Cultural Literature

A groundbreaking look at how Black visionaries--from Wall Street to Lagos and beyond--are reimagining capitalism to benefit the needs of Black people and, ultimately, everyone. To many, the term "Black Capitalists" is oxymoronic. Black people were the...

A vibrant, deeply researched biography of A'Lelia Walker--daughter of Madam C.J. Walker and herself a central figure of the Harlem Renaissance--written by her great-granddaughter. Dubbed the "joy goddess of Harlem's 1920s" by poet Langston Hughes,...

After the Civil War, Black landownership in Fairfax County increased by leaps and bounds. By the 1870s, retired Union officers were purchasing land that they sold to African Americans like Joshua Ball, Joshua Pearson, Robert Bradley and John Coates...

Explore the remarkable life and heartfelt verse of the Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes Jr., the first Black senior minister at Riverside Church in New York City, one of the largest multicultural congregations in the US. As the first Black senior minister at...

A sweeping history of one of the nation's most important African American churches and a profound story of courage and grace amid the fight for racial justice--from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Kevin Sack Few people beyond South Carolina's...

A celebration of the joyful power of African American quilts, featuring images of over 100 quilts, new research and essaysThe first publication dedicated to historical African American quilts in California, Routed West traces the flow and flourishing of...

By challenging the rules of enslavement and, later, pushing the boundaries of free citizenship in North Carolina, Lunsford Lane (1803-79) became a folk hero to many enslaved Southerners, as well as a generation of abolitionists. Author of a unique "slave...

Shonda Buchanan weaves a prism of language, sound and light around and through the life of concert pianist, singer and Civil Rights activist, the incomprehensible Nina Simone. With this book, Buchanan is declaring this The Century of the Black Woman,...

Pulitzer Prize winning writer, editor and TV host Jonathan Capehart recounts powerful stories from his life about embracing identity, picking battles, seizing opportunity and finding his voice to speak up for others--and himself. MSNBC anchor Jonathan...

In this rich, transparent, and witty memoir, the Co-Founder of WangaWoman LLC, current President & CEO of Essence Ventures, and ambassador of authenticity navigates the lifelong battle between her intuition and inner saboteur delivering "instigational"...

Teacher By Teacher traces the remarkable journey of the 10th U.S. Secretary of Education and is a deeply personal love letter to all the teachers in our lives. ​The story of John B. King Jr.'s inspiring path to President Obama's Cabinet begins the...

An authoritative exploration of how Black Americans have shaped baseball from its emergence after the Civil War to the Negro Leagues and Jackie Robinson's breaking of the color barrier, up to today's game--by award-winning author Gerald Early in...