African American Studies

Today, black-owned barber shops play a central role in African American public life. The intimacy of commercial grooming encourages both confidentiality and camaraderie, which make the barber shop an important gathering place for African American men to...

"Freedom Summer" presents finely rendered portraits of the courageous black citizens--and Northern volunteers--who refused to be intimidated in their struggle for justice, and the white Mississippians who would kill to protect a dying way of life.A...

A beautiful commemorative edition of Dr. Martin Luther King's essay "Letter from Birmingham Jail," part of Dr. King's archives published exclusively by HarperCollins.With an afterword by Reginald Dwayne Betts On April 16, 1923, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr...

It is impossible to deny the impact of lies and white supremacy on the institutional conditions in US prisons. There is a particular power dynamic of racist intent in the prison system that culminates in what Brittany Friedman terms carceral apartheid...

The epic story of Detroit's struggle to integrate schools in its suburbs--and the defeat of desegregation in the North. In 1974, the Supreme Court issued a momentous decision: In the case of Milliken v. Bradley, the justices brought a halt to school...

A dynamic kaleidoscope of story that honors the work of women. Kin is a story and a celebration of Black womanhood, of resistance, and of perseverance--while simultaneously an indictment of American history. Kin is a tree--alive in...

New York Times bestselling author adrienne maree brown transcends binary thinking about "accountability" and shares dignified, holistic ways for individuals and communities to address harmful, destructive patterns.This selection of prescient,...

"I am completely indebted to Jimmy Baldwin's prose. It liberated me as a writer."--Toni Morrison   This collectible edition celebrates James Baldwin's 100th-year anniversary, probing the shortcomings of the American protest novel and the harmful...

For bell hooks, the best cultural criticism sees no need to separate politics from the pleasure of reading. Yearning collects together some of hooks's classic and early pieces of cultural criticism from the '80s. Addressing topics like pedagogy,...

The women have something to say. Are you listening? In this powerful and needed collection, editor Angela P. Dodson brings together the voices of more than thirty-five accomplished women writers on the topic of violence and injustice against Black men...

"This book is about Black girl magick, queer girl magick, straight girl magick, trans magick, bisexual magick. It's about giving yourself the power to be fierce...Black women are Hierophants, Magicians, Empresses, and High Priestesses."--Mawiyah Kai...

Essence Magazine 2023 Must Read Journalist, attorney, and star of Bravo's The Real Housewives of New York reshapes the cultural landscape of achievement by showing why Black unity is crucial to individual and collective success. Eboni K. Williams knew...