Through the lens of scholar, educator, and storyteller Dr. Valandra, Black Family Enterprise and Community in Segregated North Omaha: The Pratt Street House brings to life a world built on resilience, ingenuity, and self-determination. Weaving personal memory with social work and historical inquiry, Dr. Valandra illuminates how a single home—and the enterprise rooted within it—served as a sanctuary, an economic lifeline, and a vital engine of Black community strength amid rigid segregation.

Student readers will move beyond dry statistics to the living, breathing heartbeat of Black agency and collective care. Stepping inside the Pratt Street House gives students a deeply human understanding of how families navigate systemic oppression, build community wealth, and cultivate place. This book invites students to see history not as a distant timeline but as a powerful, living blueprint of triumph and resistance.

“I’m thrilled to connect directly with students because virtual visits turn the pages of The Pratt Street House into a dynamic, living conversation. There is nothing more energizing than hearing how readers engage with my family’s and community’s story, answering their questions, and exploring together how historical memory, Black agency, and community care can inspire meaningful action in our world today”