Cultural Literature

Step into the vibrant streets of the 1970s Bronx and witness the exact moment a global movement began. Birth of a Culture gives you a front-row seat to the origins of hip-hop, told through the firsthand experiences of Grandmaster Flash--one of the...

The first biography of the celebrated ballet dancer Arthur Mitchell and the iconic dance company he founded, from a renowned dance historianArthur Mitchell (1934-2018) was one of the first Black principal dancers at the New York City Ballet and a...

Deference is often required of the politically vulnerable: the powers and institutions who have control over their lives often come to expect deference, demand it, reward people who give it, and penalize people who don't. Aptly marshalled deference is a...

A richly illustrated book focused on Black designers, how they shaped the history of modern design, and how their designs in turn influenced modern Black life. In twentieth-century Chicago, generations of Black artisans, craftspeople, art educators,...

Even before they were recognized as citizens of the United States, Black women understood that the fights for civil and human rights were inseparable. Over the course of two hundred years, they were at the forefront of national and international...

A groundbreaking analysis of Frederick Douglass as constitutional theorist, showing how his vision, which prefigured today's originalism, melded history and natural rights to address the evil of slavery. In his celebrated address "What to the Slave is...

An exploration of sisterhood, creativity, and community inspired by the artist Alma Thomas's life and work, from the award-winning poet Alexis Pauline Gumbs Alma Thomas (1891-1978) was an influential figure in twentieth-century modern art, best known...

"America is supposed to be the land of opportunity--where any poor kid can grow up to become a millionaire. That's the story. But I'ma tell you how it really went down." --Ms. Pat From the author of the acclaimed memoir Rabbit and star of BET's The Ms...

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Franchise comes the little-known story of the pioneering Black women artists and activists who were seen, but barely heard, at the 1963 March on Washington. "Chatelain lets us see the complexities of these...

"A top-notch biography of a generational talent." - Kirkus Reviews (starred)A showstopping portrait of Whitney Houston as we've never seen her before--a woman in her full power, a musician who knew the impact of her gift, and a fulcrum of Black...

On March 24, 1965, Nina Simone performed at a rally for twenty-five thousand people on the last night of the Selma to Montgomery civil rights march. Though luminaries like Martin Luther King Jr., Mahalia Jackson, and Dick Gregory were in attendance, it...