Cultural Literature

By This Shall We Be Known: Interpreting the Voice, Vision, and Message of Martin Luther King Jr. draws out the simple truths and practical wisdom woven throughout the legacy of this twentieth century pioneer of civil rights. Author Terriel R. Byrd...

Suppose you wanted to write a novel with a truly amazing main character. Let's start with a man who fought in the largest war of his day, then became a news correspondent covering major conflicts all over the world, then wrote a series of wildly...

but is a womanist and hip-hop ode to seeing and honoring the humanity of the one who persists on the journey to the other side of but. It is a personal account of abuse, love, femininity, and redemption.Divided into four chapters and written by Tove,...

This particular Oregon history is about African American loggers during the Great Migration of more than six million African Americans from the Jim Crow south to the north. It is a community history and the history of families, a "history from below." ...

May be the best book ever written about jazz.--David Thomson, Los Angeles Times In eight poetically charged vignettes, Geoff Dyer skillfully evokes the music and the men who shaped modern jazz. Drawing on photos, anecdotes, and, most important, the way...

A century ago, when Japan was transforming itself from an isolated feudal society into a modern nation, a Japanese educator queried about the ethos of his people composed this seminal work, which with his numerous other writings in English made him the...

A firsthand exploration of the cost of boarding the bus of change to move America forward--written by one of the Civil Rights Movement's pioneers. At 18, Charles Person was the youngest of the original Freedom Riders, key figures in the U.S. Civil...

A delicious new memoir from the New York Times bestselling author of The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry A family history peppered with recipes, Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good offers a humorous and flavorful tale spanning three generations as...

In 1911, the Charleston Colored Industrial School opened its doors to 375 African American boys and girls, making it the first public high school for African Americans in the city of Charleston. Throughout the years, there have been several public high...

In the aftermath of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, riots broke out in 110 cities across the country. For five days, Atlanta braced for chaos while preparing to host King's funeral. An unlikely alliance of former student radicals, the middle-aged...

In this new and expanded edition of Nelson George's classic cultural study, contemporary black culture is chronicled through essays on music, film, sports, publishing, politics and city life, both uptown and down. Buppies enters nearly every arena of the...

Longlisted for the National Book Award for Nonfiction"There Kevin Young goes again, giving us books we greatly need, cleverly disguised as books we merely want. Unexpectedly essential."--Marlon JamesAward-winning poet and critic Kevin Young tours us...