Cultural Literature

Unlike most white Americans who can search their ancestral records, identifying who among their forebears was the first to step foot on this country's shores, most African Americans encounter a series of daunting obstacles when trying to trace their...

The words of Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have a Dream speech have become enshrined in US history. But after the end of King's generation of leadership, what happened to the African American struggle for freedom? Like the ancient Israelites, the African...

An incisive portrait of the American landscape that shows how geography continues to determine America's role in the world Book Club Pick for Now Read This, from PBS NewsHour and The New York Times - "There is more insight here into the Age of Trump than...

Bring the Noise weaves together interviews, reviews, essays, and features to create a critical history of the last twenty years of pop culture, juxtaposing the voices of many of rock and hip hop's most provocative artists--Morrissey, Public Enemy, The...

Unique in its audience and its hands-on approach, The Black Woman's Guide to Menopause is a smart, step-by-step guide filled with specific advice written from the viewpoint of a black woman. Because of cultural and physical reasons, women of color have...

"In Walk Like You Have Somewhere to Go Lucille will take you on a 40-year journey from 'mental welfare to mental wealth.' You will laugh-- you may cry--and in the process you will be encouraged, enlightened, and empowered." --Paula White, author of Dare...

Bruno Chenu provides an extraordinary record of the origin and history of Negro spirituals and offers exceptional historical and sociological insights into their meaning. Section One focuses on the origin of the spiritual by examining the odyssey of the...

This spiritual memoir is a recounting of Joshua McClure's journey from early childhood to adulthood, spanning over eight decades from birth in 1931 in Brooklyn, New York to the present in Bradford, Rhode Island. Included are images of youthful...

The definitive biography of James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, with fascinating findings on his life as a Civil Rights activist, an entrepreneur, and the most innovative musician of our time Playing 350 shows a year at his peak, with more than forty...

(Artist Transcriptions). Explore the genius of Monk through 15 note-for-note transcriptions of his takes on these standards: Bemsha Swing * Blue Monk * Boo Boo's Birthday * Criss Cross * Epistrophy * I Mean You * In Walked Bud * Let's Cool One * Monk's...

A radical corrective to Western misconceptions that reduce Algeria's tragedy to a clash of stereotypes The violence that has ravaged Algeria in recent years has often defied explanation. Regularly invoked in debates about political Islam, transitions to...

A wild insider's ride with one of music's most notorious journalists. Here are 15 music profiles, guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat: - Leiber & Stoller, the white fathers of R&B and rock and roll, who possess what is perhaps the last great...