Sapphire

Library copy, stickers on outer plastic sleeve, inside very good condition 

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

Mississippi

The Kid

5b3f8be4-bf7e-4146-bc31-eef1e5e84cb0-1

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

New Jersey

Three Generations of a Harlem Family

Down the Up Staircase tells the story of one Harlem family across three generations, connecting its journey to the historical and social forces that transformed Harlem over the past century. Bruce D. Haynes and Syma Solovitch capture the tides of change that pushed blacks forward through the twentieth century--the Great Migration, the Harlem Renaissance, the early civil rights victories, the Black Power and Black Arts movements--as well as the many forces that ravaged black communities, including Haynes's own. As an authority on race and urban communities, Haynes brings unique sociological insights to the American mobility saga and the tenuous nature of status and success among the black middle class.

In many ways, Haynes's family defied the odds. All four great-grandparents on his father's side owned land in the South as early as 1880. His grandfather, George Edmund Haynes, was the founder of the National Urban League and a protégé of eminent black sociologist W. E. B. Du Bois; his grandmother, Elizabeth Ross Haynes, was a noted children's author of the Harlem Renaissance and a prominent social scientist. Yet these early advances and gains provided little anchor to the succeeding generations. This story is told against the backdrop of a crumbling three-story brownstone in Sugar Hill that once hosted Harlem Renaissance elites and later became an embodiment of the family's rise and demise. Down the Up Staircase is a stirring portrait of this family, each generation walking a tightrope, one misstep from free fall.

Down the up Staircase

b26a7a18-13ee-4da1-9b93-e04eacc8dd94-1

James Patterson

Michael Ledwidge

New York

Detective Michael Bennett finally returns to New York City--and to the most unsettling, horrific case of his career. At last, Detective Michael Bennett and his family are coming home to New York City. Thanks to Bennett, the ruthless crime lord whose vengeful mission forced the Bennett family into hiding has been brought down for good. Back in the city that never sleeps, Bennett takes over a chaotic Outreach Squad in Harlem, where he receives an unusual call: a man claims to have seen a group of well-dressed men holding a bizarre party in a condemend building. With no clear crime or evidence, Bennett dismisses the report. But when a charred body is found in that very same building, he is forced to take the demented caller seriously--and is drawn into an underground criminal world of terrifying depravity.

Burn

2240ec5f-2848-46a5-9c0d-98119e95645c-1

Colson Whitehead

Michigan

A Novel

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE NOMINEE * A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR * NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER * From the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, a gloriously entertaining novel of heists, shakedowns, and rip-offs set in Harlem in the 1960s.

"Ray Carney was only slightly bent when it came to being crooked..." To his customers and neighbors on 125th street, Carney is an upstanding salesman of reasonably priced furniture, making a decent life for himself and his family. He and his wife Elizabeth are expecting their second child, and if her parents on Striver's Row don't approve of him or their cramped apartment across from the subway tracks, it's still home. 

Few people know he descends from a line of uptown hoods and crooks, and that his façade of normalcy has more than a few cracks in it. Cracks that are getting bigger all the time. 

Cash is tight, especially with all those installment-plan sofas, so if his cousin Freddie occasionally drops off the odd ring or necklace, Ray doesn't ask where it comes from. He knows a discreet jeweler downtown who doesn't ask questions, either. 

Then Freddie falls in with a crew who plan to rob the Hotel Theresa--the "Waldorf of Harlem"--and volunteers Ray's services as the fence. The heist doesn't go as planned; they rarely do. Now Ray has a new clientele, one made up of shady cops, vicious local gangsters, two-bit pornographers, and other assorted Harlem lowlifes. 

Thus begins the internal tussle between Ray the striver and Ray the crook. As Ray navigates this double life, he begins to see who actually pulls the strings in Harlem. Can Ray avoid getting killed, save his cousin, and grab his share of the big score, all while maintaining his reputation as the go-to source for all your quality home furniture needs? 

Harlem Shuffle's ingenious story plays out in a beautifully recreated New York City of the early 1960s. It's a family saga masquerading as a crime novel, a hilarious morality play, a social novel about race and power, and ultimately a love letter to Harlem. 

But mostly, it's a joy to read, another dazzling novel from the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning Colson Whitehead.

Harlem Shuffle

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#paperback #schools #education #sociology #Harlem #improving

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

Lessons for America from a Small School in Harlem

Teaching the lessons of New York's most famous public school, Deborah Meier provides a widely acclaimed vision for the future of public education.

Power of Their Ideas

e3be138e-7ed5-425a-918f-334ed221b994-1

#hardcover #fiction #jamespatterson #michaelbennett #detective #harlem #murder #mystery 

Kansas

Texas

Harlem Globetrotters 

#harlem #raceriots #racism #love #survival #blackhistory

Alabama

Three Black women find the strength to deal with racism, poverty, and tragedy while living in Harlem during the explosive period of time between the 1940s and the 1960s

In the Shadow of the Peacock

28f9e950-f2de-43d0-b6a4-661bd49d00b6-1

#paperback #fiction #streetlit #sapphire #precious #push #harlem #abuse #riseabove

A courageous and determined young teacher opens up a new world of hope and redemption for sixteen-year-old Precious Jones, an abused young African American girl living in Harlem who was raped and left pregnant by her father.

Precious

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Gilbert Osofsky

Tennessee

Harlem - The Making of a Ghetto, 1890-1930

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Walter Dean Myers

I have other books available by this author

Stuff doesn't know anyone when he first moves to 116th Street. But all of that changes when he meets Fast Sam, Cool Clyde, and Gloria. Stuff and the gang grow close that eventful year, and nothing is ever like it again. That's the year modern science gets them all in jail; Stuff falls in love and is unfaithful; and Cool Clyde and Fast Sam win the dance contest-almost.

Fast Sam, Cool Clyde, and Stuff

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I have other books available by this author 

A teenage boy accompanies his father, who has recently escaped from prison, on a trip that turns out to be a time of often painful discovery for them both.

Somewhere in the Darkness

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David Barclay Moore

"The right story at the right time. . . . It's not just a narrative; it's an experience. It's the novel we've been waiting for." --The New York Times A boy tries to steer a safe path through the projects in Harlem in the wake of his brother's death in this outstanding debut novel that celebrates community and creativity. ** WINNER OF THE CORETTA SCOTT KING-JOHN STEPTOE AWARD FOR NEW TALENT! ** MICHAEL B. JORDAN TO DIRECT MOVIE ADAPTATION! SIX STARRED REVIEWS! It's Christmas Eve in Harlem, but twelve-year-old Lolly Rachpaul and his mom aren't celebrating. They're still reeling from his older brother's death in a gang-related shooting just a few months earlier. Then Lolly's mother's girlfriend brings him a gift that will change everything: two enormous bags filled with Legos. Lolly's always loved Legos, and he prides himself on following the kit instructions exactly. Now, faced with a pile of building blocks and no instructions, Lolly must find his own way forward. His path isn't clear--and the pressure to join a "crew," as his brother did, is always there. When Lolly and his friend are beaten up and robbed, joining a crew almost seems like the safe choice. But building a fantastical Lego city at the community center provides Lolly with an escape--and an unexpected bridge back to the world. David Barclay Moore paints a powerful portrait of a boy teetering on the edge--of adolescence, of grief, of violence--and shows how Lolly's inventive spirit helps him build a life with firm foundations and open doors. MORE PRAISE FOR THE STARS BENEATH OUR FEET: A New York Times Notable Book A Time Top 10 Children's Books of the Year A Boston Globe Best Children's Book of the Year A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year A Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book of the Year A Shelf Awareness Best Children's Book of the Year An ALA-YALSA Quick Pick An ALA-ALSC Notable Children's Book "A fast and furious read in which we meet some amazing people, people that stay with us. David Barclay Moore is an exciting new voice. We definitely haven't heard the last of his brilliance." --Jacqueline Woodson, Newbery Honor and National Book Award-winning of Brown Girl Dreaming "The Stars Beneath Our Feet is about the weight of the world on the back of a child, and the creative tools necessary to alleviate that pressure. I found myself rooting for Lolly, and you will too." --Jason Reynolds, Coretta Scott King Honor Award Winner for As Brave As You

The Stars Beneath Our Feet

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#exlibrary #dukeellington #unitedstates #jazzmusicians #newyork #harlem #harlemrenaissance #intellectuallife #hardcover 

Bandleader and Composer

-- Critically acclaimed biographies of history's most notable African-Americans
-- Straightforward and objective writing
-- Lavishly illustrated with photographs and memorabilia
-- Essential for multicultural studies

Duke Ellington

e805024c-1fb4-4249-8c53-3bc9de0d71c1-1

#education #currentaffairs #schoolreform #harlem #publiceducation #teachers

Oregon

Lessons from America from a Small School in Harlem

Teaching the lessons of New York's most famous public school, Deborah Meier provides a widely acclaimed vision for the future of public education. With a new preface reflecting on the school's continuing success.

The Power of Their Ideas

#newyorkcity #nyc #harlem #art #poetry #music #nonfiction #blackart #africanamericanstudies #blackstudies

Virginia

The Harlem Renaissance

This book covers the black artists of the late 1920s associated with a movement called the Harlem Renaissance. Painters, musicians, actors, and sculptors are included as well as the novelists and poets who made the movement famous.

Free Within Ourselves

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Toni Morrison

Illinois

Set in Harlem during the 1920s, this novel chronicles a bittersweet triangle involving Joe Trace, a middle-aged door-to-door salesman, his mentally unstable wife Violet, and his eighteen-year-old girlfriend. Reader's Guide available. Reprint. 20,000 first printing.

Jazz

51eeac41-7b97-4a15-b032-3e5b36242af4-1

Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

A “powerful song about what it means to survive as a woman in America” (Jesmyn Ward), this “fiercely astute” novel follows a sister determined to uncover the truth about her twin’s disappearance (Tayari Jones). On a cold December evening, Autumn Spencer’s twin sister, Summer, walks to the roof of their shared Harlem brownstone and is never seen again. The door to the roof is locked, and the snow holds only one set of footprints. Faced with authorities indifferent to another missing Black woman, Autumn must pursue the search for her sister all on her own. With her friends and neighbors, Autumn pretends to hold up through the crisis. But the loss becomes too great, the mystery too inexplicable, and Autumn starts to unravel, all the while becoming obsessed with the various murders of local women and the men who kill them, thinking their stories and society’s complacency toward them might shed light on what really happened to her sister. In Speaking of Summer, critically acclaimed author Kalisha Buckhanon has created a fast–paced story of urban peril and victim invisibility, and the fight to discover the complicated truths at the heart of every family.

Speaking of Summer

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#paperback #harlemrenaissance #harlem #history #nyc

A finalist for the 1972 National Book Award, hailed by The New York Times Book Review as "brilliant" and "provocative," Nathan Huggins' Harlem Renaissance is a milestone in the study of African-American life and culture.A superb portrait of one of the signal episodes in African-American and American history, this volume offers a brilliant account of the creative explosion in Harlem during these pivotal years. Blending the fields of history, literature, music, psychology, and folklore, Huggins illuminates thethought and writing of such key figures as Alain Locke, James Weldon Johnson, and W.E.B. DuBois and provides sharp-eyed analyses of the poetry of Claude McKay, Countee Cullen, and Langston Hughes. But the main objective for Huggins, throughout the book, is always to achieve a better understanding ofAmerica as a whole. As Huggins himself noted, he didn't want Harlem in the 1920s to be the focus of the book so much as a lens through which readers might see how this one moment in time sheds light on the American character and culture, not just in Harlem but across the nation. He strivesthroughout to link the work of poets and novelists not only to artists working in other genres and media but also to economic, historical, and cultural forces in the culture at large.

Harlem Renaissance

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#paperback #walterdeanmyers #ya #youngadult #harlem #fiction

Morgan Jerkins

Now in paperback, New York Times bestselling author Morgan Jerkins's fiction debut, an electrifying novel for fans of Ta-Nehisi Coates and Jacqueline Woodson, that brings to life one powerful and enigmatic family in a tale rife with secrets, betrayal, intrigue, and magic. Laila desperately wants to become a mother, but each of her previous pregnancies has ended in heartbreak. This time has to be different, so she turns to the Melancons, an old and powerful Harlem family known for their caul, a precious layer of skin that is the secret source of their healing power. When a deal for Laila to acquire a piece of caul falls through, she is heartbroken, but when the child is stillborn, she is overcome with grief and rage. What she doesn't know is that a baby will soon be delivered in her family--by her niece, Amara, an ambitious college student--and delivered to the Melancons to raise as one of their own. Hallow is special: she's born with a caul, and their matriarch, Maman, predicts the girl will restore the family's prosperity. Growing up, Hallow feels that something in her life is not right. Did Josephine, the woman she calls mother, really bring her into the world? Why does her cousin Helena get to go to school and roam the streets of New York freely while she's confined to the family's decrepit brownstone? As the Melancons' thirst to maintain their status grows, Amara, now a successful lawyer running for district attorney, looks for a way to avenge her longstanding grudge against the family. When mother and daughter cross paths, Hallow will be forced to decide where she truly belongs. Engrossing, unique, and page-turning, Caul Baby illuminates the search for familial connection, the enduring power of tradition, and the dark corners of the human heart.

Caul Baby

01c210de-9a31-4562-9533-51c06295a8da-1

Ann Petry

Tayari Jones

Paperback, Good Condition. 

Please Note: Annotations in pencil throughout book.

23.09.23

Explores the life and dreams of a young woman who struggles to raise her son in a suffocating ghetto world of racism, human degradation, and uncontrolled violence

Fiction 📚 | The Street by Ann Perry | Paperback

611977e8-12d3-4c14-b175-6f5e947aaaa8-1

North Carolina

James Baldwin

Florida

While his family struggles with guilt, bitterness, and spiritual issues, John Grimes experiences a religious conversion in the Temple of the Fire Baptised.

Save this search

Sapphire

The Kid

Bruce Haynes; Syma Solovitch

Down the up Staircase

James Patterson; Michael Ledwidge

Burn

Colson Whitehead

Harlem Shuffle

Deborah Meier

Power of Their Ideas

James Patterson; Michael Ledwidge

Burn

George Vecsey

Harlem Globetrotters

Grace Edwards-Yearwood

In the Shadow of the Peacock

Sapphire

Precious

Gilbert Osofsky

Harlem - The Making of a Ghetto, 1890-1930

Walter Dean Myers

Fast Sam, Cool Clyde, and Stuff

Walter Dean Myers

Somewhere in the Darkness

David Barclay Moore

The Stars Beneath Our Feet

Ron Frankl; Coretta Scott King (Introduction by); Nathan I. Huggins (Editor)

Duke Ellington

Deborah Meier

The Power of Their Ideas

Geoffrey Jacques

Free Within Ourselves

Toni Morrison

Jazz

Kalisha Buckhanon

Speaking of Summer

Nathan Irvin Huggins

Harlem Renaissance

Walter Dean Myers

Fast Sam, Cool Clyde, and Stuff

Morgan Jerkins

Caul Baby

Ann Petry; Tayari Jones

Fiction 📚 | The Street by Ann Perry | Paperback

Colson Whitehead

Harlem Shuffle

James Baldwin

Go Tell It on the Mountain