ABEN Books & Bookshop

ABEN Bookshop hosts titles written by previous speakers, board members, and community members. We hope that these books enrich your life and add to your work to promote African-centered education. 

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Visit the bookshop and enjoy selections:

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• From Our Board of Directors

• ABEN STEM Initiative Books

• From Our Speakers 

June 12, 2021

By Debra Watkins

Edited by Monica Utsey

Introduction by Anthony T. Browder 

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This book is for educators and students and for those who yearn to learn more about one country in Africa. During the 2020 pandemic (and in lieu of not being able to travel abroad), A Black Education Network (ABEN) did the next best thing. We created two virtual tours to Ghana, West Africa, so the children could virtually visit the land of their ancestors. Over 200 students and chaperones journeyed with us and it was transformational! Given the wondrous outcome, we decided the experience needed to be documented to make the tours available to all who love to travel and learn. We hope that you will find these pages inspiring and that they ignite a wanderlust for you to visit, either in-person or virtually, Africa!

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February 23, 2023

by Debra Watkins (Author), Najwa Yasmeen (Author), Naomi Martin (Author)

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When the pandemic in 2020 first shut down summer school for students throughout the country, A Black Education Network (ABEN) decided to partner with H.I.M. Tours of Ghana to offer a virtual tour of that country. We anticipated taking 100 students and their adult chaperones for five days at two hours per day via livestreaming from Ghana. The first tour held in July 2020 sold out in a few weeks so we offered a second one in August 2020 (it sold out, too, with 108 students plus their chaperones). We invited participants from both tours to submit reflections and pictures or illustrations. Even after the worse part of the pandemic had subsided, we decided to offer a virtual tour to NIgeria in July 2021 and hired talented Nonye Nwaru to serve as our guide. We published a book about that country as well. This is the third book in the series and it offers reflections and illustrations from students and their chaperones on our virtual tour to Kenya. Written for children as young as 8 years old, adults will also find the book interesting as they learn about the rich culture of Kenya with a focus on the Masai people and the rich animal kingdom the country is well known for. Teachers or others who would like to incorporate the tours into their curriculum can go to ABEN's website (aben4ace.org) and purchase the videos and study guides for each country. Just click on What We Do, then Virtual Tours.

May 17, 2022

By Debra Watkins

Edited by Najwa Yasmeen and Naomi Martin

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This book is for anyone interested in the African diaspora, and for those who yearn to learn more about one country on the continent of Africa. During the summer of the 2021 pandemic, A Black Education Network (ABEN) continued a tradition it had started the summer before when the organization organized its first virtual tours of Ghana. This time, we headed for Nigeria! The virtual tour was so informative that we decided to give students and their chaperones, who had traveled with us, an opportunity to share their experiences. Enjoy!

June 26, 2016

By Debra Watkins

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Follow the journey of an award-winning teacher and social activist of African ancestry who has positively affected the lives of thousands of multicultural students through programs and institutions that she has built. Prospective teachers as well as veterans and others who support students will learn much from this book. As the founder of an award-winning STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) program in the heart of Silicon Valley, the author shares just how she managed to send 100% of her Scholars of African ancestry to college where 90% graduate in four years with BA or BS degrees and 60% of those degrees are in STEM fields. That is about 8 times the national average for Black students. It can be done!