Simply Cheris. . .

There are few books that are as relevant to today's times as Victoria Christopher Murray's Stand You Ground.    Released today, this book takes you inside the family of a black young man shot and killed by a white man, who uses the controversial stand your ground law as his defense. What's unique about this story is that Murray shows both sides of this tragedy. The heartbreak and pain of Janice Johnson, Marquis's mother, flows from the pages and right into your heart. There are moments in this book where you will weep. I'm talking ugly cry. Janice is torn on the public protests surrounding her son's death. What is a mother to do when she's hurting and the public wants her to speak out?  On the other side of the coin is the Spencer family. Meredith Spencer is married to the shooter, a wealthy white man who claims he was defending himself against Marquis. But Meredith knows more than she is brave enough to say about the deadly encounter. The Spencers have...

Victoria Christopher Murray is a prolific writer, publisher and all round amazing person. This month, Victoria will release a book that is ground breaking and an emotional tour-de-force. She explains to readers why she wrote this book in an open letter that makes you want to buy the book right now. Stand Your Ground will be released on June 30th, by the way. Why I Wrote STAND YOUR GROUND "Not again," were words that kept reverberating through my mind on February 15, 2014. We were just a few weeks away from the second anniversary of Trayon Martin's murder and as I watched the verdict come down in the first trial of Michael Dunn (the man who murdered Jordan Davis) I felt like this country was taking giant leaps backwards. It had happened again. While Michael Dunn had been found guilty of attempted murder, the jury couldn't reach a verdict on the murder charge for Jordan Davis's death. Of course my social media timelines blew up....

I think we should give Florida to Cuba. I love a lot of people in the Sunshine State, but I need y'all to move to Georgia, ASAP. Why should Florida be Cuba's? There are a myriad of reasons, but right now, I'm going to focus on the Jameis Winston situation . Florida State and Duke played the ACC Championship game in my city last night, the same week that a laughing and jovial Florida State alum , masquerading as a state's attorney said Winston would not be charged for sexual assault allegations that were lodged against him.  There was laughter. There were jokes. There were smiles. The news conference in which Florida state attorney Willie Meggs announced that Jameis Winston was not going to be charged with sexual battery was an extremely light-hearted affair. Everyone seemed so incredibly happy to be talking about an alleged sexual assault. Reporter: "Was there a sexual assault?" Meggs, laughing: "Well, that's kind of why we're here....