Circle Of Friends II

Review: The NIA Guide for Black Women: Achieving Career Success on Your Terms

by Annabelle Robertson

November 18, 2008

Club Name: Circle Of Friends II
Established: 1997
Members: 80, average attendance of 30-40
Focus: All genres, with 75% African-American authors
Best Pick: A Love So Strong by Kendra Norman-Bellamy (a member)

Lots of clubs gather to read books. This one advocates for literacy. "It's more than a book club," says Shunda Leigh, founder and president of Circle of Friends II in Atlanta.

Part of a network of chapters spread across nine states, Circle of Friends II is the largest with 80 members. The women meet monthly and contribute dues that cover book donations to Hughes Spalding Children's Hospital and adopting families for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The chapter also has a huge book drive every September for National Literacy Month. Members gather hundreds of new and gently used books and donate them to needy groups. "I want to make a difference in the industry and in the community," Leigh says. "It's our way of giving back."

The club meets to socialize and talk about books, too. Recent titles include Some Things I Never Thought I'd Do by Pearl Cleage and The Red Tent by Anita Diamant.

This year, during their annual joint meeting over Martin Luther King weekend, all the chapters took a three-day cruise together. The ladies discussed Ian Smith's The Blackbird Papers while enjoying the Bahamian breezes. Most of the chapter's books are by African-American writers, and they've hosted book signings for renowned authors like E. Lynn Harris, Walter Mosley and Eric Jerome Dickey. Members also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1997.

"As women, we do so much for everyone else - our husbands, children, parents and relatives," Leigh says. "But we don't take enough time for ourselves. I wanted this chapter to be an escape. It's our time, but we can affect people's lives."

The NIA Guide For Black Women: Achieving Career Success on Your Terms 
Edited by Sheryl Huggins and Cheryl Mayberry KcKissack
Agate Publishing Softcover
191 pages
ISBN: 1-932841-01-6

As an African-American woman in corporate America, do you shy away from black artwork and memorabilia in your office or avoid too much time with other blacks? Do you struggle over whether to "act" black or white, or if you should braid your hair? If so, like many sisters in the workplace, you're probably still searching for your identity. And that, say authors Sheryl Huggins and Cheryl Mayberry McKissack, will affect your career path. In their new book, which sprang from their work with NiaOnline.com - the web's popular community for black women - Huggins and McKissack discuss what it takes to develop leadership skills, climb the corporate ladder and achieve career empowerment for today's black working woman.

The Nia Guide For Black Women: Achieving Career Success on Your Own Terms addresses such topics as:
• How to survive as the sole sister in the office • What to do when you suspect workplace bias
• Getting paid what you're really worth • Creating your own old girls' network
• Shattering the glass (and concrete) ceiling • Mentoring and being mentored

Focusing on your purpose - an important step toward success - is never a luxury, the authors say. In a white-dominated environment where black women still have a long way to go, it's a vital necessity.
Replete with personal stories, advice and exercises, this book will serve as a practical tool and a welcome relief for the woman who wants to make her mark in the business world.