Alice Piper Speaks Up tells the story of a Native teenager’s history-making fight for equal education.
Alice Piper just wanted to go to public school. The year was 1923, and Alice, a Native Paiute (Nuwuvi) teenager in California, dreamed about learning from teachers, making new friends, and being respected for who she was. So when the school board refused to let her and six other Native students attend, she decided to speak up, and she sued for her right to an equal education.
I am incredibly honored to have had the opportunity to work on this deeply important book with my co-author, Sage Andrew Romero, and our illustrator, Morgan Thompson. As a member of Alice’s tribe (and someone who went to the same school that she fought to attend), this book is truly a labor of love.
Alice Piper Speaks Up is available for preorder from Heyday Books, Bookshop, Amazon, Target, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, and more!
Praise for Alice Piper Speaks Up
"Alice Piper Speaks Up is a necessary, accessible, and fascinating book that shines bright light on a history and a people that all who call California—and America!—home should know. First-time Indigenous authors Sage Andrew Romero and Loralee Sepsey come from the same tribal community (Big Pine Paiute) as Alice Piper, the young girl at the center of the true story, and they bring her journey to light with exquisite care, respect, and dignified detail. Informational sidebars give readers context for historical, social, and political aspects, and keep the poetic narrative grounded in impactful ways. An important addition to Heyday's Fighting for Justice series, this book will engage readers of all ages who believe in equity and education for all." —Kate Schatz, New York Times–bestselling author of Rad American Women A–Z
"Alice Piper Speaks Up is an important story that should be readily adopted and used in classrooms." —William J. Bauer Jr., coauthor of We Are the Land: A History of Native California
