Cultural Literature

An award-winning author presents a portrait of Black America in the nineteenth century Unshuttered: Poems is the vessel for poetic personae and a selection of antique photographs of Black Americans, which Patricia Smith has collected over the course of...

A brilliant analysis of the foundations of racist policing in America: the day-to-day brutalities, largely hidden from public view, endured by Black youth growing up under constant police surveillance and the persistent threat of physical and...

Soon to be a Major Motion PictureIn the ebullient spirit of Ocean's 8, The Heist, and Thelma & Louise, a sensational and entertaining memoir of the world's most notorious jewel thief--a woman who defied society's prejudices and norms to carve her own...

Durham is a progressive New South city, one in which both the white and black populations have economically and culturally prospered over the pastcentury.Durham's Hayti opens a door into the community's past that will allow you to walk downfamiliar...

When Nana-Ama Danquah, a twenty-two-year-old single mother, began to suffer from a variety of depressive symptoms after giving birth to her daughter, she thought she was going crazy. Determined to portray strength in a world that often undervalues Black...

A riveting exploration of how visual media has shifted the narrative on race and reignited the push towards justice by the author of the "worthy and necessary" (The New York Times) Nobody Marc Lamont Hill and the bestselling author and acclaimed...

A thought-provoking reflection on Black art within the Canadian cultural landscape. Featuring boundary-breaking artists and scholars, Making History collects poems, artist statements, and portfolios that showcase thoughtful understandings of Black...

When the state of Illinois received its charter in 1818, it was declared a free state, thus drawing many African-American pioneers to the area. Black Life in West Central Illinois offers a glimpse of the rich history of African-American life from the...

Alcoholic. Epileptic. Technically challenged. Jimmy Reed nevertheless overcame these roadblocks to become perhaps the most successful R&B/pop cross-over artist of the '50s with songs like Big Boss Man and Bright Lights, Big City. Musicians, family...

Sitting just south of the nation's capital, Alexandria has a long and storied history. Still, little is known of Alexandria's twentieth-century African American community. Experience the harrowing narratives of trials and triumph as Alexandria's African...

The media tends to portray Africa in a manner that grossly distorts reality. The picture they paint is intended to make people of African descent feel ashamed of their past and their identity. This is unacceptable and must change. It is therefore a moral...

The most comprehensive survey to date of the contemporary artist Whitfield Lovell, whose poetic and intricately crafted tableaux and installations document and pay tribute to the history and cultural memory of the African American experience. Whitfield...