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A Few Days Full of Trouble: Revelations on the Journey to Justice for My Cousin and Best Friend, Emmett Till
The last surviving witness to the lynching of Emmett Till tells his story, with poignant recollections of Emmett as a boy, critical insights into the recent investigation, and powerful lessons for racial reckoning, both then and now. New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice - "In this moving and important book, the Reverend Wheeler Parker Jr. and Christopher Benson give us a unique window onto the anguished search for justice in a case whose implications shape us still."--Jon Meacham In 1955, fourteen-year-old Emmett Till was lynched. That remains an undisputed fact of the case that ignited a flame within the Civil Rights Movement that has yet to be extinguished. Yet the rest of the details surrounding the event remain distorted by time and too many tellings. What does justice mean in the resolution of a cold case spanning nearly seven decades? In A Few Days Full of Trouble, this question drives a new perspective on the story of Emmett Till, relayed by his cousin and best friend--the Reverend Wheeler Parker Jr., a survivor of the night of terror when young Emmett was taken from his family's rural Mississippi Delta home in the dead of night. Rev. Parker offers an emotional and suspenseful page-turner set against a backdrop of reporting errors and manipulations, racial reckoning, and political pushback--and he does so accompanied by never-before-seen findings in the investigation, the soft resurrection of memory, and the battle-tested courage of faith. A Few Days Full of Trouble is a powerful work of truth-telling, a gift to readers looking to reconcile the weight of the past with a hope for the future.Sold out -
African Artists: From 1882 to Now
As featured in the New York Times, ARTnews, Colossal, Metropolis and New York Magazine's The Strategist
A groundbreaking A-Z survey of the work of over 300 modern and contemporary artists born or based in Africa
Modern and Contemporary African art is at the forefront of the current curatorial and collector movement in today's art scene. This groundbreaking new book, created in collaboration with a prestigious global advisory board, represents the most substantial appraisal of contemporary artists born or based in Africa available. Features the work of more than 300 artists, including El Anatsui, Marlene Dumas, David Goldblatt, Lubaina Himid, William Kentridge, Julie Mehretu, Wangechi Mutu, and Robin Rhode, as well as lesser-known names from across Africa, with stunning and surprising examples of their art paired with insightful texts that demonstrate their contribution to the painting, sculpture, installation, photography, moving image, and performance art.
Advisory Panel: Alayo Akinkugbe, Kavita Chellaram, Raphael Chikukwa, Julie Crooks, Tandazani Dhlakama, Oumy Diaw, Janine Gaëlle Dieudji, Ekow Eshun, Ndubuisi C. Ezeluomba, Joseph Gergel, Danda Jaroljmek, Omar Kholeif, Rose Jepkorir Kiptum, Alicia Knock, Nkule Mabaso, Lucy MacGarry, Owen Martin, Aude Christel Mgba, Bongani Mkhonza, Riason Naidoo, Paula Nascimento, Simon Njami, Robert Njathika, Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi, Chika Okeke-Agulu, Hannah O'Leary, Sean O'Toole, John Owoo, Brenda Schmahmann, Mark Sealy, Yasmeen Siddiqui, and Joseph L. Underwood
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If They Come in the Morning...: Voices of Resistance
With race and policing once more burning issues, this classic work from one of America's giants of black radicalism has lost none of its prescience or power One of America's most historic political trials is undoubtedly that of Angela Davis. Opening with a letter from James Baldwin to Davis, and including contributions from numerous radicals such as Black Panthers George Jackson, Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale and Erica Huggins, this book is not only an account of Davis's incarceration and the struggles surrounding it, but also perhaps the most comprehensive and thorough analysis of the prison system of the United States. Since the book was written, the carceral system in the U.S. has seen unprecedented growth, with more of America's black population behind bars than ever before. The scathing analysis of the role of prison and the policing of black populations offered by Davis and her comrades in this astonishing volume remains as pertinent today as the day it was first published. Featuring contributions from George Jackson, Bettina Aptheker, Bobby Seale, James Baldwin, Ruchell Magee, Julian Bond, Huey P. Newton, Erika Huggins, Fleeta Drumgo, John Clutchette, and others. -
La Formación de Yolanda La Bruja: (The Making of Yolanda La Bruja Spanish Edition)
Elizabeth Acevedo ha dicho que leer a Lorraine Ávila se siente como un "UPPERCUT a los sentidos". Nunca te has encontrado con un autor con una prosa de esta sensibilidad y fuego. Yolanda Álvarez está teniendo un buen año. Comienza a sentirse como en casa en la Secundaria Julia De Burgos, su escuela en el Bronx. Tiene a su mejor amiga Victory, y tal vez algo con José, un jevito de último año que está conociendo mejor. Confía en que su iniciación en la tradición de brujas de su familia sucederá pronto. Pero mientras tanto, un muchacho blanco, hijo de un político, aparece en la Secundaria Julia De Burgos y su energía es rarísima. Y la iniciación de Yolanda comienza con una serie de inquietantes visiones que revelan una amenaza de violencia por parte de este muchacho. Cómo puede Yolanda proteger a su comunidad en un mundo que no la escucha? Solo con la sabiduría y el amor de su familia, amigos y comunidad (y las Bruja Diosas, sus ancestros y guías). La formación de Yolanda la bruja es el libro que este país, que lucha contra la plaga de la violencia armada, necesita desesperadamente, pero que pocos podrían escribir. Aquí Lorraine Ávila nos trae una historia nacida
de la intersección de la raza, la justicia, la educación y la espiritualidad que cautivará a los lectores en todas partes. RECONOCIMIENTO ★ "Un retrato nítidamente representado... No se pueden perder el impactante debut de Ávila". --Booklist (reseña estelar) ★ "Desvergonzadamente político... Un debut notable y bellamente elaborado". --Kirkus (reseña estelar) ★ "Lleno de suspenso... Una protagonista audazmente caracterizada cuyas identidades interseccionales como una persona de color queer y sorda informan su voz narrativa aguda y su convicción sobre la lucha contra el racismo dentro de su comunidad". --Publishers Weekly (reseña estelar) ★ "Ávila construye un personaje multidimensional con Yoyo... y le da un mundo completo y natural para habitar, entretejiendo español y una dinámica familiar maravillosamente compleja... Yoyo sabe que debe ser 'mágica' para sobrevivir, y lo es". --Shelf Awareness (reseña estelar) "Impresionante y urgente. [Ávila] aborda el racismo, la violencia y la injusticia con una mezcla de magia, espiritualidad y cuidado que pocos han intentado, y lo hace con éxito cautivador". --Ms. Magazine "Explora la violencia armada, la raza, la justicia, la educación y la espiritualidad, que sostiene este libro como un dosel, que encierra y expone capas de negritud y el crecimiento y el sentido de pertenencia que la comunidad puede brindar". --Al Día "Una historia necesaria sobre la violencia armada, la raza y la educación". --Refinery29 "Fascinante... representa con destreza la realidad de crecer como una adolescente latinx negra en medio de la violencia racial y la agitación social... Ávila demuestra cuidadosamente la tremenda fuerza en la comunidad de Yolanda y las raíces profundas de su vida espiritual, que la mantienen arraigada a medida que profundiza en todos sus poderes". --Horn Book *** Elizabeth Acevedo has said that reading Lorraine Avila feels like an "UPPERCUT to the senses." You've never encountered an author with prose of this sensitivity and fire. Yolanda Alvarez is having a good year. She's starting to feel at home at Julia De Burgos High, her school in the Bronx. She has her best friend Victory, and maybe something with José, a senior boy she's getting to know. She's confident her initiation into her family's bruja tradition will happen soon. But then a white boy, the son of a politician, appears at Julia De Burgos High, and his vibes are off. And Yolanda's initiation begins with a series of troubling visions of the violence this boy threatens. How can Yolanda protect her community, in a world that doesn't listen? Only with the wisdom and love of her family, friends, and community - and the Bruja Diosas, her ancestors and guides. The Making of Yolanda la Bruja is the book this country, struggling with the plague of gun violence, so desperately needs, but which few could write. Here Lorraine Avila brings a story born from the intersection of race, justice, education, and spirituality that will capture readers everywhere. P R A I S E Common Sense Media Selection for Teens ★ "Inspiring... full of heart and spirituality."
--Shelf-Awareness (starred) ★ "A sharply rendered portrait...Avila's striking debut is not to be missed."
--Booklist (starred) ★ "Unabashedly political...A remarkable, beautifully rendered debut."
--Kirkus (starred) ★ "Suspenseful...A boldly characterized protagonist whose intersectional identities as a queer and Deaf person of color informs her sharp-witted narrative voice and conviction around combatting racism within her community."
--Publishers Weekly (starred) "Impressive and urgent. [Avila] takes on racism, violence and injustice with a mix of magic, spirituality and care that few have attempted--and she's captivatingly successful."
--Ms. Magazine "Explores gun violence, race, justice, education, and spirituality, which holds this book like a canopy, enclosing and exposing layers of Blackness and the growth and sense of belonging community can provide."
--Al Dia "A necessary story about gun violence, race, and education."
--Refinery29 "Gripping...skillfully depicts the reality of growing up as a Black Latinx teen in the midst of racial violence and social upheaval... Avila carefully demonstrates the tremendous strength in Yolanda's community and the deep roots of her spiritual life, which keep her grounded as she steps into her full power."
--Horn BookSold out -
Monumental: Oscar Dunn and His Radical Fight in Reconstruction Louisiana
Monumental tells, for the first time, the incredible story of Oscar James Dunn, a New Orleanian born into slavery who became America's first Black lieutenant governor and acting governor. A champion of universal suffrage, civil rights, and integrated public schools, Dunn fought for radical change during the early years of Reconstruction in Louisiana, a post-Civil War era rife with corruption, subterfuge, and violence.
A graphic history informed by newly discovered primary sources, Monumental resurrects, in vivid detail, Louisiana and New Orleans after the Civil War--and presents an iconic American life that never should have been forgotten. Contextual essays and a map and timeline add layers of depth to the narrative. Monumental is a story of determination, scandal, betrayal, and how one man's principled fight for equality and justice may have cost him everything.
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Behind the Scenes: Or Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House
Behind the Scenes: or Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House was first published in 1868 and is considered one of the most candid and poignant slave narratives. Author Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley writes about her teenage years, working as a slave for the Rev. Robert Burwell in Hillsborough, NC. He is thought by many historians to have been Keckley s half-brother. The Burwells had twelve children and ran an academy for girls. She writes about mistreatment and violence visited upon her by Rev. and Mrs. Burwell, and the unwelcome sexual advances and eventual rape by one of the town s white citizens. After Keckley gave birth to a son, she and her baby were sent to live with Burwell s sister.
Born into slavery, Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley endured untold hardships at the hands of her master and half-brother Robert Burwell in Hillsborough, North Carolina. She eventually purchased freedom for herself and that of her son in the 1850s and is now remembered as an entrepreneur, fashion designer, abolitionist, educator, writer, and community activist. Self-reliant and educated, Keckley used her dressmaking skills to set up a successful business in the pre-Civil War Washington D.C., where she became the modiste of choice for many of the most fashionable women in the nation s capital. Her talents and enterprising nature eventually led her to become seamstress to Mary Todd Lincoln and confidante to both Mary and Abraham Lincoln. After the assassination of President Lincoln, Keckley s friendship with Mary Todd Lincoln eventually shifted into one of caretaker, as the former first lady s financial troubles mounted and her mental health declined. In an effort to buoy their financial fortunes and to balance Lincoln s battered public image, Keckley wrote Behind the Scenes: or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the While House. It is considered both a slave narrative and, in the words of historian Williams Andrews, the first major text to represent the interests and aims of this nascent African American leadership class the postwar era. -
The Heart of a Woman
In The Heart of a Woman, Maya Angelou leaves California with her son, Guy, to move to New York. There she enters the society and world of black artists and writers, reads her work at the Harlem Writers Guild, and begins to take part in the struggle of black Americans for their rightful place in the world. In the meantime, her personal life takes an unexpected turn. She leaves the bail bondsman she was intending to marry after falling in love with a South African freedom fighter, travels with him to London and Cairo, where she discovers new opportunities. The Heart of a Woman is filled with unforgettable vignettes of such renowned people as Billie Holiday and Malcom X, but perhaps most importantly chronicles the joys and the burdens of a black mother in America and how the son she has cherished so intensely and worked for so devotedly finally grows to be a man. -
A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story
"Profound, funny ... wild and moving ... heartbreaking accounts of a lonely black childhood.... Brown sees racial oppression in national and global context; every political word she writes pounds home a lesson about commerce, money, racism, communism, you name it ... A glowing achievement." --Los Angeles Times Elaine Brown assumed her role as the first and only female leader of the Black Panther Party with these words: "I have all the guns and all the money. I can withstand challenge from without and from within. Am I right, Comrade?" It was August 1974. From a small Oakland-based cell, the Panthers had grown to become a revolutionary national organization, mobilizing black communities and white supporters across the country--but relentlessly targeted by the police and the FBI, and increasingly riven by violence and strife within. How Brown came to a position of power over this paramilitary, male-dominated organization, and what she did with that power, is a riveting, unsparing account of self-discovery. Brown's story begins with growing up in an impoverished neighborhood in Philadelphia and attending a predominantly white school, where she first sensed what it meant to be black, female, and poor in America. She describes her political awakening during the bohemian years of her adolescence, and her time as a foot soldier for the Panthers, who seemed to hold the promise of redemption. And she tells of her ascent into the upper echelons of Panther leadership: her tumultuous relationship with the charismatic Huey Newton, who would become her lover and her nemesis; her experience with the male power rituals that would sow the seeds of the party's demise; and the scars that she both suffered and inflicted in that era's paradigm-shifting clashes of sex and power. Stunning, lyrical, and acute, this is the indelible testimony of a black woman's battle to define herself. -
Sold outLola at the Library with Mommy
Learn about the library, checking out books, and story time with Lola. Every Tuesday Lola and her mommy go to the library. Lola meets her friends there. They share books and don't have to be quiet all the time. The nice librarian tells stories. There is a big machine that buzzes Lola's books in and out, and she can take any books she wants home with her. Lola and her mommy always stop for a treat on the way home. No wonder Lola loves the library. This gentle story of growing with books encourages little ones to discover the joy of reading as well as getting them ready and excited to visit the library. Sweet, bright illustrations are from a kids-eye point of view. Perfect for a lap read or story time, the first in Lola series, LOLA AT THE LIBRARY is a book young readers will fall in love with.Sold out -
Smoketown: The Untold Story of the Other Great Black Renaissance
A brilliant, lively account of the Black Renaissance that burst forth in Pittsburgh from the 1920s through the 1950s--"Smoketown will appeal to anybody interested in black history and anybody who loves a good story...terrific, eminently readable...fascinating" (The Washington Post). Today black Pittsburgh is known as the setting for August Wilson's famed plays about noble, but doomed, working-class citizens. But this community once had an impact on American history that rivaled the far larger black worlds of Harlem and Chicago. It published the most widely read black newspaper in the country, urging black voters to switch from the Republican to the Democratic Party, and then rallying black support for World War II. It fielded two of the greatest baseball teams of the Negro Leagues and introduced Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers. Pittsburgh was the childhood home of jazz pioneers Billy Strayhorn, Billy Eckstine, Earl Hines, Mary Lou Williams, and Erroll Garner; Hall of Fame slugger Josh Gibson--and August Wilson himself. Some of the most glittering figures of the era were changed forever by the time they spent in the city, from Joe Louis and Satchel Paige to Duke Ellington and Lena Horne. Mark Whitaker's Smoketown is a "rewarding trip to a forgotten special place and time" (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). It depicts how ambitious Southern migrants were drawn to a steel-making city on a strategic river junction; how they were shaped by its schools and a spirit of commerce with roots in the Gilded Age; and how their world was eventually destroyed by industrial decline and urban renewal. "Smoketown brilliantly offers us a chance to see this other Black Renaissance and spend time with the many luminaries who sparked it...It's thanks to such a gifted storyteller as Whitaker that this forgotten chapter of American history can finally be told in all its vibrancy and glory" (The New York Times Book Review). -
Wolf Hustle: A Black Woman on Wall Street
From the South Bronx projects to the boardroom--at only nineteen years old, Cin Fabré ran with the wolves of Wall Street.
Growing up, Cin Fabré didn't know anything about the stock market. But she learned how to hustle from her immigrant parents, saving money so that one day she could escape her abusive father and poverty in the Bronx. Through a tip from a friend, Cin pushed her way into brokerage firm VTR Capital--an offshoot of Stratton Oakmont, the company where the Wolf of Wall Street, Jordan Belfort, had reigned. She was shocked to find an army of young workers, mostly Black and Brown, with no real prospects for promotion sitting at phones doing the drudge work of finding investment leads for white male brokers. But she felt the pull of profit and knew she would do whatever she had to do to be successful. Pulling back the curtain on the inequities she and so many others faced, Wolf Hustle reveals how Cin worked grueling hours, ascending from cold caller to stockbroker, becoming the only Black woman to do so at her firm. She also discloses the excesses she took part in on 1990s Wall Street--the strip clubs, the Hamptons parties, the Gucci shopping sprees--while reveling in the thrill of making money. From landing clients worth hundreds of millions to gaining, losing, then gaining back fortunes in seconds, Cin examines her years spent trading frantically and hustling successfully, grappling with what it takes to build a rich life, and, ultimately, beating Wall Street at its own game. -
Let the Circle Be Unbroken
A stunning repackage of a companion to Mildred D. Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, with cover art by two-time Caldecott Honor Award winner Kadir Nelson! It is a frightening and turbulent time for the Logan family. First, their friend T.J. must go on trial for murder--and confront an all-white jury. Then, Cousin Suzella tries to pass for white, with humiliating consequences. And when Cassie's neighbor, Mrs. Lee Annie, stands up for her right to vote, she and her family are driven from their home. Other neighbors are destroyed and shattered by the greed of landowners. But through it all, Cassie and the Logans stand together and stand proud--proving that courage, love, and understanding can defy even the deepest prejudice. "This dramatic sequel to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is a powerful novel . . .capable of touching readers of any age."--The Christian Science Monitor "A profoundly affecting novel."--Publishers Weekly -
The Real Hoosiers: Crispus Attucks High School, Oscar Robertson, and the Hidden History of Hoops
The true story behind Crispus Attucks High School and the all-Black basketball team loosely depicted as the championship opponent in the beloved classic sports movie Hoosiers. For far too long the mythology of Indiana basketball has been dominated by Hoosiers. Framed as the ultimate underdog, feel-good story, there has also long been a cultural debate surrounding the film. The Real Hoosiers sets out to illuminate the narrative that the film omits, the story of the unheralded Crispus Attucks Tigers, playing the game at the highest level in the 1950s in a racially divided Indiana. After a crushing loss to Milan High School in the 1954 semifinal, which was the game that the final scenes in Hoosiers are based on, Attucks went on to win back-to-back Indiana state championships. That team was led by a young Oscar Robertson and coached by Ray Crowe, who fully recognized the seemingly insurmountable challenges of playing basketball in a state that was a bastion for not only the game but also the Ku Klux Klan. Veteran sportswriter and the bestselling author of Dream Team, Jack McCallum, pulls back the curtain on that history, which is rich, far beyond the basketball court. The Real Hoosiers replaces a lacuna in the history of Indiana while dissecting the myths and lore of Hoosier hoops; placing the game in the context of migration, segregation, and integration; and enhancing our understanding of this country's struggle for civil rights. -
Dead Weight: A Memoir in Essays
Dead Weight chronicles the improbable turnaround of a drug smuggler who, after being sentenced to eight years in state prison, returned to society to earn a PhD in creative writing and become the only tenured professor in the United States with seven felony convictions. Horton's visceral essays highlight the difficulties of trying to change one's life for the better, how the weight of felony convictions never dissipates. The memoir begins with a conversation between Horton and Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man statue in New York City. Their imagined dialogue examines the psychological impact of racism on Black men and boys, including Horton's separation from his mother, immediately after his birth, in a segregated Alabama hospital. From his current life as a professor and prison reformer, Horton looks back on his experiences as a drug smuggler and trafficker during the 1980s-1990s as well as the many obstacles he faced after his release. He also examines the lasting impact of his drug activity on those around him, reflecting on the allure of economic freedom and the mental escapism that cocaine provided, an allure so strong that both sellers and users were willing to risk prison. Horton shares historical context and vivid details about people caught in the war on drugs who became unsuspecting protagonists in somebody else's melodrama. Lyrical and gripping, Dead Weight reveals the lifelong effects of one man's incarceration on his psyche, his memories, and his daily experience of American society.
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I Got Somebody in Staunton: Stories
In twelve graceful, sensual stories, William Henry Lewis traces the line between the real and the imaginary, acknowledging the painful ghosts of the past in everyday encounters. Written in a style that has been acclaimed by our finest writers, from Edward P. Jones and Nikki Giovanni to Dave Eggers, I Got Somebody in Staunton is one of the most highly praised literary events to take on contemporary America.
In the title story, a young professor befriends an enigmatic white woman in a bar along the back roads of Virginia, but has second thoughts about driving her to a neighboring town as his uncle's stories of lynchings resonate through his mind. Another tale portrays a Kansas City jazz troupe's travels to Denver, where they hope to strike it big. Meanwhile, a man in the midst of paradise must decide whether he will languish or thrive.
With I Got Somebody in Staunton Lewis has lyrically and unflinchingly chronicled the lives of those most often neglected.