Use Your Word Power to Bring About Positive Change. You will be amazed! Being a journalist has not been my formal training nor my profession. Becoming an advocate journalist has been my calling. As circumstances, issues, and forces—social, political, economic—occur all around me, push against me, I have chosen to push back. I have consciously entered and continue to enter the fray, using the power of words—the only real and lasting weapon I have. The writings of an advocate journalist always boil down, directly, or indirectly, intentionally, or unintentionally, to a plea—imploring the reader or listener to think, to consider the facts, the circumstances, the workable solutions for the issues at hand, and when appropriate and necessary to engage in action. In carrying out my calling to be an advocate journalist, I have primarily addressed some of the enduring issues of our times. But also, I could not ignore the temporal—pressing issues of the hour. Most of my writings during the last four decades have maintained their relevancy, fulfilling a needed voice. As a collection, the selected commentaries are snapshots of history and are included because of their timeliness and timelessness . During the past four decades, they have been written for a large radio station, a major metropolitan daily newspaper, community newspapers, and currently online. This is Book I, Ethics and Values , of three books in the Real Advocacy Journalism® series. Book II focuses on Justice and Equality. Book III addresses Patriotism and Politics. Book I has received great editorial reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Midwest Book Reviews, and Chanticleer International Book Reviews and more. A veteran writer offers guidance for future advocacy journalists in this first installment of a nonfiction trilogy. Dedicated "to those who believe that our words and actions matter in advancing a more civilized and better society," this book is built on the principle that advocacy journalism is essential to a thriving democracy.... To Ellis, far too many of today's advocacy journalists are willing to sacrifice facts and fairness for partisan propaganda and sensationalism.... More than just offering wisdom for today's budding journalists, as a Black writer born in Mississippi who remembers "the humiliation" of segregation firsthand, Ellis gives readers of all vocations a sage voice. She blends solid research with well-reasoned arguments on issues that range from interracial marriage and gun control to Confederate statues and Native American mascots.... The author is a master journalist who skillfully balances her passionate takes with objective facts and effectively deploys "the only real and lasting weapon" people have: their words. A potent ode to the power of advocacy journalism. Kirkus Reviews The most trusted voice in book reviews since 1933 " Using My Word Power: Advocating for a More Civilized Society focuses on Ethics and Values , the first book of a 3-book series, drawing important connections between words and actions as it discusses a myriad of contemporary issues ranging from gun usage to global warming, racism, and economics. Replete in examples of ethical and moral conundrums, Using My Word Power serves as the starting point for effecting change, and is highly recommended for a variety of libraries and book reading groups, from those that focus on contemporary social issues and questions of ethical and moral value to others who seek examples of powerful literacy's effects on society as a whole." D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer Midwest Book Reviews " Using My Word Power: Advocating for a More Civilized Society is a compilation of essays by advocate journalist Janice S. Ellis that prompts the reader to ask: how can we make America a better, stronger nation? These articles, ranging from as early as 1976 up until recent days, make it clear that disturbingly, in many matters, little has changed in the forty-some years since Ellis's first piece was published. There continues to be gun violence, mass shootings, drug abuse both elicit and prescription, racial violence, and climate change denial. As one essay points out: climate change and racism have in common that some people refuse to believe either exist, despite overwhelming evidence. Each essay has its date revealed only at the end of it, showing that each work could be about the present day. Using My Word Power is a First Place winner of the Nellie Bly Nonfiction Journalism Award. Janice S. Ellis's work is thoughtful, enlightening and, moreover, timeless. Highly Recommended!" Chanticleer International Book Reviews The wise use of words is one of the most effective and powerful tools we have as individuals to bring about meaningful change in our lives, our communities, state and nation--indeed in many areas of society.   My hope is that in sharing my attempts to improve understanding about issues that impact us all that you will be informed, enlightened, ins