Collection: Shop Black

Mississippi, the poorest state in the U.S. with the highest percentage of Black people, a history of vicious racial terror and concurrent Black resistance is the backdrop and context for the drama captured in the collection of essays that is Jackson Rising: The Struggle for Economic Democracy and Self-Determination in Jackson Mississippi.
Undeterred by the uncertainty, anxiety and fear brought about by the steady deterioration of the neoliberal order over the last few years, the response from Black activists of Jackson, Mississippi has been to organize. Inspired by the rich history of struggle and resistance in Mississippi and committed to the vision of the Jackson-Kush Plan, these activists are building institutions rooted in community power that combine politics and economic development into an alternative model for change, while addressing real, immediate needs of the people. The experiences and analyses in this compelling collection reflect the creative power that is unleashed when political struggle is grounded by a worldview freed from the inherent contradictions and limitations of reform liberalism. As such, Jackson Rising is ultimately a story about a process that is organized and controlled by Black people who are openly declaring that their political project is committed to decolonization and socialism. And within those broad strategic and ethical objectives, Jackson Rising is also a project unapologetically committed to self-determination for people of African descent in Mississippi and the South.

With imagination and power, the award-winning Pinkney duo celebrates MLK's nonviolent struggle for civil rights -- as he transforms America through the spirit of love.

A Washington Post Best Book of the YearA Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the YearA New York Public Library Best Book of the YearA School Library Journal Best Book of the Year* "Unique and remarkable." --Publishers Weekly, starred review* "Each poem trembles under the weight of the story it tells... Martin Rising packs an emotional wallop and, in perfect homage, soars when read aloud." --Booklist, starred reviewIn a rich embroidery of visions, musical cadence, and deep emotion, Andrea and Brian Pinkney convey the final months of Martin Luther King's life -- and of his assassination -- through metaphor, spirituality, and multilayers of meaning.Andrea's stunning poetic requiem, illustrated with Brian's lyrical and colorful artwork, brings a fresh perspective to Martin Luther King, the Gandhi-like, peace-loving activist whose dream of equality -- and whose courage to make it happen -- changed the course of American history. And even in his death, he continues to transform and inspire all of us who share his dream.Wonderful classroom plays of Martin Rising can be performed by using the "Now Is the Time" history and the 1968 timeline at the back of the book as narration -- and adding selected poems to tell the story!

A riveting account of the civil rights boycott that changed history by the foremost author of history for young people.

Now a classic, Freedman's book tells the dramatic stories of the heroes who stood up against segregation and Jim Crow laws in 1950s Alabama. Full of eyewitness reports, iconic photographs from the era, and crucial primary sources, this work brings history to life for modern readers.

This engaging look at one of the best-known events of the American Civil Rights Movement feels immediate and relevant, reminding readers that the Boycott is not distant history, but one step in a fight for equality that continues today.

Freedman focuses not only on well-known figures like Claudette Colvin, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King Jr., but on the numerous people who contributed by organizing carpools, joining protests, supporting legal defense efforts, and more. He showcases an often-overlooked side of activism and protest-- the importance of cooperation and engagement, and the ways in which ordinary people can stand up for their beliefs and bring about meaningful change in the world around them.

Freedom Walkers has long been a library and classroom staple, but as interest in the history of protest and the Civil Rights Movement grows, it's a perfect introduction for anyone looking to learn more about the past-- and an inspiration to take action and shape the future.

Recipient of an Orbis Pictus Honor, the Flora Stieglitz Straus Award, and the Jane Addams Peace Association Honor Book Award, Freedom Walkers received five starred reviews. A map, source notes, full bibliography, and other backmatter is included.

Debbie Mason meets Lizzie Shane in this small-town romance where a burned-by-love veterinarian arranges a fake partnership with a down-on-her-luck city girl in order to save his family business.

When Amarie Walker goes for something, she goes big--including starting over. Leaving her cheating ex and entire D.C. life in the rearview, she crash lands in a small town with no plan, no money, and no job. An opening at the animal clinic is the only gig for miles, no surprise considering the vet is a certified grump. If Eli Calvary ever cracked a smile, Amarie might faint on sight from shock. At least his adorable golden retriever appreciates her fabulousness...and shares her love of daily treats!

When Eli took over his late father's practice, he quickly discovered the clinic was facing foreclosure. So there's no time for social niceties, especially not flirting, even with someone as gorgeous, bubbly, and business-savvy as Amarie. Yet when Eli needs to invent an investor on the fly, it's her name that comes to his lips. Now, for the sake of their furry clients, Eli and Amarie hustle to save the clinic, trying to ignore the nonstop sparks between them. Because while their partnership may be fake, their connection already feels way too real.

On April 29, 1992, following the acquittal of four police officers charged with the beating and arrest of Rodney King and the earlier killing of teenager Latasha Harlins, the city of Los Angeles erupted in violence. Many of these events were centered on the city's Koreatown, where tensions between the Black and Korean American communities had simmered for years, fueled by economic challenges and redlining and enflamed by sensationalized and racist media. Based on more than 100 personal interviews, Rising from the Ashes follows these events through the eyes and experiences of the families of King, Harlins, shooting victim Edward Jae Song Lee, and dozens of business owners, journalists, police officers, firefighters, activists, and other community members. Deeply researched and compulsively readable, this is a vivid, propulsive, and moving story of a pivotal moment in recent American history that continues to resonate today.

From the National Book Award-winning author of All That She Carried, an intimate and revelatory reckoning with the myth and the truth behind an American everyone knows and few really understand

Harriet Tubman is, if surveys are to be trusted, one of the ten most famous Americans ever born and soon to be the face of the twenty-dollar bill. Yet often she's a figure more out of myth than history, almost a comic-book superhero--the woman who, despite being barely five feet tall, illiterate, and suffering from a brain injury, managed to escape from her own enslavement, return again and again to lead others north to freedom without loss of life, speak out powerfully against slavery, and then become the first American woman in history to lead a military raid, freeing some 750 people. You could almost say she's America's Robin Hood, a miraculous vision, often rightly celebrated but seldom understood.

Tiya Miles's extraordinary Night Flyer changes all that. With her characteristic tenderness and imaginative genius, Miles explores beyond the stock historical grid to weave Tubman's life into the fabric of her world. She probes the ecological reality of Tubman's surroundings and examines her kinship with other enslaved women who similarly passed through a spiritual wilderness and recorded those travels in profound and moving memoirs. What emerges, uncannily, is a human being whose mysticism becomes the more palpable the more we understand it--a story that offers us powerful inspiration for our own time of troubles. Harriet Tubman traversed many boundaries, inner and outer. Now, thanks to Tiya Miles, she becomes an even clearer and sharper signal from the past, one that can help us to echolocate a more just and sustainable path.

This book is designed to capture and reflect the essence of African philosophy, wisdom, knowledge, and consciousness in treating others with humanity and as subjects of life and living.

Murder on Demand, the new book in the delightful Morning Show Murders series from bestselling author and TV news icon Al Roker, finds Billy Blessing investigating a suspicious boating accident in Long Island.

Ten years have passed since Billy Blessing's adventure in Chicago, and a lot has changed. With the advances in television--the vanishing cable news and the flood of streaming channels entering the market--Billy found himself out of a job. Oh, and his restaurant had a fire (maybe suspicious? Billy does have enemies...), but the insurance won't cover a rebuild.

So Billy is reinventing himself on the North Fork of Long Island, where on a clear day you can see the Hamptons across the bay. The pace of life is slower--and more affordable--and he's been enjoying his new job as a chef in Greenport. That is, until a young woman walks into the restaurant talking about murder. Her father's boat washed up down the coast, but the man himself is nowhere to be found. The police are calling it an accident, but she thinks it's way more than that, and would Billy, maybe, look into it? Nice and quiet since, well, any other way might not be safe.

Billy is back in another hilarious, suspenseful, and delectable murder mystery perfect for new and old fans alike.

Set in New Orleans during the bleak years after Hurricane Katrina, SERAPHIM tracks a murder investigation by a defense attorney who is driven to exonerate his client at any cost.

Two young lawyers, Ben and Boris, arrive in the New Orleans public defender's office determined to represent those most in peril: kids who are to be prosecuted as adults. When 16-year-old is arrested and charged with murder, the two set about constructing his defense, with Ben taking the lead. But years of heavy cases spark a burning recklessness in Ben. He does what he believes-- what he knows-- must be done. And in his fervor to absolve Robert, Ben spins a web to bend the narrative in his favor, one in which everyone is expendable-- even those his young client loves most.

A riveting story of loyalty and grief that cross-examines an unjust criminal legal system, SERAPHIM combines the grit and realism of Richard Price's Clockers with the empathy and psychological complexity of Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policemen's Union.

"An important new book about a crucial challenge facing the conservation movement" -- Spencer Black, vice president, Sierra Club

The nation's wild places--from national and state parks to national forests, preserves, and wilderness areas--belong to all Americans. But not all of us use these resources equally. Minority populations are much less likely to seek recreation, adventure, and solace in our wilderness spaces. It's a difference that African American author James Mills addresses in his new book, The Adventure Gap: Changing the Face of the Outdoors.

In 2013, the first all-African American team of climbers, sponsored by the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), challenged themselves on North America's highest point, the dangerous and forbidding Denali, in Alaska. Mills uses Expedition Denali and its team members' adventures as a jumping-off point to explore how minority populations view their place in wild environments and to share the stories of those who have already achieved significant accomplishments in outdoor adventures--from Mathew Henson, a Black explorer who stood with Peary at the North Pole, to Kai Lightner, a teenage sport climber currently winning national competitions.

As our country grows increasingly multicultural, our natural legacy needs the devotion of people of all races and ethnicities to steward its care. The Adventure Gap is both a compelling adventure tale and road map to help everyone look to the outdoors for experiences that will enrich their lives.

As urgent, resonant, and essential as The Fire Next Time and Between the World and Me, a poetic, raw, and inspirational love letter from the bestselling author of Buck, written to a nephew who was shot nine times and survived--a reflection on life, overcoming odds, finding your voice, and the power of music and family.

Waiting in the emergency room at Temple University Hospital in North Philadelphia where his eighteen-year-old nephew, Nasir, lay unconscious after being shot nine times, MK Asante began pouring his heart and soul into a series of letters to a beautiful, dying Black boy so full of life.

As Nasir fought for survival, MK realized there was so much--too much--that he had kept from his nephew, starting with the truth about his father, MK's brother, Uzi, whom Nasir had never met. MK could no longer remain silent because in many ways, his nephew was repeating the mistakes of the past. MK began his confessional to repair family bonds--to save Nasir from the same streets that stole his father and to introduce him to the man and family history the young man had never known. The result is this beautiful, poignant, and honest family memoir.

Nephew introduces us to two men, strangers to each other, whose similarities are astonishing. Both have red hot tempers, both struggle with opioid addiction, and most profoundly, both are lyrical geniuses whose raps are raw, powerful, and autobiographical. Yet neither had ever heard the other's lyrics. As he tells his family's story, MK draws vivid portraits of both Nasir and Uzi through their songs--lyrics that become the touchstone of their relationship. When father and son eventually meet, they confront each other and share a dialogue through their lyrics.

An explosive, innovative memoir of family, faith, poetry, secrets, love, race, poverty, redemption, addiction, Philadelphia, hip-hop, jail, purpose, mental health, and violence. Nephew is fast-paced, intimate, lyrical, educational, and inspirational. It is the epic, painful, poetic, and miraculous redemptive story of a new generation--a new style of memoir for a new decade, the rhythmic story of a family in love, struggle, and verse.

Meet the Duncans, a prominent family from Jamaica, Queens. They may be known for their big house, fancy cars, and lavish lifestyle, but that doesn't make them immune from some over-the-top drama.

LC Duncan has run his successful car dealership in Jamaica, Queens for more than thirty years, but when the recession hits and the competition gets a little rough, some say it's time for him to retire. Palm trees and golf sound like fun, but LC still has a few tricks up his sleeve. Which one of his kids can he trust to run the family business?

Paris could give any supermodel a run for her money. When she walks in the room, all heads turn, but it's her anger issues and knack for getting into trouble that most people remember. She's much more dangerous than anyone gives her credit for--except, perhaps, her father.

Orlando is the most obvious choice to lead the Duncans into the future. He has proven himself to be quite the businessman over the years; but sometimes, the most obvious choice isn't always the best choice.

Harris Grant is married to LC's oldest daughter. In Harris's opinion, he's the most qualified to run the family business. Now he just needs to convince LC . . . and make sure no one discovers the secret he's been keeping.

Harris isn't the only one with skeletons in the closet. The Duncan family has been keeping a secret of their own--a deep, dark secret that, if revealed, will shock the entire community.

*Soon to be a major motion picture--Rob Peace--starring Jay Will, Mary J. Blige, and Chiwetel Ejiofor*

*Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times Book Review, Entertainment Weekly, and more* The New York Times bestselling account of a young African-American man who escaped Newark, NJ, to attend Yale, but still faced the dangers of the streets when he returned is, "nuanced and shattering" (People) and "mesmeric" (The New York Times Book Review).

When author Jeff Hobbs arrived at Yale University, he became fast friends with the man who would be his college roommate for four years, Robert Peace. Robert's life was rough from the beginning in the crime-ridden streets of Newark in the 1980s, with his father in jail and his mother earning less than $15,000 a year. But Robert was a brilliant student, and it was supposed to get easier when he was accepted to Yale, where he studied molecular biochemistry and biophysics. But it didn't get easier. Robert carried with him the difficult dual nature of his existence, trying to fit in at Yale, and at home on breaks.

A compelling and honest portrait of Robert's relationships--with his struggling mother, with his incarcerated father, with his teachers and friends--The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace encompasses the most enduring conflicts in America: race, class, drugs, community, imprisonment, education, family, friendship, and love. It's about the collision of two fiercely insular worlds--the ivy-covered campus of Yale University and the slums of Newark, New Jersey, and the difficulty of going from one to the other and then back again. It's about trying to live a decent life in America. But most all this "fresh, compelling" (The Washington Post) story is about the tragic life of one singular brilliant young man. His end, a violent one, is heartbreaking and powerful and "a haunting American tragedy for our times" (Entertainment Weekly).

Relax, rejuvenate, and renew your mind, body, and soul with this coloring books designed for Black women that focuses and elevates the already popular--and effective--self-care activity with illustrations to color and affirmations to empower.

Celebrate what makes Black women powerful, brilliant, and brave with Mind, Body, & Soul: A Self-Care Coloring Book for Black Women. As you enjoy coloring in 35 gorgeous art pages, you'll be practicing self-care as you take the time to relax for just you. You'll find stunning art pages depicting Black women vibing, being creative in their homes, listening to music, practicing yoga, meditating in nature, and transcending in metaphysical dimensions. With affirmations included on each page, you'll internalize the positive messages and manifest positive outcomes for yourself as you color.

With Mind, Body, & Soul, every time you sit down to color in these inspiring designs, you'll be affirming yourself and your right to self-care.

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE BESTSELLER

The legendary Willie Mays shares the inspirations and influences responsible for guiding him on and off the field in this reflective and inspirational memoir.

Even if, like me, you thought you had pretty much read and heard all there was to read and hear about Willie Mays, this warmhearted book will inform and reward you. And besides, what true baseball fan can ever get enough of Willie Mays? Say Hey! Read on and enjoy. --From the Foreword by Bob Costas

"It's because of giants like Willie that someone like me could even think about running for President." --President Barack Obama

Widely regarded as the greatest all-around player in baseball history because of his unparalleled hitting, defense and baserunning, the beloved Willie Mays offers people of all ages his lifetime of experience meeting challenges with positivity, integrity and triumph in 24: Life Stories and Lessons from the Say Hey Kid.

Presented in 24 chapters to correspond with his universally recognized uniform number, Willie's memoir provides more than the story of his role in America's pastime. This is the story of a man who values family and community, engages in charitable causes especially involving children and follows a philosophy that encourages hope, hard work and the fulfillment of dreams.

"I was very lucky when I was a child. My family took care of me and made sure I was in early at night. I didn't get in trouble. My father made sure that I didn't do the wrong thing. I've always had a special place in my heart for children and their well-being, and John Shea and I got the idea that we should do something for the kids and the fathers and the mothers, and that's why this book is being published. We want to reach out to all generations and backgrounds. Hopefully, these stories and lessons will inspire people in a positive way." --Willie Mays

A Newbery Honor Book

In a moving, lyrical tale about the cost and fragility of freedom, a New York Times best-selling author and an acclaimed artist follow the life of a man who courageously shipped himself out of slavery.

What have I to fear?
My master broke every promise to me.
I lost my beloved wife and our dear children.
All, sold South. Neither my time nor my body is mine.
The breath of life is all I have to lose.
And bondage is suffocating me.

Henry Brown wrote that long before he came to be known as Box, he "entered the world a slave." He was put to work as a child and passed down from one generation to the next -- as property. When he was an adult, his wife and children were sold away from him out of spite. Henry Brown watched as his family left bound in chains, headed to the deeper South. What more could be taken from him? But then hope -- and help -- came in the form of the Underground Railroad. Escape!

In stanzas of six lines each, each line representing one side of a box, celebrated poet Carole Boston Weatherford powerfully narrates Henry Brown's story of how he came to send himself in a box from slavery to freedom. Strikingly illustrated in rich hues and patterns by artist Michele Wood, Box is augmented with historical records and an introductory excerpt from Henry's own writing as well as a time line, notes from the author and illustrator, and a bibliography.