Cultural Literature

African Americans struggle with identity because of 400 plus years of slavery, Jim Crow, the dark specter of ghettoes, and the New Jim Crow, i.e., prison. In a 1967 speech, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., referred to this as the struggle for somebodiness...

In the midst of loss and death and suffering, our charge is to figure out what freedom really means--and how we take steps to get there. "In the United States, being poor and Black makes you more likely to get sick. Being poor, Black, and sick makes you...

Winner of the PEN Oakland-Josephine Miles AwardWinner of the MAAH Stone Book AwardA Rolling Stone Best Music Book of the YearA Pitchfork Best Music Book of the Year   "Brooks traces all kinds of lines, finding unexpected points of connection.....

Mahogany L. Browne's evocative book-length poem explores the impacts of the prison system on both the incarcerated and the loved ones left behind.I Remember Death by Its Proximity to What I Love is an expansive poetic meditation on who we think is bound...

A photographic panorama of the creativity and variety of Black women's hairstyles In Crowns: My Hair, My Soul, My Freedom American photographer Sandro Miller (born 1958) celebrates the social endurance, cultural heritage and self-expression of Black...

Black Man Where Are You is a collection on the history of black oppression and how to reverse the cycle . This book not only acknowledges the sacrifices of our ancestors, but how to apply the knowledge we have learned for a more prosperous future.

The power, glory, diversity, and talent of women street artists finally gets the attention it deserves in the first book to focus solely on the female gaze writ large on urban walls and sidewalks across five continents If street art is, in itself, an act...

An authoritative history of the groundbreaking syndicated television show that has become an icon of American pop culture, from acclaimed author and filmmaker Nelson George, "the most accomplished black music critic of his generation" (Washington Post...

Nellie Y. McKay (1930-2006) was a pivotal figure in contemporary American letters. The author of several books, McKay is best known for coediting the canon-making Norton Anthology of African American Literaturewith Henry Louis Gates Jr., which helped...

A "gripping and poignant" (Wall Street Journal) account of the coming of the American Civil War, showing the crucial role of slaves who escaped to Mexico The Underground Railroad to the North promised salvation to many American slaves before the Civil...

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER"Funny, tender, and so good." - Mindy Kaling, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Why Not Me?Here is that rare book that will not only touch your heart, but also send you back out there to stand up for yourself and others...

A Black descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings' family explores America's racial reckoning through the prism of her ancestors--both the enslaver and the enslaved.Gayle Jessup White had long heard the stories passed down from her father's...

To define Nigeria is to tell a half-truth. Many have tried, but most have concluded that it is impossible to capture the true scope and significance of Africa's most populous nation through words or images. Yet here, through personal essays from...

One of our preeminent historians of race and democracy argues that the period since 2008 has marked nothing less than America's Third ReconstructionIn The Third Reconstruction, distinguished historian Peniel E. Joseph offers a powerful and personal new...

Singing is very popular among the Dinka. With ox songs, although the practice may now be dying, every man is traditionally supposed Singing is very popular among the Dinka. With ox songs, although the practice may now be dying, every man is traditionally...

This exciting, color-filled retrospective monograph offers new insights into Basquiat's unique visual language and helps illuminate messages about political and social issues that feel as urgent today as they did a half-century ago. Jean-Michel...