Cultural Literature

"I Woke Up Black" by Marvin Michael O'Bryant is a story inspired by real-life experiences. It follows the life of Marvin, who has witnessed decades of depression, poverty, and a lack of motivation in a nation struggling with love and respect. Despite...

The vital influence of Black American intellectuals on the legacy of Thomas Jefferson's ideas The lofty Enlightenment principles articulated by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence, so central to conceptions of the American founding, did...

This "empowering and inspirational" (People) memoir of struggle and perseverance offers new ways of envisioning economic equality for everyone--from a leading activist and fashion pioneer."With community and sisterhood at its center, Wildflower teaches...

Shaunie Henderson--wife, mother, entrepreneur, producer, and creator of the hit TV show Basketball Wives--opens up about finding love, offers advice for raising strong, smart, grounded Black children in today's world, and reveals how to define your...

Predominantly white casting in ballet has led many to wonder, "Where are all the black swans?" This book sheds light on female dancers of color, including thirteen primary accounts from African American, Latina, and Asian women in ballet. Topics covered...

This retrospective volume celebrates five decades of Howardena Pindell's art, including works on paper, collage, photography, film, and video. Born in middle-class Philadelphia in the 1940s, Howardena Pindell came of age during the Civil Rights movement...

From the New York Times bestselling author of Satchel and Bobby Kennedy, a sweeping and spellbinding portrait of the longtime kings of jazz--Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie--who, born within a few years of one another, overcame racist...

A powerful meditation on grief, a deeply personal mosaic of a daughter's remembrances of beautiful, challenging and heartbreaking moments of life with her family. It speaks to anyone who has lost a loved one and is trying to navigate the world without...

In Anti-Blackness and Human Monstrosity in Black American Horror Fiction, Jerry Rafiki Jenkins examines four types of human monsters that frequently appear in Black American horror fiction-the monsters of White rage, respectability, not-ness, and serial...