Cultural Literature

The House Behind the Cedars, which many consider Charles Chesnutt's finest novel, tells of John and Lena Walden, mulatto siblings who pass for white in the postbellum American South. The drama that unfolds as they travel between black and white...

This oral history portrays the lives of African American women who migrated from the rural South to work as domestic servants in Washington, DC in the early decades of the twentieth century. In Living In, Living Out Elizabeth Clark-Lewis narrates the...

A picture-book biography of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the woman who invented rock and roll--a warm, inspiring tale of a childhood filled with music, community, and a drive to succeed. Music is the heart of our story, says Momma to young Rosetta, surprising...

In Bulletproof Diva, Lisa Jones brings the wit and candor of her infamous Village Voice column, "Skin Trade," to a much larger audience. Chock full of the "fierce black girl humor" that has made her column so popular, this provocative collection of...

A lighthearted and supremely entertaining memoir, You Should Sit Down for This is like spending the afternoon sharing tea, fresh baked cookies, and conversation with Tamera Mowry-Housley, the fun-loving, wisdom-sharing girlfriend we all need in our lives...

"Powerful." --Toronto Star A vibrant, revealing memoir about the cultural and familial pressures that shaped George Elliott Clarke's early life in the Black Canadian community that he calls Africadia, centred in Halifax, Nova Scotia. As a boy, George...

"Dishy, warm, and entertaining."--Kirkus Reviews?The beloved Black pop culture icon, entrepreneur, Hollywood actress and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star bares her life in this frank, funny, and fearless memoir about life, love and the pursuit of...

Step backstage in this look at little-known and utterly fascinating aspects of Jazz Age Louisiana.New Orleans' early jazz greats like Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Kid Ory and Buddy Bolden had fascinating careers, but Hidden History of Louisiana's...

In this unforgettable memoir, Emerald Garner recounts her father's cruel and unjust murder, the immense pain that followed, the pressures of an exploitative media, and her difficult yet determined journey as an activist against police violence.She begins...

The author was born and raised in a traditional rural village in the most violently homophobic country on earth - Nigeria. His memoir tells a harrowing story - how he negotiated ostracism, imprisonment, homelessness, violence, extortion and intense...

Examining the work of contemporary Black artists who are dismantling the white gaze and demanding that we see--and see Blackness in particular--anew. In A Black Gaze, Tina Campt examines Black contemporary artists who are shifting the very nature of our...

Finalist for the 2020 Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction One of Time Magazines's 100 Must-Read Books of 2020 Finalist for the Goodreads Choice Awards, Best History & Biography 2020 Longlisted for the 2020 Porchlight Business Book Awards An entertaining quest to...