Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

Illinois

Growing up White in the Segregated South

In "Separate Pasts" Melton A. McLaurin honestly and plainly recalls his boyhood during the 1950s, an era when segregation existed unchallenged in the rural South. In his small hometown of Wade, North Carolina, whites and blacks lived and worked within each other's shadows, yet were separated by the history they shared. "Separate Pasts" is the moving story of the bonds McLaurin formed with friends of both races--a testament to the power of human relationships to overcome even the most ingrained systems of oppression. A new afterword provides historical context for the development of segregation in North Carolina. In his poignant portrayal of contemporary Wade, McLaurin shows that, despite integration and the election of a black mayor, the legacy of racism remains.

Separate Pasts

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Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

The Vision of Ralph Ellison

Essays discuss Ellison's major works, literary style, themes, influences, life, and career

Speaking for You - PA

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#hardcover #firstedition #africanamerican #culture 

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America

Two world wars, the Civil Rights movement, and a Jheri curl later, Blacks in America continue to have a complex and convoluted relationship with their hair. From the antebellum practice of shaving the head in an attempt to pass as a "free" person to the 1998 uproar over a White third-grade teacher's reading of the book Nappy Hair, the issues surrounding Black hair continue to linger as we enter the twenty-first century.

Hair Story is a historical and anecdotal exploration of Black Americans' tangled hair roots. A chronological look at the culture and politics behind the ever-changing state of Black hair from fifteenth-century Africa to the present-day United States, it ties the personal to the political and the popular.

Read about:

* Why Black American slaves used items like axle grease and eel skin to straighten their hair.
* How a Mexican chemist straightened Black hair using his formula for turning sheep's wool into a minklike fur.
* How the Afro evolved from militant style to mainstream fashion trend.
* What prompted the creation of the Jheri curl and the popular style's fall from grace.
* The story behind Bo Derek's controversial cornrows and the range of reactions they garnered.

Major figures in the history of Black hair are presented, from early hair-care entrepreneurs Annie Turnbo Malone and Madam C. J. Walker to unintended hair heroes like Angela Davis and Bob Marley. Celebrities, stylists, and cultural critics weigh in on the burgeoning sociopolitical issues surrounding Black hair, from the historically loaded terms "good" and "bad" hair, to Black hair in the workplace, to mainstream society's misrepresentation and misunderstanding of kinky locks.

Hair Story is the book that Black Americans can use as a benchmark for tracing a unique aspect of their history, and it's a book that people of all races will celebrate as the reference guide for understanding Black hair.


Hair Story

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The Battle over Northern School Segregation, 1865-1954

A history of various efforts to desegregate northern schools during the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century, exploring two dominant themes. The first considers the role of law in accomplishing racial change. Most northern state legislatures enacted legislation after the Civil War that prohibited school segregation and most northern courts, when called upon, enforced that legislation. Notwithstanding this clear legal opposition to school segregation, racially separate schools flourished in much of the north until the late 1940s and early 1950s. The second theme is the ambivalence in the northern black community over the importance of school integration. Since the antebellum era, northern blacks have sharply divided over the question of whether black children would fare better in separate black schools or in racially integrated ones. These competing visions of black empowerment in the northern black community as reflected in the debate over school integration are addressed here.

Jim Crow Moves North

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One Hundred Black Women Who Made a Difference

Provides brief biographies of business executives, physicians, journalists, lawyers, actresses, singers, artists, musicians, educators, religious leaders, civil rights activists, politicians, writers, aviators, athletes, and scientists

Epic Lives

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#hardcover #firstedition #africanamerican #novel 

A Novel

At the heart of this wonderful novel is a young woman trapped between two worlds. Hope Robinson is black, embattled -- & bright enough to win a scholarship to an exclusive prep school. It's an opportunity that comes at a high price; Hope never really feels comfortable in the white community & worries that she has been cut off from her roots. Her struggle to find her place has left her confused, alone, & profoundly angry. Now twenty-eight, a reporter for a Philadelphia newspaper, Hope still clings to her rage. As the novel unfolds, she finds her life spinning out of control, both at work -- where conflicts over affirmative action escalate into outright hostility -- & in her tangled personal life, where she's torn between her relationship with an Afrocentric journalist & her affair with a white man. Finally, overwhelmed by stress, she's driven to a desperate act that ultimately leads her to an understanding that hatred is the most self-destructive of all emotions. Hope tells her story in an articulate, colloquial voice that rings with truth. She's smart, wry, & every bit as unsparing of herself as she is of others; in short, she's a woman any reader can root for -- & as she comes to grips with herself, it's impossible not to feel sympathetic, moved, & uplifted.

Taming It Down

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#hardcover #firstedition #africanamerican 

Twenty-nine-year-old Toni Carleton is doing it all. She's trying to make a success of Shear Necessity, her hair salon; finish her bachelor's degree; and raise her six-year-old daughter with precious little help from her ex-husband, who may have turned her against men forever. Toni is smart, resourceful, strong, and determined to let nothing stand in the way of her dreams. But then she is faced with the toughest challenge of all: a crisis involving her two younger sisters--Joy and Lynn--that threatens to tear apart her tight-knit family. How will her family solve their problems? And will Toni really give up on love?Sheer Necessity is a lively and moving tale of hope, ambition, and redemption, and is also a powerful portrayal of the importance and strength of the African-American family. Packed with solid dramatic scenes, sparkling dialogue, and a great cast of characters, Sheer Necessity is a deeply satisfying read that solidifies Sharon Mitchell's position as an up-and-coming star in contemporary African-American women's fiction.

Sheer Necessity

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Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

And Other Advice from White People

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A GOODREADS CHOICE AWARDS FINALIST

"Hilarious yet soul-shaking." --Black Enterprise

The fearless comedy legend--one of the "Original Kings of Comedy"--hilariously breaks down the wisdom of white people, advice that has been killing black folks in America for four hundred years and counting.



200 years ago, white people told black folks, "'I suggest you pick the cotton if you don't like getting whipped." Today, it's "comply with police orders if you don't want to get shot." Now comedian/activist D. L. Hughley-one the Original Kings of Comedy-confronts and remixes white people's "advice" in this "hilarious examination of the current state of race relations in the United States" (Publishers Weekly).

In America, a black man is three times more likely to be killed in encounters with police than a white guy. If only he had complied with the cop, he might be alive today, pundits say in the aftermath of the latest shooting of an unarmed black man. Or, Maybe he shouldn't have worn that hoodie ... or, moved more slowly ... not been out so late ... Wait, why are black people allowed to drive, anyway?

This isn't a new phenomenon. White people have been giving "advice" to black folks for as long as anyone can remember, telling them how to pick cotton, where to sit on a bus, what neighborhood to live in, when they can vote, and how to wear our pants. Despite centuries of whites' advice, it seems black people still aren't listening, and the results are tragic.

Now, at last, activist, comedian, and New York Times bestselling author D. L. Hughley offers How Not to Get Shot, an illustrated how-to guide for black people, full of insight from white people, translated by one of the funniest black dudes on the planet. In these pages you will learn how to act, dress, speak, walk, and drive in the safest manner possible. You also will finally understand the white mind. It is a book that can save lives. Or at least laugh through the pain.

Black people: Are you ready to not get shot! White people: Do you want to learn how to help the cause? Let's go!

How Not to Get Shot

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Covering a rich but often ignored history, the author chronicles the black struggle from capture and enslavement in Africa right up to the Civil Rights movement and different kinds of struggles that black people face today.

Black History for Beginners

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America's Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965

Eyes on the Prize traces the movement from the landmark Brown v. the Board of Education case in 1954 to the march on Selma and the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965. This is a companion volume to the first part of the acclaimed PBS series.

Eyes on the Prize

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The Life and Death of Viola Liuzzo

This biography examines the controversial life, murder and subsequent character assassination of Viola Liuzzo, a white woman who, murdered by the Ku Klux Klan in 1965, became a civil rights martyr in Alabama.

From Selma to Sorrow

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#hardcover #firstedition #africanamerican #history 

The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

This companion volume to "A Knock At Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr". includes the text of his most well-known oration, "I Have a Dream", his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize, and "Beyond Vietnam", a powerful plea to end the ongoing conflict. Includes contributions from Rosa Parks, Aretha Franklin, the Dalai Lama, and many others.

A Call to Conscience

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Includes 120 excerpts from speeches, sermons, and writings, and chronology.

The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr.

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The Rise and Demise of an American Jester

Traces the history of comic stereotype of the Black performer and explains how it was finally eradicated

Sambo

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The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X

A bold critical examination of the life and legacy of Malcolm X. Minister and educator Dyson casts new light on the life and career of Malcolm X--and also on the aspirations and passions of the growing numbers who have seized on his l ife for insight and inspiration. An important work for the future of race relations.

Making Malcolm

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The Story of Black Baseball

A history of the Negro Leagues, baseball teams which flourished in the early twentieth century as a result of discrimination against black baseball players, highlighting some of the outstanding players and their achievements.

The Negro Leagues

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In this historical analysis of racism in America, Griffin examines the subtle, insidious discrimination practiced by those who purport to be broad-minded and enlightened. Griffin's book dares to expose the racism that was implanted in this nation from its founding -- and which continues to bear bitter fruit to this day.

Seeds of Racism in the Soul of America

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a story of war and redemption

Patches of fire

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interpreting its history from Africa to the United States

The power of Black music

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A freed slave escapes his bad debts in New Orleans by stowing away on a slave ship en route to Africa.

Middle Passage

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Black Women Write about Mothers & Daughters

Maya Angelou provides the foreword for this collection of poetry, fiction, and memoir about mothers and daughters, written by such well-known black writers as Alice Walker, June Jordan, Audre Lorde, and others. Reprint. 35,000 first printing. $25,000 ad/promo.

Double Stitch

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An African-American novel probes the interior of corporate America and reveals malice and mistrust behind the smiles, handshakes, and pats on the back. Reprint. Tour.

Company Man

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Follows an upwardly mobile African American family to an affluent Connecticut suburb, where keeping up with the Joneses takes its toll

Good Fences

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Barry Chevannes

Social Studies

Roots and Ideology

The first comprehensive work on the origins of the Jamaica-based Rastafaris, including interviews with some of the earliest members of the movement. Rastafari is a valuable work with a rich historical and ethnographic approach that seeks to correct several misconceptions in existing literature—the true origin of dreadlocks for instance. It will interest religion scholars, historians, scholars of Black studies, and a general audience interested in the movement and how Rastafarians settled in other countries.

Browse by categories

Melton A. McLaurin

Separate Pasts

Kimberly W. Benston (Editor)

Speaking for You - PA

Ayana D. Byrd; Lori A. Tharps; Ayana Byrd; Ayana D. Bryd; Lori L. Tharps

Hair Story

Davison M. Douglas

Jim Crow Moves North

Jessie C. Smith

Epic Lives

Kim McLarin

Taming It Down

Sharon Mitchell

Sheer Necessity

D. L. Hughley; Doug Moe

How Not to Get Shot

Denise Dennis; Susan Willmarth

Black History for Beginners

Juan Williams; Julian Bond (Introduction by)

Eyes on the Prize

Mary Stanton

From Selma to Sorrow

Clayborne Carson; Kris Shepard; Andrew Young (Contribution by)

A Call to Conscience

Coretta Scott King; Martin Luther King

The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Joseph Boskin

Sambo

Michael Eric Dyson

Making Malcolm

Jacob Margolies

The Negro Leagues

Paul R. Griffin

Seeds of Racism in the Soul of America

Albert French

Patches of fire

Samuel A Floyd

The power of Black music

Charles Richard Johnson

Middle Passage

Patricia Bell-Scott

Double Stitch

Brent Wade

Company Man

Erika Ellis

Good Fences

Barry Chevannes

Rastafari

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