founded the IALA and ensured the award presentation was a true celebration of independent authors. Davis noted, “The Indie Author Legacy Awards is an empowerment initiative and revolutionary platform that is unparalleled in the independent author niche market.”

 According to Purposely Created, the Indie Author Legacy Awards (IALA) honors impact-centered writers who serve as unsung heroes within their communities. They celebrate the efforts of authors who use their gift of writing as a tool to influence others through community engagement, business ownership and generational legacy-building. Purposely Created Publishing Group produces the IALA. They are an international award-winning publishing firm, notably recognized for publishing books that raise social awareness, education and personal transformation. 

This is The Worst First Day’s third award for excellence. Others include the 2018 Moonbeam Gold Multicultural Nonfiction Award and The Pinnacle Award in Social Justice. We are grateful for the recognition and strive to continue to share our critical message. 

The Worst First Day is available on Amazon at bit.ly/worst1st.