Cultural Literature

José Felipe Alvergue examines anger in American poetry, while reflecting on the permissible/policed cultural affects of our time. By way of BIPOC and QTPOC poets engaging with negativity--frustration, anger, distress--Alvergue argues that affects that...

The first book on beloved Los Angeles community organizer and urban gardener Ron Finley, known as the "Gangsta Gardener"Ron Finley is a visionary designer, horticulturalist and artist, who has changed the perception of concrete spaces using only a seed...

From MLK to Parks, Douglass to Tubman, Black History Legends Alphabet is an A to Z of the most inspiring, brave, and influential Black heroes to ever live.Beautifully illustrated and powerfully written, this book is a lesson to children everywhere in...

In An Unstable Container, John LaPine explores the provocative dangers and tantalizing pleasures of corporeality across five deeply personal essays. Resonating with a distinct, lyrical Midwestern sensibility, LaPine's work examines with tenderness the...

The breathtaking story of one family's journey to restore, renovate, and preserve a historic mansion. It's a million-dollar project with gorgeous potential--and many challenges. THE CHANCELLOR'S MANSION was built by William Townsend McCoun, a public...

The first full and definitive narrative of one of the most shocking and largely unknown events of racial injustice in US history: the execution of nineteen Black soldiers in TexasOn the sweltering, rainy night of August 23, 1917, one of the most...

The long and pernicious relationship between fast food restaurants and the African American community Today, fast food is disproportionately located in Black neighborhoods and marketed to Black Americans through targeted advertising. But throughout much...

"Moving, thoughtful, redemptive. The Strangers is an important book. It will become a Black classic."-- Ben Okri, author of The Famished Road"Thrilling and ingenious, propulsive and genre-defying: The Strangers is an outstanding book. Compelling and...

A multifaceted history of Black resistance during the War of Independence The American Revolution brought about violent and unpredictable social changes throughout the new nation, particularly in the South. Sylvia Frey reveals how slave resistance gave...

How American symbols inspired enslaved people and their allies to fight for true freedom In the early United States, anthems, flags, holidays, monuments, and memorials were powerful symbols of an American identity that helped unify a divided people. A...

A typical Jenta story is one of limited vision. The stereotype is that a person born in Jenta--a slum area of Jos, Nigeria--is stuck in poverty and drifts naturally to vice, crime, and gang activity, mainly because they lack vision for anything better...

Located just across the Potomac River from Washington, DC, Alexandria, Virginia, has long held a unique sociopolitical position due to its proximity to the nation's capital. This unexplored relationship had a profound impact on African Americans' access...