Category Archives: Advance commentary

Deb Willis: ‘A remarkable book that informs and honors’

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Charles W. Thomas, photographer of Giving Back recently reached out to a respected and highly accomplished artist in the field of photography and asked that she preview our book and provide advance commentary. Given the range of demands on her schedule, we are honored that she dedicated time to read our book. And given her credentials as a photographic historian and expertise as a curator of photography, we are nourished by what she has written . . .

“Giving Back looks poignantly at the notion of giving. The meticulously edited narrative enlightens us about the idea of caring and sharing communities. From this book, one sees through Thomas’s photographs relationships marked by respect and honor. The text and photographs inform the reader about strength, in multiple perspectives.

“Through the rich photographs—which are full of spirit and beauty and enhanced by the framing of the subjects—we see Thomas’s respectful eye. Giving Back simply tells us that Black people care which is evidenced in the photographs and the narratives. This book is useful for anyone who is interested in philanthropy but also will be appreciated by people who have a love for portrait photography.

“Giving Back is a valuable resource and, in my view, will encourage others to reconsider what it means to give. 

It is a welcome addition to books promoting this field. I found the idea of the book stimulating, as it is a much-overlooked discussion. Fullwood and Thomas assembled a remarkable book that informs and honors. It enables us to imagine through the quotes, as the photographs illuminate and engage us about the pleasure of giving.
”


— Deborah Willis, Ph.D., author, historian, photographer, 2000 MacArthur genius award recipient and professor at New York University 

A Gem Indeed

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While previewing the manuscript for Giving Back, Ruby Bright, a foundation executive, told me, “I turn each page being filled with pride, hope, joy and love for my people.” That statement was compliment enough, then she sent the extended commentary below, which left me speechless.

Charles W. Thomas, Jr., photographer

“Never again will I frame my conversation on how African Americans give under the guises of ‘Black people give differently—our philanthropy is different because we primarily see giving through our faith.’ We give holistically!

“Valaida Fullwood’s Giving Back captivated me from the cover photo where I connected with the hands—memories of my grandmother’s skin—lined with dreams deferred and the promise of aspirations and achievement. Giving Back is indeed a form of personal engagement as well as deep conversation sharing. It is undeniably the missing formula to the roots of African American philanthropy.

“Simply stated, “Giving Back, through stories of everyday people aided with photography of the moment, is poignant and more of a revelation than any article or research publication on the topic of African American giving.

“Since reading Giving Back, from now on, I will tell my philanthropy story with pride and without excuses or apologies.”

— Ruby Bright, executive director, Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis

Cup Overflowing

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Generous advance praise continues to pour in for our forthcoming book Giving Back. Duke Energy Foundation President Stick Williams recently provided the following commentary:

“You just never know what will generate the spark that transforms a life, a community or a people. It might be that kind, encouraging word; or maybe ‘a couple of bucks to help you get by;’ how about the time that you spent with me sharing the secrets to your success; or, the scholarship that you gave privately so I could attend summer camp. You just never know what little thing (or great thing) will provide that inspiration for another to soar to higher heights.

Charles W. Thomas, Jr., photographer

“That message is loud and clear within Giving Back. It leaps out at you when you read the individual profiles that are provided by sons, daughters, mentees and admirers.  It is prevalent in the responses to the book’s probing questions. “Giving Back will be a great read for anyone who has an interest in making a difference!”

— Richard “Stick” Williams, president, Duke Energy Foundation

Sunshine Amidst Clouds

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Admittedly, I’ve got a thing for word clouds. (Wordle.net has altered my life!) Loving words and artful images, I can’t help but be enthralled when the two are combined—hence my book. Anyway, here is this week’s word cloud using the latest commentary from advance readers of Giving Back. A reminder that good things can shine through the cloudiest of days and moments. — VF

Wordle.net

A Mighty Cloud of Joy

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Wordle.net

This week’s word cloud using commentary from advance readers of Giving Back.

When Quiet Hopes Come

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Charles W. Thomas Jr., photographer

Selected advance readers of Giving Back have begun sharing their commentary on the book over the last week. With an easy willingness, both strangers and acquaintances known widely for intense work and demanding itineraries have, one by one, agreed to read my 400-page manuscript. That astounds me. And then, after reading the work, one responds with these words . . .

“Through a rich tapestry of voices and images, including inspirational interviews, stunning photographs, thoughtful commentary, and wide-ranging quotations, Giving Back captures the essence and generosity of African American donors as never before.  No one—including the leaders of non-profit organizations—could fail to be moved and enlightened by these vivid reminders of the potential of African American philanthropy.

“The book is beautiful and so inspirational, I now know what I will be getting everyone as a Christmas present!”

— Michele Minter, Vice President for Development, The College Board

Still over the moon.

— VF

Over the Moon

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Over the past week, I’ve begun receiving “advance commentary” on Giving Back. Selected readers of prominence, from across the country, have been more than generous with praise of the book’s stories and photography, and their affirmation means the world to me.

For more than four years, I was burrowed deeply in a writer’s hole and afflicted with a brutal case of tunnel vision in order to make this book happen. Making it happen meant not only generating the book’s content but also raising considerable funds and navigating the publishing industry, all of which were foreign to me.

Nevertheless, nothing could keep me from where my sights were cast. With remarkable clarity from the start, my mind’s eye held tight a vision that only sharpened over time. Though the vision was clear, the path was uncertain…really uncertain and seemingly treacherous at times. Trusting a gut sense while feeling my way through the dark and benefiting from gracious gestures made by Charles, family, friends and giving circle members helped move the book project forward.

After following a path that has tested every ounce of my soul and being, I’m sent higher than the sky to find that Giving Back can withstand the brightness outside the burrow and, in fact, shows best in the light of the wider world. When readers tell me they’ve seen, felt, thought and learned the things I long hoped someone…anyone…would, then it seems the years, the sacrifices and the times being misunderstood have been worth it.

Here’s one of the submissions from an advance reader that sent me flying over the moon:

“Astonishing . . . so beautiful, so deep and yet so inviting.

“Giving Back belongs in every American home, not just every home of Americans of African descent. Each page connects the readers and the children they love to generosity that God, the Declaration of Independence and our awe-inspiring Black forebears taught us all.  A visual triumph. A story that has not been told!”

— Dr. Claire Gaudiani, author of The Greater Good, Generosity Unbound and Daughters of the Democracy