OFF THE PRESS

Several thousand letters from students to the president of the United States and his responses are featured in "Obama Talks Back: Global Lessons -- A Dialogue with America's Young Leaders" by Detroit attorney Gregory Reed, CEO and founder of the Keeper of the Word Foundation. The young people's letters reveal their concerns for peace, healthcare, freedom, education, poverty, religious tolerance, love, materialism, and equality in America. They also address concerns including immigration issues, crime, poverty, global climate change, economic issues, racism, war, religion, same-sex marriage and discrimination. In the letters, President Obama talks of global lessons or universal lessons of change taught to him by his mother and discoveries from leaders like Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Franklin Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela. He speaks as to how these lessons can transform the lives of youths by adopting the values of perseverance, power of one, confidence, purpose, sacrifice, patience, unity, integrity, courage, dignity, selflessness, and commitment. The book was inspired from the award winning book "Dear Mrs. Parks: A Dialogue with Today's Youth" and the exhibit entitled, "Dear Mr. Mandela ... Dear Mrs. Parks: Children's Letters, Global Lessons," presented in South Africa and at Michigan State University by Keeper of the Word Foundation. The book is published by Amber Communications Group. Published: Thu, Oct 25, 2012