Biography

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...

Barbara Jordan was the first African American to serve in the Texas Senate since Reconstruction, the first black woman elected to Congress from the South, and the first to deliver the keynote address at a national party convention. Yet Jordan herself...

The self-made Jamaican-Canadian billionaire shares how to build a more prosperous life One of the most renowned businessmen and philanthropists both in Canada and abroad, Michael Lee-Chin was born in Jamaica. In 1970, he came to Canada to study civil...

Satchel Paige was forty-two years old in 1948 when he became the first black pitcher in the American League. Although the oldest rookie around, he was already a legend. For twenty-two years, beginning in 1926, Paige dazzled throngs with his performance...

A compelling memoir from Elizabeth Pryor, daughter of the late comedic legend Richard Pryor, grapples with her biracial identity, her relationship with the n-word, and the complexities of her father's love. The day of her father's funeral, Elizabeth's...

One of the most famous and popular entertainers of the 20th century, Maurice White left an enduring legacy in his creation of Earth, Wind & Fire, this genre-transcending group who earned multiple Grammy Awards and most recently a Lifetime Achievement...