Cultural Literature

The "New York Times"-bestselling author and one of the nation's finest speakers reflects on critical points in his life and times through the lens of the speeches he gave--and the leaders and preachers who inspired him. Black Americans have always relied...

Michelle Obama has played an influential role in her husband's campaign, and is certain to do the same if he is elected president. This work examines her astonishing career--covering her undergraduate years at Princeton, her studies at Harvard Law...

12 Million Black Voices, first published in 1941, combines Wright's prose with startling photographs selected by Edwin Rosskam from the Security Farm Administration files compiled during the Great Depression. The photographs include works by such giants...

Mosley has crafted a deeply personal and political proposal, offering a commonsense approach to the challenge of finding world peace in a post-9/11 world. He explores what the terrorist attacks meant to him and challenges African Americans to use their...

"The journey white Southerners travel in this riveting memoir, from virulent racism to acceptance of blacks' civil rights, is as momentous as any in American history. Zellner moved a shorter distance — son of a progressive, integrationist minister from...

Hurricane Katrina of August-September 2005, one of the most destructive natural disasters in U.S. history, dramatically illustrated the continuing racial and class inequalities of America. In this powerful reader, "Seeking Higher Ground," prominent...

"This masterfully edited collection . . . is worth every exhilarating moment that one spends perusing it". -- Journal of American History

Contrary to the stereotype of the "strong Black woman," African American women are more plagued by domestic violence than any other racial group in the United States. In fact, African American women experience intimate partner violence at a rate 35%...

A celebrated fighter pilot details his ordeal in Vietnam--a war in which he did not believe during a time when black Americans found equality in the U.S. military long before they could experience democracy's promise back at home. Captain Brian H...

A handbook for nurturing the black consciousness and activism.

Powerful prose, poetry, and jazz riffs chronicle the first 21 years of the life of Haki R. Madhubuti, formerly Don L. Lee: poet, publisher, editor, and activist. He was raised by his mother Maxine, whose life is also recounted--including gritty details...

Kwanzaa is an African American festival that celebrates family, community and culture. It was begun in 1966 and based on various African harvest festivals in an attempt to bring African Americans together and remind them of their roots. On this day, Afric