My Father's Faith

My Father's Faith tells the personal and inspiring story of the Christian faith in action in the life of Dr. Jacqueline M. Gaither Respress, a lifelong educator. She blends together narratives, poetry, passages from the Scriptures, significant quotations, and her own research to accomplish two entwined goals.

In the pages of My Father's Faith, she shows how the strength of her Christian beliefs, passed on to her by her father, in particular, has sustained and strengthened her. Second, she uses her own story to map out a hopeful path for other African American women. She diagnoses the challenges and barriers that minority women-both in youth and adulthood-face in American culture. She shows how hope that touches the lives of academically challenged students finds a face in teachers who remain focused on helping their students learn.

Whether you find personal testimonies of the power of faith to be inspiring or you desire to learn how the educational system can become a support to young minority females, My Father's Faith will meet your expectations. Along the way, you will come to know Dr. Respress and to appreciate the beauty of the faith that she inherited from her own father.