From Sagging to Success: The Story of Emery Franklin

FROM SAGGING TO SUCCESS: tHE sTORY OF eMERY fRANKLIN

This is one of 17 paintings in the book. Start to enjoy the art, stories, facts and sayings right away.

Cover and book layout by Frederick Virgous

Published by SSCOMM Publishing
$21.99 US, Softbound
ISBN-13 978-0615597720
80 pages, 17 photos, 8”x10”

List Price: $21.99

Available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, CreateSpace and many other online booksellers.

Some people, especially young people, sag physically in the way they wear their pants. Others, old and young, sag mentally in the way they think about themselves.

A book for all ages, From Sagging to Success was written for urban youth, who are "an endangered species,” and the people who want to help them succeed. The book gives young men and women a sense of history about who they are, helps them navigate their way to success, and encourages reading.

Making the right choices can be a struggle, however, readers will find a kindred spirit and highly motivated role model in Derrick, the hip-hop young man seen in many of the paintings in the book. After learning the secret to success, Derrick successfully shares the principles with his parents. When he marries, he shares the secret with his wife. The final painting in the series entitled "Success" by fine artist Emery Franklin demonstrates that the family has successfully transmitted the principles of success and a love of reading to future generations.

Written by Florence M. Howard, “From Sagging to Success: The Story of Emery Franklin” is a mixture of history, storytelling and biography based on the paintings in Emery's 2011 "Crossroads: From Sagging to Success" oil painting series. The book contains 15, 8”x10” full-color prints of paintings by the artist. Bits of African American history – the Emancipation Proclamation, the Civil Rights Movement and the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike -- add flavor and depth to scenes reflected in several of the paintings and to the entire From Sagging to Success story.Highlights in the book include an original portrait of President Barack Obama by Emery Franklin and bonus section on black inventors. Readers will be inspired to examine their attitudes and to follow the steps used by Emery in becoming successful.

FLORENCE M. HOWARD is a freelance writer, researcher, trainer, event coordinator and publicist. The owner of Secret Shop Communicators (SSCOMM, Inc.), a public relations firm, she is a graduate of Central High School and the University of Memphis and holds BA and MA degrees in Journalism. While Director of Community Affairs for WREG-TV, the CBS affiliate in Memphis, she established the station’s Knowledge Bowl academic quiz show and Emmy-winning Kids Count Campaign. She lives in Memphis, Tennessee. You can visit her website at www.sscommpr.com or her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/florencemhoward.author.

EMERY FRANKLIN is a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School and attended the Memphis College of Art. A number of prints from the series can be found on his website at http://emery-franklin.artistwebsites.com.