Celebrate Black Stories
Celebrate Black joy, Black love, and the entire spectrum of Black experience while supporting Black authors with these engrossing novels. Plus, check out books to preorder because the time to read Black stories is all year round!
Fiction
A New York Times Best Romance Book of 2024
A 2024 NPR Book We Love
A Library Journal Best Romance Book of 2024
A BookPage Best Romance Book of 2024
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2024
A 2024 Women’s National Book Association Great Group Read
Leap years are a strange, enchanted time. And for some, even a single February can be life-changing.
Ricki Wilde has many talents, but being a Wilde isn’t one of them. As the impulsive, artistic daughter of a powerful Atlanta dynasty, she’s the opposite of her famous socialite sisters. Where they’re long-stemmed roses, she’s a dandelion: an adorable bloom that’s actually a weed, born to float wherever the wind blows. In her bones, Ricki knows that somewhere, a different, more exciting life awaits her.
When regal nonagenarian, Ms. Della, invites her to rent the bottom floor of her Harlem brownstone, Ricki jumps at the chance for a fresh beginning. She leaves behind her family, wealth, and chaotic romantic decisions to realize her dream of opening a flower shop. And just beneath the surface of her new neighborhood, the music, stories and dazzling drama of the Harlem Renaissance still simmers.
One evening in February as the heady, curiously off-season scent of night-blooming jasmine fills the air, Ricki encounters a handsome, deeply mysterious stranger who knocks her world off balance in the most unexpected way.
Set against the backdrop of modern Harlem and Renaissance glamour, A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is a swoon-worthy love story of two passionate artists drawn to the magic, romance, and opportunity of New York, and whose lives are uniquely and irreversibly linked.
Includes a Reading Group Guide.
After a deployment in the Iraq War, Joseph Thomas is fighting to find his footing. Now a doctoral student and EMS worker, he encounters round the clock friends and family from his past life and would-be future at his job, including contemporaries of his estranged father, a man he knows little about, serving time at Holmesburg prison for the statutory rape of his then-teenage mother. Meanwhile, he and his best friend Ray, a fellow vet, are alternatingly bonding over and struggling with their shared experience and return to civilian life, locked in their own rhythms of lust, heartbreak, and responsibility.
Balancing the joys and frustrations of single fatherhood, his studies, and ceaseless shifts at the hospital as he becomes closer than he ever imagined to his father, Joseph tries to articulate vernacular understandings of the sociopolitical struggles he recounts as participant-observer at home, against the assumptions of his friends and colleagues. God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer is a powerful examination of every day Black life—of health and sex, race and punishment, and the gaps between our desires and our politics.
ONE OF THE MILLIONS’ MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2024
From a celebrated, award-winning author, a modern classic about a young girl fighting for survival in a post-apocalyptic world, perfect for fans of N.K. Jemisin and Margaret Atwood.
Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community with her preacher father, family, and neighbors, sheltered from the surrounding social chaos and anarchy caused by climate change and economic crisis. In a society where any vulnerability is a risk, she suffers from hyperempathy—a debilitating sensitivity to others' emotions.
Precocious and clear-eyed, Lauren must make her voice heard in order to protect her loved ones from the imminent disasters her small community stubbornly ignores. But what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: the birth of a new faith . . . and a startling vision of human destiny.
Includes a foreword by LeVar Burton and an afterword by N. K. Jemisin
Lauren's story continues in The Parable of the Talents.
"In the ongoing contest over which dystopian classic is most applicable to our time, Octavia Butler's 'Parable' books may be unmatched."—The New Yorker
Jordan Sable, a prosperous undertaker turned political boss, has controlled the Black vote in St. Louis for decades. Sara, his equally formidable wife, runs the renowned funeral establishment that put the Sable name on the map. Together they have pushed through obstacles in order to create a legacy for their children. When tragedy bursts their carefully constructed empire of dignity and safety, the family rallies around an unconventional solution. But at what cost?
Set in the Midwest in the 1940s, The Sable Cloak is a rarely seen portrait of an upper middle class, African American family in the pre-Civil Rights era. This deeply personal novel inspired by the author's own family history delves into legacy and the stories we tell ourselves, and celebrates a largely self-sustaining, culturally rich Missouri community that most Americans may not be aware of.
Publishers Weekly Best Romance Book of 2023 · Chicago Public Library Best Romance of 2023 · A “Sarah’s BookShelves” Best Debut of 2023 · Go On Girl Book Club pick
“Love would be so much easier if it were perfect…”
On the night of her husband Matt’s fortieth birthday, Rachel Abbott receives a sexy, explicit text from her husband that she quickly realizes was meant for another woman. Divorce is inevitable, and Rachel is determined not to leave her thirteen-year marriage empty handed. Meanwhile, Matt, a rising star mayor with his eye on the White House, can’t afford a messy split in the middle of his reelection campaign. They strike a deal: Rachel gets one million dollars and their lavish house in the wealthy DC suburb of Oasis Springs, as long as she keeps playing the ideal Black trophy wife until the election.
Then Rachel meets Nathan Vasquez, a very handsome, very lost twenty-six-year-old artist, and their connection makes Rachel forget about being the perfect politician’s wife. As Rachel reawakens Nathan’s long-dormant artistic aspirations, their attraction becomes impossible to resist. But secrets are hard to keep in a town like Oasis Springs, and Nathan has a few of his own. With the risk of scandal looming and their hearts on the line, they’ll have to decide whether the possibility of losing everything is worth taking a chance on love.
The Art of Scandal is a sizzling, conversation-starting debut about rekindling passion, the transformative power of art, and finding love in unexpected places.
Includes a Reading Group Guide.
Nonfiction
Without credentials or connections, community college student and advocate Deesha Dyer navigated her imposter syndrome, landing one of the most exclusive positions in the White House. Michelle Obama calls Undiplomatic “smart, funny, and endlessly inspirational.”
From the most unlikely person to end up as a senior official to President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama comes a candid, incredible, and inspiring story. Moved by the election of the country’s first Black president, Deesha Dyer applied for a White House internship in 2009 as a thirty-one-year-old part-time community college student, taking a leap that carried her into a permanent full-time position, followed by three promotions landing her at the epicenter of politics.
In spite of the little voice in her head telling her she didn’t deserve to be there, Deesha thrived and rose to the highly coveted role of White House social secretary, giving her a front-row seat to defining moments in history while curating some of the flyest parties 1600 Pennsylvania has ever seen. Yet, with humor and realness, she peels back the curtain, revealing the hard truth about why she spent years trying to hide behind it. Undiplomatic is a deeply personal narrative about combating self-doubt while being on top of the world. Deesha reflects on how imposter syndrome threatened her self-esteem, proven aptitude, and survival until she realized that it was neither her fault nor her responsibility.
In this vivid portrayal from a true “around the way girl” on the personal impact of the Obama presidency, Deesha shares her road map from imposter to impact. In Undiplomatic, she invites you on a journey of self-discovery where she overcame doubt, unearthed true love for herself, and learned that your unique worth is not something to be earned, but something inherently deserved. Uplifting, funny, and sincere, Deesha’s story shows you about authenticity at all costs, and the joy and freedom that awaits on the other side.
What would happen if policing disappeared? Would we be safe? This book imagines a world without police.
It’s evident that policing is a problem. But what is the best way forward? In Beyond Policing, distinguished scholar and writer Philip V. McHarris reimagines the world without police to find answers and reveal how we can make police departments obsolete.
Beyond Policing tackles thorny issues with evidence, including data and personal stories, to uncover the weight of policing on people and communities and the patterns that prove police reform only leads to more policing.
McHarris challenges us to envision a future where safety is not synonymous with policing but is built on the foundation of community support and preventive measures. He explores innovative community-based safety models (like community mediators and violence interrupters), the decriminalization of driving offenses, and the creation of nonpolice crisis response teams. McHarris also outlines strategies for responding to conflict and harm in ways that transform the conditions that give rise to the issues. He asks us to imagine a world where people thrive without the shadow of inequality, where our approach to safety is a collective achievement.
McHarris writes, “What if our response to crisis wasn’t about control but about care? How can we create conditions where safety is a shared responsibility? How can we design justice so that no community is routinely oppressed? Envisioning such a world isn’t just a daydream; it’s the first step toward building a society where violence and fear no longer dictate our lives.”
Transformative and forward thinking, Beyond Policing provides a blueprint for a brighter, safer world. McHarris’s vision is clear: we must dare to move beyond policing and foster a society where everyone has the resources to thrive and feel safe.
Determined to pursue his passion for undercover work wherever it leads, Ron Stallworth finally lands in Salt Lake City, Utah. Once again, he’s an outsider—not only as a Black man on a mostly white police force but also as an unapologetic nonbeliever in a state dominated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. But soon after his first drug bust in the Beehive, Stallworth makes a startling discovery—Bloods and Crips are infiltrating Mormon Country, threatening to turn the deeply conservative community into a hotbed of crime. Kids are bombing homes while carrying pocket versions of the Book of Mormon, yet his fellow cops are in denial that gangs are wreaking havoc in their Christian town.
Now Stallworth has a new mission. Whether facing off with skinheads at a downtown bar or schooling white Crips blasting “F*ck tha Police,” he is intent on stemming the tide of gangs into the state. But those he expected to be his allies either have their heads in the sand or their own agendas—from the racist Mormon legislator to the community activist exploiting a fatal gang incident to spread paranoia over an imaginary race war.
As he butts heads with these so-called leaders, Stallworth also realizes that gangsta rap has the key to the g-code. He becomes obsessed with—even defensive of—the music he once loathed and puts himself on the front lines of America’s culture war. Now he’s spitting uncensored lyrics before Congress and taking the stand in the 1993 murder case that puts hip-hop on trial.
But the more Stallworth speaks truth to power, the more determined the gatekeepers in Utah are to silence him, and not even twenty-three years of police work could prepare him for how low they would stoop.
Publishers Weekly’s Top Ten Fall 2024 Poetry Books
From Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes, a stunning collection of early works written from 1921-1927 curated by award winning poet and National Book Award finalist, Danez Smith. Hanif Abdurraqib calls the collection of polished poems and raw, unfinished, works-in-progress, “a gift to any poet working at any stage of their life and career.”
Before Langston Hughes and his literary prowess became synonymous with American poetry, he was an eighteen-year-old on a train to Mexico City, seeking funds to pursue his passion. Beloved verses like “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” were written without formal training, often on the back of napkins and envelopes, and were inspired by the sights and sounds of Black working-class people he encountered in his early life. Blues in Stereo is a collection of select early works, all written before the age of twenty-five, in which we see Langston Hughes with fresh eyes.
From the intimate pages of his handwritten journals, you will travel with Hughes outside of Harlem as he travels the world, celebrate love as a tool of liberation, and enjoy his musical verse poetry, including a play he cowrote with Duke Ellington with a full score. Blues in Stereo foreshadows a master poet that will go on to define literature for centuries to come. And by keeping his original, handwritten notations found in archival material, we get to witness a genius’s earliest thought process in real time. National Book Award-nominated poet Danez Smith offers their insight and notes on themes, challenges, and obsessions contained in Hughes’s early work.
In 1972, New York Representative Shirley Chisholm broke the ice in American politics when she became the first Black woman to run for president of the United States. Chisholm left behind a coalition-building model personified by a once-in-an-era Hollywood party hosted by legendary actress and singer Diahann Carroll, and attended by the likes of Huey P. Newton, Barbara Lee, Berry Gordy, David Frost, Flip Wilson, Goldie Hawn and others. In A More Perfect Party, MSNBC political analyst Juanita Tolliver presents a path to people-centered politics through the lens of this soiree, with surprising parallels to our current electoral reality.
Chisholm worked the crowd of movie stars, media moguls, music executives and activists gathered at Carroll’s opulent Beverly Hills home, forging relationships with laughter as she urged guests to unify behind her campaign. With the feminist movement on the rise and eighteen- to twenty-year-olds voting for the first time in American history, the Democratic Party and the nation were on the cusp of long-overdue change.
Zooming in on one party attendee per chapter, A More Perfect Party brings this whimsical event out of the margins of history to demonstrate that there is an opportunity for all of us to fight for a better nation and return power to the people.
As a Black woman, Jasmine Marie knows the impact that intergenerational trauma and systemic racism have had—and continue to have—on her community. Those experiences, along with her own journey through chronic stress, are why she created black girls breathing®, a movement dedicated to helping Black women understand the power of the mind‑body connection and its impact on their holistic health, one breath at a time.
Sharing breathwork exercises from her unique somatic philosophies, proven by data and utilized by tens of thousands of participants to date, Jasmine Marie will help you:
- Connect more fully to your body
- Give yourself permission to rest
- Heal the chronic stress you carry in your body and nervous system
- Address emotional pain
- Rebuild your sense of self and your community
Black Girls Breathing is a long-overdue resource for every Strong Black Woman—the woman ready to break cycles of trauma, heal the internalized beliefs of perfectionism and conditional self‑worth, and follow the wisdom of her inner voice.
In America, we teach that strength means holding back tears and shaming your own feelings. In the Black community, these pressures are especially poignant. Poor mental health outcomes– including diagnoses of depression and anxiety, reliance on prescription drugs, and suicide–have skyrocketed in the past decade.
In this book, actor Courtney B. Vance seeks to change this trajectory. Along with professional expertise from famed psychologist Dr. Robin L. Smith (popularly known as “Dr. Robin”), Courtney B. Vance explores issues of grief, relationships, identity, and race through the telling of his own most formative experiences. Together, they provide a guide for Black men navigating life’s ups and downs, reclaiming mental well-being, and examining broken pieces to find whole, full-hearted living.
Self-care is an act of revolution. It’s time to revolutionize mental health in the Black community.
“A thoughtful, wise, empathetic book that has the capacity to save lives. ” (Kirkus)
“…an inspiring story of what [Black men] can achieve personally and professionally when they have the tools and support necessary to examine their pain and find their joy.” (New York Journal of Books)
With over 140 delicious recipes, Howell provides everything from practical tips (“Stocking Your Kitchen for a Plant-Based Life,”) to recipes for dips that double as sauces and can be used from breakfast to dinner, easy and healthy breakfasts (Plant Beef and Cheese Taquitos), sustaining lunches (Portobello Gyros), hearty suppers (Eggplant Parmesan with Alfredo Rigatoni and Lemon Olive Oil Arugula), and delicious desserts (Vanilla Caramel Apple Sprinkle Ice-Cream Sammie).
Additionally, SIMPLE GOODNESS features a whole chapter dedicated to kid-friendly recipes– healthy, tasty, and enjoyable dishes for quick, energizing breakfasts, packable lunches, and adults-will-love-them-too dinners, even for the pickiest of eaters.
SIMPLE GOODNESS offers life-changing meals that fit seamlessly into your lifestyle, whether you’re feeding a family or just yourself, a college student, or anyone in between. More than just a cookbook, it’s a tribute to the warmth and care found in sharing homemade food and embracing a plant-based life one simply good meal at a time.
This is the story of how I became an unapologetic Black disabled woman in a white world. This book is for people who look and live structurally like me to be valued, seen, heard and perhaps some advice on how to navigate life amongst white supremacy. This book is also for white people who have been “doing the work” since the murder of George Floyd to read my story and be able to clearly see systemic oppression, racism, and ableism. There are books sharing the historical context of white supremacy, providing tips on how to be an ally or anti-racist, and firsthand experiences from Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) which are important. I push the conversation that leads to real change through my story. This book is for the Black woman who is looking to been seen and soft in shared lived experience. It is for the white person who is immersing themselves in the community they want to advocate for. It is for anyone who understands that learning and unlearning is lifelong.
White Supremacy Is All Around arrives as the U.S.’s ongoing racial reckoning has left readers searching for voices they can trust. BIPOC, disabled people, and other intentionally ignored Americans want to feel heard and empowered; organization leaders and allies invested in dismantling white supremacy want a framework for how best to contribute. Dr. Akilah Cadet speaks to all these needs, drawing from her life experiences and work helping leading brands build inclusive and equitable cultures to offer an informed perspective that prioritizes belonging. In a series of personal stories told with her trademark candor and wit, Dr. Cadet explores the long-term work required to combat structural oppression from her unique vantage point as a Black disabled woman. She tackles everything: from the 2020 “summer of allyship” and depression caused by workplace discrimination to navigating disability and building a consulting business, all with a little inspo from Beyoncé.
A powerful call for true accompliceship for non-Black people, and a way for Black people to see and celebrate themselves, White Supremacy Is All Around ushers in a new voice that is timely, urgent, and essential—and a vision we all need now.
Born in a country that has repeatedly traumatized her and her loved ones, Maya Wiley grew up in a household that prioritized activism, hope, and resilience above all else. This attitude landed her father on President Nixon’s enemies list as her mother organized third-party political platforms. Still, they modeled hope for their children. In the decades since, she has borne witness as presidents and political figures used racism and fascism to gain power, and as cities have again and again elected white men, effectively shutting out people of color and women from having a political voice. As a result, she has been forced, time after time, to confront death, injustice, and indifference—just as her Civil Rights activist parents did before her.
After a mayoral race that further exposed our country’s deep divisions, Maya is ready to share her story and that of her parents: one of passion, possibility, and compassion in the face of fear and injustice. She takes readers through her unconventional upbringing, her father George Wiley‘s tragic death and the resulting trauma, as well as how her experiences spoke to racial, gender, and class identity. Against this painful backdrop, Maya charts her journey of coming into herself and finding hope in a dire political landscape. She also digs into how her previous struggles informed her platform, driving her to represent those who have similarly felt voiceless or ignored. In facing and sharing her own past, Maya shows readers how they too can remain optimistic in the face of adversity.
AVAILABLE TO PREORDER NOW!
An NPR 2025 Book We Love
A New York Times Notable Book of 2025
A Book Riot Best Book of 2025
A Publishers Weekly Best Romance Book of 2025
A Chicago Public Library 2025 Must-Read Romance
For fans of Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter and The Final Revival of Opal & Nev, a Southern small-town romance about the visibility of Black women’s voices in country music, and “the best romance I’ve read all year.” (The New York Times).
Every Thursday night, former country music heartthrob Luke Randall has to sing “Another Love Song.” God, he hates that song. But performing his lone hit at an interstate motel lounge is the only regular money he still has. Following another lackluster performance at the rock bottom of his career, Luke receives the opportunity of his dreams, opening for his childhood idol—90’s era Black country music star, JoJo Lane, who’s being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. But the concert is in Arcadia, Arkansas, the small hometown he swore he’d never see again. Going back means facing a painful past of abuse and neglect. It also means facing JoJo’s daughter, August Lane—the woman who wrote the lyrics he’s always claimed as his own.
August also hates that song. But she hates Luke Randall even more. When he shows up ten years too late to apologize for his betrayal, she isn’t interested in making amends. Instead, she threatens to expose his lies unless he co-writes a new song with her and performs it at the concert, something she hopes will launch her out of her mother's shadow and into a songwriting career of her own. Desperate to keep his secret, Luke agrees to put on the rogue performance, despite the risk of losing his shot at a new record deal.
When Luke’s guitar reunites with August’s soulful alto, neither can deny that the passionate bond they formed as teenagers is still there. As the concert nears, August will have to choose between an overdue public reckoning with the boy who betrayed her, or trusting the man he’s become to write a different love song.
"A must-read book for fans looking for a fresh, authentic voice in urban fantasy and horror." –Tananarive Due
To be a client of Gwendolyn Montgomery—New York’s most powerful publicist, at Sublime Creative—is to be infused with a certain oomph, a mysterious glamour. She seems to have created the ideal life with her handsome new boyfriend, the perfect match. But Gwendolyn has a legion of long-buried secrets that could unravel everything.
After a grisly, bizarre incident at the Brooklyn Museum, Gwendolyn begins to realize that something nefarious is happening tied directly to her past, right as Fonsi Harewood comes back into her world. Fonsi is a queer Latinx psychic from the South Bronx who’s caught up in a love triangle with a ghost and his mortal ex. He’s able to communicate with the dead, and he comes with a dire warning for Gwendolyn, that the barrier between humans and spirits is weakening.
Gwendolyn would prefer not to have anything to do with ghostly drama. Yet in order to get to the bottom of the spookiness derailing her life and threatening the world, she must face the demons she’d long left behind. The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery is a sensuous, funny, mystical adventure that will leave you spellbound as you keep the pages turning.
At the pinnacle of motorsports, a humble young man from Stevenage, England, has risen to become the greatest Formula One driver of all time. Lewis Hamilton’s journey from remote-controlled car hobbyist to seven-time world champion, knight of the realm, and global superstar is the stuff of sporting legend.
This authoritative biography follows Hamilton’s path from his early days karting on local tracks to the glitz and pressure of the Formula One circuit. Along the way, we witness Hamilton’s single-minded determination to reach the top, even as he challenged racial barriers and opposition at every turn. His triumph over adversity is all the more inspiring given Hamilton’s pioneering role in making motorsports accessible to marginalized communities.
Beyond his unparalleled on-track exploits—leveling the record books held by the legendary Michael Schumacher—Hamilton has used his platform to advocate for social justice, environmental sustainability, and diversity. He has become a worldwide tastemaker of art, fashion, and lifestyle, while also emerging as a voice of moral clarity. Hamilton has leveraged his fame to push Formula One and global sports to be a force for positive influence while inspiring a new generation of athletes and artists to pursue their dreams.
As Hamilton nears the twilight of his racing career, this thoroughly researched book examines his lasting legacy. His impact extends far beyond just his championship trophies. Sir Lewis culminates with Hamilton at the wheel of the iconic Ferrari Team, where he continues to chase world titles and set new standards, further validating his greatness.
In Leviathan Beach, the thin veil between fantasy and reality ceases to exist. Thomas’ concerns with war, labor, sex and the shared prospects of biological life on this planet depict human beings as minimum wage plovers in the title story, whereas disgruntled green anoles become a child’s potential salvation in “Cold War Kirby.” In “Xscape from the Dark Dimension” a young girl takes on the skin of a demon, while in “Half an Inch at Best” a group of soldiers get more than they bargained for out of sexual tourism. A lonely divorcee travels the world to perform assisted suicides in “The Ferryman is Now Accepting Visa,” and in “Monday,” two medics may finally learn to love each other over a Socratic dialogue in the front of an ambulance.
With brilliant, often humorous prose, Joseph Earl Thomas approaches his subject matter with scalpel-like precision, revealing profound truths and posing incisive questions at the level of the speculative and the hyper-real. Both solemn and searching, scathing and indignant, Thomas reflects on the multi-headed Leviathan of the present with great curiosity about life and little respect for mere tolerance, asking what it means to dream of a better future when the world has been crumbling around you.
We are not defined by our origin stories. We choose who we become.
Daria Burke’s childhood growing up under the shadow of an absent father and a mother debilitated by drug addiction was marked by neglect and poverty. Despite these fractured beginnings, she forges a triumphant path out of Detroit and into fashion’s C-Suite. After ten years of therapy, she believes her healing journey is complete.
When she discovers a photograph of the car accident that she believes altered the course of her early life, Burke is forced to confront the parts of her childhood she had avoided. This discovery sparks a four-year immersion into neuroplasticity, epigenetics, the impact of adverse childhood experiences on early brain development, and ultimately, why some of us remain stuck in past trauma while others experience post-traumatic growth. She dives headfirst into an exploration of her trauma, grappling with the enduring grip of the past on the present and the mind's influence over the body.
More than a story of personal triumph, Of My Own Making is a soulful and scientific exploration of the power to shape one's destiny. In facing the stark reality of her past, Burke reminds us that every moment demands a choice, and that we owe it to ourselves to reparent our inner child and reclaim the lives we deserve.
Burke’s lyrical account of a life lived with courage and intention offers an empathetic and hard-won perspective on the nature versus nurture debate and the power of acceptance. Part memoir, part methodology, it is a fearless rallying cry inspiring us to excavate and examine the stories that define our lives. Ultimately, the narratives that we craft with our own hands are the only ones that matter.
Teacher By Teacher traces the remarkable journey of the tenth U.S. Secretary of Education and is a deeply personal love letter to all the teachers in our lives.
The story of John B. King Jr.’s inspiring path to President Obama’s Cabinet begins the day that his mother died. He insisted on going to school that day, knowing he would find comfort in his classroom. While some might have dismissed a rebellious young Black and Puerto Rican teen whose life was in crisis, King’s teachers and counselors gave him a second chance.
King went on to earn degrees from Harvard, Columbia, and Yale and committed his career to trying to do for other young people what educators did for him. Teacher By Teacher is an inspiring account of how dedicated educators—both King’s own teachers and the phenomenal teachers who he has encountered throughout his career as a teacher, principal, and education policymaker—can profoundly shape the lives of their students. King’s experiences constantly reinforce the role of schools as places of survival, healing, and hope.
This book is about overcoming challenges and the mentors who help us make it through them. Teacher By Teacher will inspire students, parents, teachers, and everyone who believes in the transformative power of education. But more than that, this book examines the life-changing impact of mentorship, especially for those who are underserved by public institutions and social systems in America.
"Teacher By Teacher is more than John King’s story. It’s an invitation to redesign schools to provide all young people—especially those most marginalized—with the inspiration, love, and support they need to thrive." ―James Forman Jr., Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Locking Up Our Own
Pulitzer Prize winning writer, editor and TV host Jonathan Capehart recounts powerful stories from his life about embracing identity, picking battles, seizing opportunity and finding his voice.
MSNBC anchor Jonathan Capehart is one of the most recognizable faces in cable news. But long before that success, Capehart spent his boyhood growing up without his father, shuttling back and forth between New Jersey and rural Severn, North Carolina, and contemplating the complexities of race and identity as they shifted around him. It was never easy bridging two worlds; whether being told he was too smart or not smart enough, too Black or not Black enough, Capehart struggled to find his place. Then, an internship at The Today Show altered the course of his life, bringing him one step closer to his dream. From there, Capehart embarks on a journey of self-discovery.
Yet Here I Am takes us along that journey, from his years at Carleton College, where he learns to embrace his identity as a gay Black man surrounded by a likeminded community; to his decision to come out to his family, risking rejection; and finally to his move to New York City, where time and again he stumbles and picks himself up as he blazes a path to become the familiar face in news we know today.
Honest and endearing, Yet Here I Am is an inspirational memoir of identity, opportunity, and finding one's voice and purpose along the way.
The Battle for the Black Mind is an explosive historical account of the struggle for educational justice in America. Drawing on over a decade of archival research, personal reflection, and keen sociological insight, this book traces a century of segregated schooling, examining how early efforts to control Black minds through education systems has laid the foundation for the systemic inequities we still live with today. NAACP Image Award-winning author Karida L. Brown, takes readers from the rural South to the bustling cities of the North and connects the dots between the experiences of Black students and educators across the nation. From the founding of early Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), such as Hampton, Atlanta, and Tuskegee University, to the rise of the Black freedom struggle, The Battle for the Black Mind weaves together the stories of pioneering Black leaders and the institutions they built to educate future generations.
Far from dwelling solely on oppression, this book offers powerful insight into how Black people have always fought to create environments where Black minds could thrive. Brown concludes with an urgent and empowering call to action, equipping everyday Americans with practical steps—both big and small—to ensure that Black minds can continue to flourish, even as our education system itself comes under attack.
Grounded in both historical rigor and astute social commentary, The Battle for the Black Mind speaks directly to today’s national fight over the American classroom, making it clear that the battle for Black minds is far from over. This book will resonate deeply if one comprehends the transformative power of education and is invested in understanding how education has always played a role in shaping the moral conscience of America.
Debra Lee has been the visionary responsible for elevating Black images and storytelling for decades with timeless television shows like The Game and Being Mary Jane. Now she’s telling her own story, in a page-turner filled with electrifying behind-the-scenes stories that reveal how she went from a girl raised in the segregated South to leading the first Black company traded on the New York Stock Exchange—and how she juggled social responsibility while managing a company targeted towards the Black community.
Lee answers all of our questions about building an unapologetically Black enterprise as a Black woman. I Am Debra Lee addresses her personal struggles with motherhood and “having it all,” navigating reproductive choice, fertility, and #MeToo. In this book, she opens the door for others to come after her, by sharing the truth behind her own inspiring story of power, perseverance, and success.
“Debra Lee is a force! I love her candor and vulnerability within these pages. I Am Debra Lee is designed to make an impact.” –Alicia Keys
“I was glued to Debra’s every word in this memoir.”–Taraji P. Henson
Jonathan Conyers introduces us to the teachers, his debate coach, and a boy named Diego who changed his life.
Everybody was rooting for Jonathan Conyers after his inspiring story went viral, sparked millions in donations to the Brooklyn Debate League, and captured the heart of America. The kid who entered school struggling to read, ended up being a breakout star on his high school debate team, thanks to a life-changing friendship with his transgender debate coach. Jonathan’s story highlights the important role teachers play in opening up worlds of opportunity for the most vulnerable students.
In I Wasn’t Supposed to Be Here, Jonathan shares the full story of his incredible journey escaping the precarious circumstances he was born into, and the teachers, mentors, and guides who helped him along the way. Born into a family crippled by addiction and homelessness, Jonathan “failed” kindergarten and was told he would never succeed academically. But instead, Jonathan found ways to defy the limited expectations placed upon him by building a village to save his own life, and realize his dream to get into medical school.
Throughout this heartwarming memoir, we will meet the unique and diverse cast of characters who made up Jonathan’s village and helped him change the trajectory of his life into one that has proven to be a great inspiration to others.