James Forman

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

Arizona

Crime and Punishment in Black America

Winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction Long-listed for the National Book Award Finalist, Current Interest Category, Los Angeles Times Book Prizes One of The New York Times Book Review's 10 Best Books of 2017 Short-listed for the Inaugural Goddard Riverside Stephan Russo Book Prize for Social Justice Former public defender James Forman, Jr. is a leading critic of mass incarceration and its disproportionate impact on people of color. In Locking Up Our Own, he seeks to understand the war on crime that began in the 1970s and why it was supported by many African American leaders in the nation’s urban centers. Forman shows us that the first substantial cohort of black mayors, judges, and police chiefs took office amid a surge in crime and drug addiction. Many prominent black officials, including Washington, D.C. mayor Marion Barry and federal prosecutor Eric Holder, feared that the gains of the civil rights movement were being undermined by lawlessness—and thus embraced tough-on-crime measures, including longer sentences and aggressive police tactics. In the face of skyrocketing murder rates and the proliferation of open-air drug markets, they believed they had no choice. But the policies they adopted would have devastating consequences for residents of poor black neighborhoods. A former D.C. public defender, Forman tells riveting stories of politicians, community activists, police officers, defendants, and crime victims. He writes with compassion about individuals trapped in terrible dilemmas—from the men and women he represented in court to officials struggling to respond to a public safety emergency. Locking Up Our Own enriches our understanding of why our society became so punitive and offers important lessons to anyone concerned about the future of race and the criminal justice system in this country.

Locking up Our Own

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Fighting For Justice

Discovering History’s Heroes Ida B. Wells

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Fighter For Justice

History

What Is Black Lives Matter?

Heavy Paperback (2 to 4 lbs)

Her Honor

Nella Larsen

A NETFLIX BOOK CLUB PICK Now a major motion picture starring Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga, Nella Larsen's powerful, thrilling, and tragic tale about the fluidity of racial identity that continues to resonate today. Clare Kendry is living on the edge. Light-skinned, elegant, and ambitious, she is married to a racist white man unaware of her African American heritage, and has severed all ties to her past after deciding to "pass" as a white woman. Clare's childhood friend, Irene Redfield, just as light-skinned, has chosen to remain within the African American community, and is simultaneously allured and repelled by Clare's risky decision to engage in racial masquerade for personal and societal gain. After frequenting African American-centric gatherings together in Harlem, Clare's interest in Irene turns into a homoerotic longing for Irene's black identity that she abandoned and can never embrace again, and she is forced to grapple with her decision to pass for white in a way that is both tragic and telling. First published in 1929, Passing feels just as timely as ever today.

Passing (Movie Tie-In)

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Wayetu Moore

Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

A Novel

“An ambitious and expansive novel that explores the nuances of Liberian history.” —The New York Times Wayétu Moore’s powerful debut novel, She Would Be King, reimagines the dramatic story of Liberia’s early years through three unforgettable characters who share an uncommon bond. Gbessa, exiled from the West African village of Lai, is starved, bitten by a viper, and left for dead, but still she survives. June Dey, raised on a plantation in Virginia, hides his unusual strength until a confrontation with the overseer forces him to flee. Norman Aragon, the child of a white British colonizer and a Maroon slave from Jamaica, can fade from sight when the earth calls him. When the three meet in the settlement of Monrovia, their gifts help them salvage the tense relationship between the African American settlers and the indigenous tribes, as a new nation forms around them. Moore’s intermingling of history and magical realism finds voice not just in these three characters but also in the fleeting spirit of the wind, who embodies an ancient wisdom. “If she was not a woman,” the wind says of Gbessa, “she would be king.” In this vibrant story of the African diaspora, Moore, a talented storyteller and a daring writer, illuminates with radiant and exacting prose the tumultuous roots of a country inextricably bound to the United States. She Would Be King is a novel of profound depth set against a vast canvas and a transcendent debut from a major new author.

She Would Be King

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James Forman

Locking up Our Own

James Forman

Locking up Our Own

James Forman

Locking up Our Own

James Forman

Locking up Our Own

James Forman

Locking up Our Own

Diane Bailey

Discovering History’s Heroes Ida B. Wells

Diane Bailey

Discovering History’s Heroes Ida B. Wells

Diane Bailey

Discovering History’s Heroes Ida B. Wells

Lakita Wilson

What Is Black Lives Matter?

Lakita Wilson

What Is Black Lives Matter?

Lakita Wilson

What Is Black Lives Matter?

LaDoris Hazzard Cordell

Her Honor

LaDoris Hazzard Cordell

Her Honor

LaDoris Hazzard Cordell

Her Honor

LaDoris Hazzard Cordell

Her Honor

LaDoris Hazzard Cordell

Her Honor

Nella Larsen

Passing (Movie Tie-In)

Nella Larsen

Passing (Movie Tie-In)

Nella Larsen

Passing (Movie Tie-In)

Nella Larsen

Passing (Movie Tie-In)

Nella Larsen

Passing (Movie Tie-In)

Wayetu Moore

She Would Be King

Wayetu Moore

She Would Be King

Wayetu Moore

She Would Be King

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