Black Prep: Life Lessons of A Perpetual Outsider

by Kimberley Baker Guillemet

Overview

You're not good enough. 

 

You don't have to hear those exact words to get the message. That was certainly the case for Kimberley Baker Guillemet. In her intensely moving and deeply candid memoir, Black Prep, Guillemet chronicles her journey from the streets of South Los Angeles to the halls of some of the nation's most elite private schools and universities.

 

As a smart, scrappy, and determined young girl, Guillemet learned early in life the pain of being judged not by the content of her character, but by the color of her skin. Instead of allowing those experiences to defeat her, they only made her stronger.

 

Now a successful legal professional, instructor, mentor and mother of four, Guillemet shares her unique life experiences through poignant, comical, and sometimes heart-breaking stories. Filled with sound life lessons and practical advice, Black Prep is a roadmap for anyone seeking to navigate educational and social circles that are both uncomfortable and foreign to them.

 

Black Prep teaches readers not just how to survive in the face of adversity, but how to thrive. It is a must-read for parents, educators and young adults alike.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798985005318
Publisher:	Ransom & Baker Publishing House
Publication date:	12/01/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	242
File size:	823 KB
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

Table of Contents

Contents

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

1 A House Divided. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2 Death and Life in the Tongue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

3 Ready to Learn!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

4 Dancing Circles and Emotional Cycles of Rejection. . . . . . . 33

5 Going on a "Live-it". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

6 The Vultures Will Gather. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

7 Worries by Day, Bad Dreams by Night. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

8 Not an Around the Way Girl. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

9 (After) Sunday School Lessons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64

10 Girl in the Mirror. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70

11 The Road to Ascension Is Lined with Affliction. . . . . . . . . . .78

12 Short-Timer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88

13 "Don't Be Ashamed of Who You Are". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

14 Sister Friends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

15 Broken Hearts in "Perfect" Bodies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112

16 In a Race with Myself. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

17 Clarity through the Fire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

18 Drawn to the Flame. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132

19 All Things Are Beautiful in Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137

20 An Olive Branch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143

21 "Black Is Evil, So Is Yellow Too". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148

22 Revisionist History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

23 "You Need a Date". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

24 Semi-Formal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169

25 "You Didn't Ask Me to Be Your Girlfriend". . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173

26 Well-Coiffed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

27 D-Day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

28 It's Complicated. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Conclusion: Prepped. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197

Black Prep Discussion Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

Acknowledgements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231