USING MY WORD POWER: Advocating For A More Civilized Society, Book III: Justice and Equality

by Janice S. Ellis

This is Book III, Justice and Equality, in the Real Advocacy Journalism ® series. Book I focused on Ethics and Values (2022). Book II addressed Patriotism and Politics (2024). Books I and II have received and continue to receive great editorial and customer reviews.
 
I have been an advocate journalist for more than four decades.
         
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.
           
I have primarily addressed some of the most enduring issues when it comes to justice and equality of our times. But I have also addressed the temporal—pressing matters of the hour.
 
All commentaries, written over the decades, have been chosen for their enduring relevancy in terms of their subject matter's timeliness or timelessness . Many represent historical accounts of defining moments, incidents, and issues that have had lasting impacts and lessons learned.
They have been written for a large radio station, a major metropolitan daily newspaper, and community newspapers, and are currently online.
 
In my writings, I have endeavored to practice the tenets of Real Advocacy Journalism® —stick to the facts, analyze them, put an event, situation, or issue into perspective to foster a better understanding and provide direction to form an opinion or pursue an action. Real Advocacy Journalism® is the focus of my book, Shaping Public How Real Advocacy Journalism® Should Be Practiced (2021).
 
My hope is that in sharing my attempt to improve understanding about issues that impact us all, you will be informed, enlightened, inspired, and have reaffirmation that our words and actions are what advance a more civilized and better society.

217 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 10, 2025

About the author

Janice S. Ellis, M.A., M.A., Ph.D., is an award-winning author of six books and an award-winning columnist.

A native daughter of Mississippi, she grew up and came of age during the height of the Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s Liberation Movement. Born and reared on a small cotton farm, she was influenced by two converging forces that would set the course of her life.

The first was the fear and terror felt by Blacks because they were seeking to exercise the right to vote, along with other rights and privileges afforded to whites. She became determined to take a stand and not accept the limits of that farm life nor the strictures of oppressive racial segregation and gender inequality. She aspired to have and achieve a different kind of life, not only for herself but for others.

The second was her love of books, the power of words, and her exposure to renowned columnists Eric Sevareid of The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite and Walter Lippmann, whose column appeared for more than three decades in over 250 major newspapers across the United States and another 50 newspapers in Europe.

Dr. Ellis has been an executive throughout her career, first in government, then in a large pharmaceutical company, later as President and CEO of a marketing firm, and as President and CEO of a bi-state non-profit child advocacy agency. Along with those positions, she has been writing columns for nearly five decades on race, politics, education, and other social issues for a major metropolitan daily newspaper, a major metropolitan business journal, and for community newspapers. She wrote radio commentary for two years for one of the largest ABC radio affiliates in Wisconsin and subsequently wrote and delivered a two-minute spot on the two largest Arbitron-rated radio stations in the Greater Kansas City area. She has also written for several national trade publications, focusing on healthcare and the pharmaceutical industry.

Currently, she is a columnist for the Missouri Independent. She has her own website, JaniceSEllis.com, which houses a collection of her writings and where she continues to write commentary.

Dr. Ellis is an award-winning author of six books. Her most recent book, USING MY WORD POWER: Advocating For A More Civilized Society, Book III: Justice and Equality (2025), is the third book in the Real Advocacy Journalism® series; Book II: Patriotism and Politics (2024). Both books were First-Place winners of the Nellie Bly Nonfiction Journalism Award, received and continue to receive great editorial and customer reviews.

From Liberty to Magnolia: In Search of the American Dream (2018) and the New Edition (2023). Both have received national and international awards, great editorial reviews, and continue to receive great customer reviews.

USING MY WORD POWER: Advocating For A More Civilized Society (2022) has received great editorial reviews and was a First-Place winner of the Nellie Bly Nonfiction Journalism Award. It also won the Midwest Independent Publishers Association Book Award in the Nonfiction – Social Science/Political Science/Culture category.

Shaping Public Opinion: How Real Advocacy Journalism™ Should Be Practiced (2021) won the Nellie Bly Nonfiction Journalism Award and the Gold Medal Award for nonfiction books from the Non-Fiction Author Association. It has received great national editorial reviews and continues to receive great customer reviews.

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Reviews

[Carlos Romero · Rating 5 out of 5]

These Using my word of power books have taught me a lot of lessons and opened my eyes in different ways I taught I would have a new perspective on different topics like justice and equality, which is what this book is about. This third book is powerful, and it grounded me in a moral clarity where you understand why we as a society should be committed to building a fairer society. What I like about the way the author writes is that it feels like he was talking to you but at the same time to the whole society, encouraging me on how to change using word of power to address discrimination, dignity, and why we should always speak up. Something this book left me, and I think that is why I recommend this book, is that equality begins with everyday choices that will lead to aiming for a better world.

[Steven Finkelstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third book in a series. It is about using the power of words to try to change the world and to steer it in a more positive direction. More specifically, it’s about advocating for a more civilized society. The premise is that civility has broken down in the modern world due to a number of factors, and the author feels that is poisoning or corrupting the social contract that all of us have made with each other.

The author is preoccupied with justice and equality, and she talks in this book about the best ways to try to achieve both of those things. The result is an inspiring treatise that goes into detail about both current inequitable matters and ones that have a more timeless quality.

[Maps R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Using My Word Power is really clear, direct, and full of truth. Janice Ellis has a way of writing that feels like a personal conversation, not a lecture. She doesn’t sugarcoat anything, but she also doesn’t overwhelm you. She just lays out the facts, the history, and real-life stories that make you think about how we treat each other and what kind of society we’re choosing to build.
It is really relevant. Even though some of the pieces were written years ago, they fit perfectly with what we’re still facing today.