General History

A "rich hybrid of memoir and history" (The New Yorker) of the literary art form that has transformed the cultural landscape, by one of its influential practitioners, an award-winning poet, professor, and slam champion "Bennett...transport[s] us back to...

Traveling throughout the South during the 1950s was hazardous for African Americans. There were precious few hotels and restaurants that opened their doors to minorities, and fewer still had accommodations above the bare minimum, to say nothing of the...

A New York Times Editors' Pick"Magnificent.... A uniquely intimate history of Black liberation." - Los Angeles TimesThe long overdue story of the Shakurs, persistent fighters in the U.S. struggle for racial justice, and one of the most prominent,...

African Americans have been part of the Vallejo mosaic since 1850, the year of the North Bay city's birth. John Grider, a Tennessee native and former slave who arrived in Vallejo in 1850, was one of the city's earliest residents and a veteran of the...

The definitive illustrated volume on the work and life of Ann Lowe, a consummate couturier who designed lavish evening and bridal gowns for members of America's social registry, a Black woman working hard behind the scenes whose important legacy has...

A writer in search of his roots discovers stories of African American struggle, sacrifice, and achievement.In The Garretts of Columbia, author David Nicholson tells a multigenerational story of Black hope and resilience. Carefully researched and...

Histories of gay and lesbian urban life typically focus on major metropolitan areas like San Francisco and New York, opportunity-filled destinations for LGBTQ migrants from across the country. Yet there are many other queer communities in economically...

The powerful life story and photography of an esteemed Black photojournalist Cecil Williams is one of the few Southern Black photojournalists of the civil rights movement. Born and raised in Orangeburg, South Carolina, Williams worked at the center of...

In grocery store aisles and kitchens across the country, smiling images of "Aunt Jemima" and other historical and fictional black cooks can be found on various food products and in advertising. Although these images are sanitized and romanticized in...

"This untidy, honest, fascinating account compels the reader to reflect on profound questions of loyalty and race . . . All of us want to see our parents as heroes. It is to Ms. Seletsky's great credit that she explores the depths of her father's story...

A beautiful commemorative edition of Dr. Martin Luther King's speech "Our God Is Marching On," part of Dr. King's archives published exclusively by HarperCollins.At the end of the march from Selma to Montgomery on March 25, 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King...