Biography

ONE OF LIT HUB'S MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2026 A radically vulnerable and virtuosic inquiry into the pursuit of freedom and the interminable nature of struggle, from the award-winning author of What We Lose Weaving personal reflections with piercing...

The soul-stirring intersectional biography of the most famous Islamic woman scholar working today, from the two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist author of If the Oceans Were Ink and Home, Land, Security. "A testament to what it means to labor for justice...

A revelatory look at one of America's most progressive cities--Minneapolis--as journalist Justin Ellis returns to his hometown to grapple with the quiet history of white supremacy in the wake of George Floyd's murder, uncover his family's story of...

"Remembering Roots highlights the indomitability of the human spirit; and reminds us that, like our ancestors, as long as we continue to breathe, there's hope." --LEVAR BURTON, award-winning actor, director, author, and original cast member of Roots...

An irresistible delight, this hilarious and heartwarming essay collection gathers essential tales about growing up in the South, the pitfalls of date night, and why no one should ever tell a Black girl how to Black Girl. Black women always find a place...

FINALIST FOR THE ANISFIELD-WOLF BOOK AWARD "Raucously immersive...An intimate portrait of Black opulence in the early 20th century." --Oprah Daily A "scintillating, vibrant" (Publishers Weekly, starred review) and deeply researched biography of A'Lelia...

A memoir of race, public schooling, and identity as an "integration guinea pig" in the 1980s Midwest. Becoming Educated is Simone C. Drake's engaging and bold memoir about race, class, gender, and the meaning of education in the urban Midwest. Drake, a...

In this moving work, part clear-eyed assessment, part memoir, the son of iconic African American Congressman John Conyers Jr. shines a spotlight on his father and his political legacy, and reveals how, as his son, he eventually learned to leverage his...

Born enslaved in Virginia in 1836, Thomas Lewis Johnson refused to let bondage define the course of his life. Secretly teaching himself to read and write, and later finding faith through an evangelical conversion, Johnson charted a path of resilience...

"All my blessings are the blessings of community." --Octavia Spencer Octavia drove to Los Angeles at twenty-six in search of a career in film. What she found was her chosen family. In this captivating memoir, the Oscar-winning actor and producer recounts...

Some may know her as hot, gutsy, gun-totin' Foxy Brown, Friday Foster, Coffy, and Jackie Brown. Others may know her from her role as Kit Porter on The L Word. But that only defines one part of the legend that is Pam Grier. Foxy is Pam's testimony of her...

In The Reckoning, Randall Robinson examines the crime and poverty that grips much of urban America and urges black Americans to speak out and reach back to ensure their social and economic success in this country. With insight, compassion, and...