Audiobooks Narrated by Maya Rockeymoore Cummings

We’re Better Than This: Young Readers’ Edition: My Fight for the Future of Our Democracy

Part memoir, part call to action, this young readers’ edition dives into the inspiring life of the late U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings—from childhood through his time as chairman of the House Oversight Committee—and his tireless fight for justice. Growing up as the child of former sharecroppers in a segregated Baltimore, Elijah Cummings saw firsthand how injustice could run rampant, even in a democracy that promises fairness and equality. But with a strong support system and fiery self-discipline, Elijah utilized the momentum of the civil rights movement to overcome the obstacles of poverty and racism to effect change at a time when our country so badly needed it. In We’re Better Than This, readers will learn not only that we must be and do better than our oppressors but that it is our shared responsibility as a nation to keep our democracy intact because it is the only way to pursue freedom, justice, and equality for all.

Elijah Cummings (Author), Adam Lazarre-White, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings (Narrator)

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We're Better Than This: My Fight for the Future of Our Democracy

The audiobook contains beautiful memories of Representative Elijah Cummings narrated by Laurence Fishburne and Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, with a foreword written and read by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Included are the eulogies from his funeral delivered by Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, Secretary Hillary Clinton, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Harry Spikes, Kweisi Mfume, Bishop Walter Scott Thomas, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, Jennifer Cummings, Adia Cummings, and James Cummings. Baltimore Congressman Elijah Cummings was known for saying “We’re better than this.” He said it in Baltimore, a city on the verge of explosion over police treatment of citizens.  He said it in Congress when microphones were shut down, barring free speech.  He said it when the President flaunted his power and ignored the Constitution.  He said it when the President resorted to bullying, name-calling and feeding racial divisions. We are better than this. He continued to say it until his final days last October.  He said it because he believed we must call out what is wrong and call on our better selves to make things right. In We’re Better Than This, Cummings details the formative moments in his life that prepared him to hold President Donald Trump accountable for his actions while in office. Cummings powerfully weaves together the urgent drama of modern-day politics and the defining stories from his past. He offers a unique perspective on how his upbringing as the son of sharecroppers in a South Baltimore neighborhood, rampant with racism and poverty, laid the foundation of a life spent fighting for justice.  Cummings was known for his ability to referee contentious members of Congress and reach across the aisle for the sake of justice. Since his early days in politics, Cummings proved his abilities as a leader and legal mind who could operate at the highest levels of democracy, always working with – and for – the underserved. Part memoir, part call-to-action, the book goes behind the scenes with the House Democratic leadership, offering an eye-opening account of the relentless and unprecedented obstructionism by both the President and GOP. Cummings’ final words present a vital defense of how government oversight defines our collective trust and makes the case that, even in the face of our nation’s most challenging times, we must remain rooted in the politics of optimism. 

Elijah Cummings, James Dale (Author), Laurence Fishburne, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, Nancy Pelosi (Narrator)

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