African American Studies

From a New Yorker staff writer and PEN award winner, a blend of memoir, history, and reportage on one of the most complex and least understood states in America. "In Alabama, we exist at the border of blessing and disaster...." Alexis Okeowo grew up in...

In Foremother Love, Dana Murphy examines the importance of eighteenth-century poet Phillis Wheatley as a foundational figure for Black feminist criticism. Murphy establishes Phillis (as she refers to her) as a writer who wrote in response to and in...

In Foremother Love, Dana Murphy examines the importance of eighteenth-century poet Phillis Wheatley as a foundational figure for Black feminist criticism. Murphy establishes Phillis (as she refers to her) as a writer who wrote in response to and in...

HILARY WESTON WRITERS' TRUST PRIZE FOR NONFICTION FINALIST "Honest, vulnerable, courageous and funny..." --Lawrence Hill, author of The Book of Negroes Bestselling, award-winning writer Ian Williams brings fresh eyes and new insights to today's urgent...

"Hey, kid. Kid." A voice in the darkness of the slum dorm. I awoke to my stale, bare mattress. It was midnight. The arm of a male nanny reached into the closet where my bed was, roughly jostling me. "You have to get up. They're coming." A prosperous...

A powerful read redefining the meaning of genius while illuminating the ways in which Black Americans have found various ways to thrive despite insurmountable obstacles. Black genius sits at the heart of the American story. In his probing essay...

The long and pernicious relationship between fast food restaurants and the African American community Today, fast food is disproportionately located in Black neighborhoods and marketed to Black Americans through targeted advertising. But throughout much...

A multifaceted history of Black resistance during the War of Independence The American Revolution brought about violent and unpredictable social changes throughout the new nation, particularly in the South. Sylvia Frey reveals how slave resistance gave...

How American symbols inspired enslaved people and their allies to fight for true freedom In the early United States, anthems, flags, holidays, monuments, and memorials were powerful symbols of an American identity that helped unify a divided people. A...

Located just across the Potomac River from Washington, DC, Alexandria, Virginia, has long held a unique sociopolitical position due to its proximity to the nation's capital. This unexplored relationship had a profound impact on African Americans' access...

A corrective history of the essential role that Black women played in the early Black press.In Great Thinkers and Doers, Teresa Zackodnik looks at the vital--and largely overlooked--role of Black women readers, writers, and editors in the development of...

Lawrence Thomas Guyot Jr. (1939-2012), known simply as "Guyot" (pronounced ghee-aught), was a pivotal yet underrecognized figure in the civil rights movement. As a Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) field secretary in the 1960s, he battled...