Biography

"This book is brutal and brutally honest, but still perversely addictive because Brontez Purnell is a performer in the truest sense. Reading Ten Bridges I've Burnt, I felt tucked-in with him, along for the intimate ride, and paused only once to write...

A revelatory look at the tumultuous life of a jazz legend and American cultural icon. In the first biography of Billie Holiday in more than two decades, Paul Alexander--author of heralded lives of Sylvia Plath and J.D. Salinger--gives us an...

The lives and writings of six leading Black Buddhist women--Jan Willis, bell hooks, Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, angel Kyodo williams, Spring Washam, and Faith Adiele--reveal new expressions of Buddhism rooted in ancestry, love, and collective liberation...

After immigrating from Jamaica to the United States, Prince Shakur's family is rocked by the murder of Prince's biological father in 1995. Behind the murder is a sordid family truth, scripted in the lines of a diary by an outlawed uncle hell-bent on...

For the first time in a deluxe collector's boxed set, the definitive edition of the writings of the great African American freedom fighter, including all 3 of his classic memoirs and the best of his impassioned speeches and journalism For more than five...

Sarah and Angelina Grimke--the Grimke sisters--are revered figures in American history, famous for rejecting their privileged lives on a plantation in South Carolina to become firebrand activists in the North. Their antislavery pamphlets, among the most...

Microsoft's associate general counsel shares a story that is "as nuanced as it is hopeful" (Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Leader) about his rise from childhood poverty in pre-gentrified New York City to a stellar career at the top of the technology and...

When Ernie Banks passed away in 2015, he was regarded as one of the most beloved men in baseball history. Making his start as a shortstop with the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Leagues as a teenager, Banks went on to become the first African American...

This inspirational memoir by Craig Robinson pays tribute to his parents, his coaches, and the lessons his experiences have taught him. Foreword by Marian Robinson When he stepped into history's spotlight at the National Democratic Convention, Craig...

2020 Chautauqua Prize Finalist 2020 NAACP Image Award Nominee - Outstanding Literary Work (Nonfiction) Best-of Lists: Best Nonfiction Books of 2019 (Kirkus Reviews) - 25 Can't-Miss Books of 2019 (The Undefeated) Explores the terror, grace, and beauty of...

A revelatory biography of the writer-activist who inspired today's movements for social and racial justice In the era of Black Lives Matter, Frantz Fanon's shadow looms larger than ever. He was the intellectual activist of the postcolonial era, and his...

A poignant and glorious photographic memoir that pays homage to the lifelong friendship between the legendary Cicely Tyson and acclaimed fashion designer B Michael, who worked with her to make her gorgeous through her last bow.What greater act of...

The cofounder of BET and first African American woman billionaire shares her deeply personal journey through love and loss, tragedy and triumph--an inspiring story of overcoming toxic influences, discovering her true self, and at last finding happiness...

Through It All, a unique, intimate portrait of the Kings, one of America's most extraordinary families, is written as only a beloved elder sibling of Dr. Martin L. King, Jr., could -- with insight, tenderness, and wisdom. Christine King Farris, the only...