General African American Studies

"Stellar . . . Spectacular . . . [A] heartfelt, painstaking account." --Nell Irvin Painter, The Washington Post "An extraordinary collaboration . . . A profound achievement . . . Downs is a superb, even lyrical writer." --David W. Blight, Los Angeles...

In The Disturbing Profane, Joseph R. Winters explores how hip hop's religiosity is found in qualities associated with the dark sacred. Rather than purity and wholeness, this expression of the sacred signifies death and pleasure, opacity and...

An incisive portrait of how the new Black politics can forge a future centered on collective action, community, and care When #BlackLivesMatter emerged in 2013, it animated the most consequential Black-led mobilization since the civil rights and Black...

A collective portrait of the Black Power movement by radical journalist and former Black Panther JoNina Abron-ErvinDriven by the Movement collects the stories of twenty ordinary people who did extraordinary things for the Black liberation struggle during...

From a New Yorker staff writer and PEN award winner, a blend of memoir, history, and reportage on one of the most complex and least understood states in America. "In Alabama, we exist at the border of blessing and disaster...." Alexis Okeowo grew up in...

In Foremother Love, Dana Murphy examines the importance of eighteenth-century poet Phillis Wheatley as a foundational figure for Black feminist criticism. Murphy establishes Phillis (as she refers to her) as a writer who wrote in response to and in...

In Foremother Love, Dana Murphy examines the importance of eighteenth-century poet Phillis Wheatley as a foundational figure for Black feminist criticism. Murphy establishes Phillis (as she refers to her) as a writer who wrote in response to and in...

HILARY WESTON WRITERS' TRUST PRIZE FOR NONFICTION FINALIST "Honest, vulnerable, courageous and funny..." --Lawrence Hill, author of The Book of Negroes Bestselling, award-winning writer Ian Williams brings fresh eyes and new insights to today's urgent...

"Hey, kid. Kid." A voice in the darkness of the slum dorm. I awoke to my stale, bare mattress. It was midnight. The arm of a male nanny reached into the closet where my bed was, roughly jostling me. "You have to get up. They're coming." A prosperous...

A powerful read redefining the meaning of genius while illuminating the ways in which Black Americans have found various ways to thrive despite insurmountable obstacles. Black genius sits at the heart of the American story. In his probing essay...

The long and pernicious relationship between fast food restaurants and the African American community Today, fast food is disproportionately located in Black neighborhoods and marketed to Black Americans through targeted advertising. But throughout much...

A multifaceted history of Black resistance during the War of Independence The American Revolution brought about violent and unpredictable social changes throughout the new nation, particularly in the South. Sylvia Frey reveals how slave resistance gave...