Cultural Literature

From the iconic and charismatic star of "Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam" comes this brave and fiercely candid memoir about growing up in Jamaica by performer, activist, and writer Chin.

In the tradition of "Dreams of My Father" and "The Color of Water" comes a powerful, beautifully written memoir about coming of age as a black girl in an exclusive white suburb in integrated, post-civil rights-era California in the 1970s and 1980s...

This is an account of Africans and Americans of African descent before, during, and after slavery by one of the most important figures in the campaign for racial equality in the United States. Beginning with a description of the African heritage of black...

The defining work of the Black Arts Movement, "Black Fire" is at once a rich anthology and an extraordinary source document. Nearly 200 selections, including poetry, essays, short stories, and plays, from over 75 cultural critics, writers, and political...

Poet, dramatist, novelist, critic, teacher, and political activist Amiri Baraka, born LeRoi Jones, vividly recounts his crusading role in African American literature. A driving force behind the Black Arts Movement, the prolific Baraka retells his...

"Celebrate Kwanzaa" continues the spectacular Holidays Around the World series by focusing on this African-American holiday, which falls during the festive, gift-giving season and is celebrated by families, communities, and schools throughout America...

Haki R. Madhubuti is a poet, publisher, editor, and educator who has authored and edited twenty-three books, including the best-selling Black Men: Obsolete, Single, Dangerous? He is the founder of Third World Press, and cofounder of the Institute of...

"I believe in an America in which opportunity and justice truly are for all. That was the essence of the life an poetry of Langston Hughes."--Senator John Kerry, from the Preface A beautifully designed collection of some of the greatest poems by a...

Easy finally believes he can lead a simple life and leave his haunted past behind him--until he meets a woman who changes everything. November 1963: Easy's settled into a steady gig as a school custodian. It's a quiet, simple existence--but a few moments...

Even before the civil rights movement, African-American religion and progressive politics were assumed to be inextricably intertwined. In her revelatory book, Savage counters this assumption with the story of a highly diversified religious community...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - "Maya Angelou writes like a song, and like the truth."--The New York Times Book Review "Everything about Maya Angelou is transcendental. She has something to tell you now. Listen."--Robert Fulghum, The Washington Post Book...

As a child, Bebe Moore spent her school years in Philadelphia, in a world of women. Surrounded by clouds of Emeraude and Chanel, supported by the strength of her mother, grandmother, aunts, and teachers, she learned by example to mind her p's and q's, to...