A modern tragedy, this story has had a great impact on race relations in America. Emmett Till's kidnapping and murder, a grotesque crime in a Southern backwater that became the catalyst for the civil rights movement, is explained in this dramatic narrative by the cousin who was present every step of the way. Simeon Wright saw and heard his cousin Emmett whistle at Caroline Bryant at a grocery store and slept in the same bed with him when her husband came in and took Emmett away; he was there during the aftermath of the murder, and at the trial, where his father testified. This""gripping coming-of-age memoir may not bring closure to the Till case, whose perpetrators were left unpunished, but it will set the facts straight about that life-changing incident in 1955.

“The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line.� These were the prescient words of W. E. B. Du Bois’s influential 1903 book The Souls of Black Folk. The preeminent Black intellectual of his generation, Du Bois wrote about the trauma of seeing the Reconstruction era’s promise of racial equality cruelly dashed by the rise of white supremacist terror and Jim Crow laws. Yet he also argued for the value of African American cultural traditions and provided inspiration for countless civil rights leaders who followed him. Now artist Paul Peart-Smith offers the first graphic adaptation of Du Bois’s seminal work.   Peart-Smith’s graphic adaptation provides historical and cultural contexts that bring to life the world behind Du Bois’s words. Readers will get a deeper understanding of the cultural debates The Souls of Black Folk engaged in, with more background on figures like Booker T. Washington, the advocate of black economic uplift, and the Pan-Africanist minister Alexander Crummell. This beautifully illustrated book vividly conveys the continuing legacy of The Souls of Black Folk, effectively updating it for the era of the 1619 Project and Black Lives Matter.  

Award-winning journalist Herb Boyd chronicles the fascinating history of Detroit through the lens of the African American experience. Offering an expansive discussion of this iconic city, Black Detroit ranges in subject from Antoine de Lamothe Cadillac's initial vision of what would become a thriving metropolis to the city's glory days as the center of American commerce; from the waves of fugitives traveling on the Underground Railroad to the advent of the People Mover circling downtown; from the creation of the unparalleled sound of Motown to the emergence of Wayne State University as a hotbed of political thought.Boyd combines deep passion and a stunning eye for detail to seamlessly blend personal experience, exhaustive research, and eyewitness accounts collected from some of the city's wisest griots. Black Detroit looks at the influence African Americans have had on various aspects of the city's history, culture, and politics, including the auto industry-both as the cornerstone of the union movement and the majority population on the factory floor-and it reframes the riots sparked by police brutality and housing discrimination from the perspective of the people most impacted by the city's neglectful policies. In the process, the book presents a roll call of the illustrious men and women who have defined and shaped the Motor City, including Malcolm X, Aretha Franklin, Berry Gordy, Fannie Richards, abolitionist William Lambert, and Coleman Young, Detroit's first black mayor.This important book documents how a committed work ethic, a well-developed spirit of resistance, and a deep sense of heritage continue to run strong through Detroit's black community-providing the true engine propelling the city's reemergence as a viable urban center for the twenty-first century.

"Baldwin's Harlem "is an intimate
portrait of the life and genius of one
of our most brilliant literary minds:
James Baldwin.
Perhaps no other writer is as synonymous with Harlem as James Baldwin (1924-1987). The events there that shaped his youth greatly influenced Baldwin's work, much of which focused on his experiences as a black man in white America. "Go Tell It on the Mountain," "The Fire Next Time," "Notes of a Native Son," and "Giovanni's Room" are just a few of his classic fiction and nonfiction books that remain an essential part of the American canon.
In Baldwin's Harlem, award-winning journalist Herb Boyd combines impeccable biographical research with astute literary criticism, and reveals to readers Baldwin's association with Harlem on both metaphorical and realistic levels. For example, Boyd describes Baldwin's relationship with Harlem Renaissance poet laureate Countee Cullen, who taught Baldwin French in the ninth grade. Packed with telling anecdotes, "Baldwin's Harlem" illuminates the writer's diverse views and impressions of the community that would remain a consistent presence in virtually all of his writing.
"Baldwin's Harlem" provides an intelligent and enlightening look at one of America's most important literary enclaves.

There is no neighborhood in America as famous, infamous, and inspiring as Harlem. From its humble beginnings as a farming district and country retreat for the rich, Harlem grew to international prominence as the mecca
of black art and culture, then fell from grace, despised as a crime-ridden slum and symbol of urban decay. But during all of these phases there was writing in Harlem—great writing that sprang from one of the richest and most unique communities in the world. From Harlem’s most revered icons (like Langston Hughes, Duke Ellington, Ann Petry, and Malcolm X) to voices of a new generation (including Willie Perdomo, Mase, Grace Edwards, and Piri Thomas), The Harlem Reader gathers a wealth of vital impressions, stories, and narratives and blends them with original accounts offered by living storytellers, famous and not so famous. Fresh and vivid, this volume perfectly captures the dramatic moments and personalities at the core of Harlem’s ever-evolving story.

Benjamin Banneker on Thomas Jefferson's hypocrisy * Old Elizabeth on spreading the Word * Frederick Douglass on life in the North * Sojourner Truth on black women's rights * W.E.B. Du Bois on the Talented Tenth * Matthew Henson on reaching the North Pole * and many more.

"It has been said, 'He who does not know history is doomed to repeat it.' We as African Americans must put forth a concerted effort to know and to write our own history...We have the knowledge, the know-how, the resources, and we were there."
--Rev. Bernice A. King

Celebrating the spirituality, courage, and intellectual achievements of African Americans, Autobiography of a People is the first anthology to effectively trace the history of the African American experience--from the Middle Passage to Emancipation, from the Civil War to Vietnam, from the Little Rock Nine to the Million Man March--by telling the story in the words of the men and women who lived it.

Editor Herb Boyd has combined a powerful chorus of voices from the past and present to create a compelling portrait of how African Americans have survived--and shaped--some of the most important events in United States history. The misery of slavery, the bloodshed of war, and the struggle for civil rights are just some of the pivotal experiences described in vivid detail throughout the book. Many of the most revered historical and intellectual figures, writers, religious leaders, and activists appear within these pages, such as Phillis Wheatley, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Elaine Brown, Margaret Walker, and General Colin Powell. Yet this remarkable collection also includes riveting scenes from the lives of ordinary men and women whose accomplishments may not have been recorded in the history books, but whose experiences are equally important to the African American story.

Offering a wealth of historical detail and emotion, Autobiography of a People is a stunning accomplishment that brings African American history to life, in all its tragedy and triumph, in a brilliant testament to the black experience in America.


The book boasts an astounding roster of important historical and intellectual figures, writers and religious leaders, such as Phyllis Wheatley, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., General Colin Powell, and Angela Davis, as well as a generous selection of riveting accounts from ordinary people. The misery of slavery, the bloodshed of several American wars, and the struggle for civil rights are just some of the pivotal experiences described in vivid detail throughout the book. Linked by editor Herb Boyd's informative narrative bridges, these powerful voices from the past and present combine to create a compelling portrait of how African Americans have survived-- and shaped--some of the most important events in U.S. history.

A monumental achievement, AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A PEOPLE brings African-American history to life in all its tragedy and triumph, in a brilliant testament to the black experience in America. -->


From the Hardcover edition.

Barack Obama's campaign and electoral victory demonstrated the dynamic nature of American democracy. Beginning as a special issue of The Black Scholar, this probing collection illustrates the impact of "the Obama phenomenon" on the future of U.S. race relations through readings on Barack Obama's campaign as well as the idealism and pragmatism of the Obama administration. Some of the foremost scholars of African American politics and culture from an array of disciplines--including political science, theology, economics, history, journalism, sociology, cultural studies, and law--offer critical analyses of topics as diverse as Obama and the media, Obama's connection with the hip hop community, the public's perception of first lady Michelle Obama, voter behavior, and the history of racial issues in presidential campaigns since the 1960s. Contributors are Josephine A. V. Allen, Robert L. Allen, Herb Boyd, Donald R. Deskins Jr., Cheryl I. Harris, Charles P. Henry, Dwight N. Hopkins, John L. Jackson, Maulana Karenga, Robin D. G. Kelley, Martin Kilson, Clarence Lusane, Julianne Malveaux, Shaun Ossei-Owusu, Dianne M. Pinderhughes, Sherman C. Puckett, Scharn Robinson, Ula Y. Taylor, Alice Walker, Hanes Walton Jr., and Ronald Williams II.

Hailed by critics as a long-overdue portrait of Sugar Ray Robinson, a man as elusive outside the ring as he was magisterial in it, Pound by Pound is a lively and nuanced profile of an athlete who is arguably the best boxer the scene has ever seen. But the same discipline that Robinson brought to the sport eluded him at home, leading him to emotionally and physically abuse his family. Exposing Robinson's flaws as well as putting his career in the context of his life, this book tells for the first time the full story of a truly complex man.