Cultural Literature

Named a best book of 2020 by the New York Times and Kirkus Reviews "A smart, timely, deeply disturbing and essential book by a veteran scholar and leading expert on the criminal legal system. . . . This is not a Black crisis but a national emergency."...

Young, gifted and black, Open your heart to what I mean . . . Nina Simone's popular anthem from the civil rights movement speaks to both the celebrations and trials of the Black experience. Young, Gifted, and Black gives voice to the real-life...

An Oxford evolutionary anthropologist explores the ever-elusive science of love. What can the social and life sciences tell us about the most fundamental and unquantifiable human experience--love? Anna Manchin is interested in the the the most inclusive...

The Rallying Point is the story of a struggle to promote the symbol of pride in heritage and achievement the Black American Heritage Flag. The story tells the often painful, sometimes surprising, twists and turns encountered by Jackson and Charles as...

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks meets Get Out in this "startling...powerful" (Kirkus Reviews) investigation of racial inequality at the core of the heart transplant race. In 1968, Bruce Tucker, a black man, went into Virginia's top research...

These pieces display the innovative style of the late, great jazz master Bill Evans including his highly original harmonic and melodic concept, his creative sense of rhythmic subdivision and his free-flowing phrase construction. Titles are: Autumn Leaves...

What would happen if people started moving beyond the conversation and took action to combat racism? We are in an era where many Americans express the sentiment, "I thought we were past that," when a public demonstration of racism comes across their...

From the stand-up comedian, actress, and host beloved for her cheeky swagger, unique voice, and unapologetic frankness comes a book of "zesty and hilarious" (Publishers Weekly) essays for fans of Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me by Mindy Kaling and...

A new consideration of extraordinary art created by Black artists during the mid-20th century My Soul Has Grown Deep considers the art-historical significance of contemporary Black artists working throughout the southeastern United States. These...

The long-awaited autobiography from Georgetown University's legendary coach, whose life on and off the basketball court throws America's unresolved struggle with racial justice into sharp relief John Thompson was never just a basketball coach and I Came...

This essential introduction to African American spirituality shows how spirituality has nurtured their survival through slavery, segregation, and the challenges of society today.

A "daring, urgent, and transformative" (Brené Brown, New York Times bestselling author of Dare to Lead) exploration of Black achievement in a white world based on honest, provocative, and moving interviews with Black leaders, scientists, artists,...

Nigeria was a unique concept in the formation of modern Africa. It began life as a highly lucrative if climatically challenging holding of the Royal Niger Company, a British Chartered Company under the control of Victorian capitalist Sir George Taubman...

An investigation into gentrification and displacement, focusing on the case of Portland, Oregon's systematic dispersal of black residents from its Albina neighborhood.Portland, Oregon, is one of the most beautiful, livable cities in the United States. It...

What does jazz mean 20 years into the 21st century? Has streaming culture rendered music literally meaningless, thanks to the removal of all context beyond the playlist? Are there any traditions left to explore? Has the destruction of the apprenticeship...