TWO THOUSAND FIFTEEN AFRICAN AMERICAN BOOKLIST

THE BROADSIDE PRESS LEGACY OF DUDLEY RANDALL 2015 AFRICAN AMERICAN BOOKLIST TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Detroit Public Library, encouraged by the positive response to this annual BLACK NATIONAL ANTHEM ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������4 publication, continues the tradition of the African American Booklist for 2015 and LETTER FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR �����������������������������������������������������������������������������5 beyond. This bibliography provides a selected list of books by and/or about African THE BROADSIDE PRESS LEGACY OF DUDLEY RANDALL �������������������������������������������������������7 Americans. The works of fiction and nonfiction for adults, children and young adults THE UNDAUNTED VOICES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN POETS: LOOK BACK IN WONDER!..... 10 were reviewed and recommended by librarians of the Detroit Public Library. AFRICAN AMERICAN POETRY...... 20 FICTION...... 25 The African American Booklist began as a way to commemorate Black History NON-FICTION...... 29 Month and since that time has continued to feature the accomplishments of African ARTS...... 29 Americans in the literary world. Our booklist has become an annual tradition in the BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIRS ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������29 community and continues to be a highly anticipated publication for book lovers all CAREER AND FINANCE ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������31 across the nation. HEALTH...... 31 HISTORY...... 31 INSPIRATIONAL...... 32 LIFESTYLE/ENTERTAINING ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������32 ADULT LITERATURE JUVENILE-TEENS BOOKLIST POETRY...... 32 SELECTION COMMITTEE SELECTION COMMITTEE RELATIONSHIPS ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������33 Vickie Baker Lurine Carter, Chairperson SPORTS RELATED ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������33 Stacy Brooks, Co-Chair Tonya DuPree, Contributor Christine Peele, Co-Chair Carole Hale TODAY’S ISSUES �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������34 Jackie Sullen Tracy Massey FORETHCOMING TITLES IN 2015 ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������35 YOUTH BOOKS...... 36 PICTURE BOOKS �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������36 AFRICAN AMERICAN BOOKLIST PRODUCTION JUVENILE FICTION ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������36 Khamisi Benford JUVENILE NONFICTION ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������37 A.J. Funchess JUVENILE BIOGRAPHY ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������38 Romondo Locke Alma Simmons TEEN FICTION...... 38 SERIES...... 39 TOO NEW TO REVIEW ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������39

Cover Photo: Leni Sinclair

2 | 2015 AFRICAN AMERICAN BOOKLIST WWW.DETROITPUBLICLIBRARY.ORG | 3 BLACK NATIONAL ANTHEM LIFT EV’RY VOICE AND SING LETTER FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Lift every voice and sing One hundred years after DPL opened its doors in 1865, Detroiter Dudley Till earth and heaven ring, Randall, a poet and a librarian, founded Broadside Press, an institution that has Ring with the harmonies of Liberty; played a significant role in establishing a place for the African American poetic Let our rejoicing rise voice for fifty years. Mr. Randall launched Broadside Press by publishing poets High as the listening skies, that included Gwendolyn Brooks, Margaret Walker, Margaret Danner, Robert Let it resound loud as the rolling sea. Hayden and Sterling Brown. His legacy was further enriched by presenting the Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, works of Nikki Giovanni, Sonia Sanchez, Haki Madhubuti, Etheridge Knight, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us, Audre Lorde and Keorapeste Kgositsile. Facing the rising sun of our new day begun Let us march on till victory is won. During my years as a librarian at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland, one of the most requested books by library users was The Black Stony the road we trod, Poets, an anthology edited by Dudley Randall. I think Mr. Randall’s introduction Bitter the chastening rod, of the book described why at that time it was by far the best anthology of black Felt in the days when hope unborn had died; poetry. He noted that “the claim of the THE BLACK POETS to being a partially Yet with a steady beat, definitive anthology is that it presents the full range of Black American poetry, Have not our weary feet from the slave songs to the present day. It is important that folk poetry be Come to the place for which our fathers sighed? included because it is the root and inspiration of later, literary poetry. Not only does this book present the We have come over a way that with tears has been watered, full range of Black poetry, but it presents most poets in depth and in some cases presents aspects of a poet We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered, neglected or overlooked before.” Out from the gloomy past, Till now we stand at last It’s an amazing thing when “coincidence” brings opportunity. When I realized that DPL and Broadside Press Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast. would both celebrate major anniversaries this year, it was the perfect opportunity to provide a theme for our “Sesquicentennial Special Edition” of the 2015 African American Booklist: “The Undaunted Voices of African God of our weary years, American Poets: Look Back in Wonder.” We thank poet and scholar Gloria House, Ph.D., and the entire God of our silent tears, Broadside Press Board of Directors, for the guidance, creativity and enthusiasm brought to this effor. Thou who has brought us thus far on the way; Thou who has by Thy might As you read the thoughtful, insightful and passionate essay about Dudley Randall, the brief history of African Led us into the light, American poets and make a selection from the poetry list, perhaps you will think about poetry in a different Keep us forever in the path, we pray. way, learn something you did not know, or recall your earliest exposure to this creative form. Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee, Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee; Please visit the Detroit Public Library and check out the recommended poetry titles, along with the fiction and Shadowed beneath Thy hand, non-fiction books, included in this “Sesquicentennial Special Edition” of ourAfrican American Booklist. May we forever stand. True to our God, True to our native land. Standing on a rich tradition,

Jo Anne G. Mondowney Executive Director Lyrics by: James Weldon Johnson

4 | 2015 AFRICAN AMERICAN BOOKLIST WWW.DETROITPUBLICLIBRARY.ORG | 5 THE BROADSIDE PRESS LEGACY OF DUDLEY RANDALL (1965–2015)

n any given summer morning, a neighbor might glance the young boy Dudley Randall huddled atop the porch awning of his Russell Street home on Detroit’s Eastside. There in the shade of a tree, the shy boy studied the great poets of the past. Young Randall’s parents, a minister and a school teacher, introduced him to the best of European literature and the treasures of African American culture. His father, an activist member of the NAACP, took him to the speeches of great race men like Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois and James Weldon Johnson, the thought leaders of the period. In this nurturing environment, Randall embraced his calling as a poet. In 1927, one of his sonnets won Opublication on the “Young Writer’s Page” of the Detroit Free Press. He was thirteen years old.

Randall graduated from Eastern High School in 1930. Two years later, he found work in the foundry of Ford Motor Company’s Rouge plant. Subsequently, he was employed by the post office until 1943, when he was inducted into the U.S. Army. Returning to Detroit in 1946, Randall took various jobs, one of which was in the reference department of Detroit’s Main Library; but his focus was on earning the bachelor’s degree in English at Wayne State University and the master’s degree in library science at the University of Michigan.

Randall’s career as a reference librarian took him to Lincoln and Morgan State universities, then back home to a post in the Wayne County library system. Broadside poet Albert Ward remembers meeting Randall at cultural programs at Parkman Branch Library in the late 1960s. As a youngster, Ward was inspired by his neighborhood encounters with this exceptional, gracious African American male poet librarian!

Randall retired as a librarian from his post at the University of Detroit Mercy, where the installation of a National Literary Marker commemorates the eminence of his contributions as a librarian and poet. His training as a librarian influenced every detail of Randall’s work -- from the scrupulous editing and promotion of other poets’ writing, to setting down the exquisite lines of his own poems. The fusion of his wide-ranging knowledge as a librarian with his poet’s aesthetic sensibilities engendered a rare talent. Perhaps it was this combination of artistic and literary sophistication that called him to the roles of editor, publisher, mentor of poets, and founder of Broadside Press.

In an article published in the Black Academy Review in 1970, Randall wrote: “We Africans in the United States are a nation of 22 million souls, larger than Athens in the age of Pericles or England in the age of Elizabeth. There’s no reason why we should not create and support a literature which will be to our own nation what those literatures were to theirs.”

Guided by this vision and mission, Randall created Broadside Press as a solitary project, perhaps not realizing how demanding the work would become. When his friend, the Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Gwendolyn Brooks, wanted to know his title within the Broadside Press organizational structure, Randall replied, “Since … in my spare time and in my spare bedroom I do all the work from sweeping floors, washing windows, licking stamps and envelopes, and packing books to reading manuscripts, writing ads and planning and designing books, you could just say that Dudley Randall equals Broadside Press.” POET, LIBRARIAN,POET, PUBLISHER 6 | 2015 AFRICAN AMERICAN BOOKLIST Sinclair Leni Photo: WWW.DETROITPUBLICLIBRARY.ORG | 7 During his mature years, Randall and his wife, Vivian, shared a comfortable ranch home on Old Mill Place in Detroit’s Russell Woods RANDALL (con’t) neighborhood. When he decided it was time to relinquish control of the Press, Randall sold it to his friends and Russell Woods neighbors, Hilda and Don Vest. Hilda applied her experience as an educator and poet, Don, his expertise as a retired auto company executive, to the management and advancement of the Press. During their tenure, the Vests published more than a dozen new titles. In 1998, they passed Randall began by producing 8.5” by 11” broadsides that featured a single poem, an idea he borrowed from ownership to a collective of Detroit educators and poets, who are the Russians after a trip to the Soviet Union. The publishing of “Ballad of Birmingham,” Randall’s poem committed to upholding Randall’s legacy: affirmation of the beauty of on the bombing deaths of four little girls in a church during the civil rights movement, launched Broadside African American culture, editorial excellence, and profound respect for Press in 1965. By the mid 70s, the Broadside collection had grown to over 100 publications, including artistic differences among African American writers. single broadsides, books, audio tapes, LPs, and posters, which were in demand by individuals, book stores, universities, and libraries around the world. The protest against the inhumanity of southern racism expressed Mayor Coleman A. Young appointed Randall the first Poet Laureate of in “Ballad of Birmingham” conjoined Broadside Press with the African American freedom fight of the 1960s. the City of Detroit in 1981, praising him as the “Father of the Black Poetry Liberation struggles were being waged throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America, with the African American Movement.” Literary scholar, Professor Julius Thompson, extolled civil rights and Black Power movements constituting a significant flank of this global uprising. Broadside Press Randall’s achievement in the following manner: flourished as the institutional anchor and center of African American literary production during this period. All his prior work in developing as a writer and training in library Several generations of African American poets are represented in the science would be harnessed to give birth to the most important Broadside Press repertory. The first includes Randall himself and his publishing company ever created by an African American, to peers, Naomi Madgett, Gwendolyn Brooks, Margaret Walker, Margaret promote the publication, distribution and enjoyment of Black Danner, Robert Hayden, and Sterling Brown. These poets’ works laid the poetry. In a period of great hardship he sacrificed much in terms foundation for the wave of writers who won recognition in the 1960s – 70s -- of his own personal comforts to help hundreds of writers lift their Nikki Giovanni, Sonia Sanchez, Haki Madhubuti, Etheridge Knight, Audre voices. American culture is much richer today because of Dudley Lorde and South African Keorapetse Kgositsile (now the Poet Laureate of Randall and Broadside Press. South Africa) -- poets who had been turned away by mainstream publishing houses, who might have remained unknown if Randall had not published Dudley Randall, circa 1980s, book signing Dudley Randall -- soft-spoken, thoughtful, compassionate, possessing a their work. In addition, there is the constellation of talented poets published event at Alexander Crummell Center, quiet, delightfully wry sense of humor -- passed away after a struggle by Broadside from the 1980s to the present. Highland Park (Photo: Willie Williams) with cancer on August 5, 2000. We honor him as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Broadside Press. Broadside Press publications reflect the most important issues of African American political and cultural life from World War I to the the 21st century, expressed in a diversity of literary forms, including revolutionary manifestos, exquisite love songs, humorous toasts, and yearnings for Sources: 1990: At Main Library: Left to Right – Hilda Vest, freedom. By demonstrating both the fine quality of poetry emerging in the Dudley Randall, Vivian Randall and Donald Vest African American community as well as the fact that there was indeed a Boyd, Melba Joyce. Wrestling with the Muse: Dudley Randall and Broadside Press. (Photo: Burton Historical Collection) substantial reading audience for that poetry, Randall made an invaluable New York: Columbia University Press, 2003. contribution to the literary heritage of the United States, the African diaspora, and the world. House, Gloria, Weatherston, Rosemary and Ward, Albert. A Different Image: The Legacy of Broadside Press. Detroit: Broadside Press and University Detroit-Mercy Randall was finally exhausted by his efforts to build the Press while continuing to work fulltime as a librarian. Press, 2005. He retreated for a few years, leaving the Press to operate under the guardianship of volunteers at the Alexander Crummell Center for Worship and Learning, a progressive mission congregation of the Episcopal Thompson, Julius. Dudley Randall, Broadside Press, and the Black Arts Movement in Diocese. Returning with a swell of energy, he published several new books, and established the Broadside Detroit, 1960 – 1995. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 1999. Press Poets Theatre, which continues today, in collaboration with the Dudley Randall Center for Print Media at the University of Detroit-Mercy, offering poets the opportunity to hone their writing and performance skills. Text: Gloria House, Ph.D. RANDALL 8 | 2015 AFRICAN AMERICAN BOOKLIST WWW.DETROITPUBLICLIBRARY.ORG | 9 British poets of the time. Though religious themes and exalted references to Greek and Roman mythology prevail in Wheatley’s poetry, a keen protest against injustice does appear in some lines. In a poem addressed The Undaunted Voices of African American Poets to William, Earl of Dartmouth, then governor of Massachusetts, she refers to her own uprooting from Senegal and the sorrow her parents must have suffered as experiences which explain why she wishes freedom for LOOK BACK IN WONDER! everyone: …I, young in life, by seeming cruel fate Was snatch’d from Afric’s fancy’d happy seat: he creation of beauty through language has persisted over centuries as a vital aspect of African What pangs excruciating must molest, culture, where there is reverence for the power of words. African cultural traditions of music, ritual and What sorrows labour in my parent’s breast? performance accord deep respect to the gift of eloquent speech, to the priest or shaman whose words Steel’d was that soul and by no misery mov’d may attain the supernatural, the griot, keeper of the community’s memory and legends, the storyteller. That from a father seiz’d his babe belov’d TIn contemporary African American society, we see these ancient roles reenacted in the preacher, the rhythm Such, such my case. And can I then but pray and blues or gospel star, the poet, the rapper and spoken word artist. Others may never feel tyrannic sway?

O BLACK AND UNKNOWN BARDS Wheatley’s few years of freedom as an adult brought her no more joy than her enslaved childhood. She was unhappily married, and Africans enslaved in this country composed music and poetry to sustain their bodies and her two children died in infancy. She succumbed to poor health and spirits. Work songs and humorous or caustic commentaries on plantation life passed from poverty when she was 31 years old. one innovator to another. The music popularly referred to as African American spirituals – called the “sorrow songs” by Dr. W.E.B. DuBois -- represents a significant stream of this Though a few African American poets managed to publish sparsely in widespread anonymous creativity. James Weldon Johnson, author of the African American the decades following Wheatley’s life, it was Paul Laurence Dunbar National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” celebrated the genius of those Africans, “the who next achieved national recognition. With the publication of his black and unknown bards,” who conceived the profoundly beautiful music and lyrics: third volume of poems, Lyrics of Lowly Life, in 1896, Dunbar became the first African American poet to be enthusiastically received by both O black and unknown bards of long ago, Black and White reading audiences. How came your lips to touch the sacred fire?... Heart of what slave poured out such melody Dunbar’s poetry is treasured for its preservation of the rhythms and As “Steal Away to Jesus?”… subtleties of early African American speech, often called “Negro dialect,” and for its intimate renderings of African American everyday Who heard great “Jordan, Roll?” Whose starward eye Paul Lawrence Dunbar Saw chariot “swing low?” And who was he life. However, Dunbar grieved that American poetry audiences That breathed that comforting, melodic sigh, favored his Negro dialect, folk-based poetry over his poems of greater “Nobody knows de trouble I see?” Dr. W.E.B. DuBois literary sophistication. Photo - Addison N. Scurlock These songs and the oral folk literature that emerged during slavery attest to the persistence of African Dunbar was writing in the aftermath of the devastating upheavals of the Civil War and Reconstruction, a word and music artistry, through the Middle Passage of the slave trade, into the communities where African time when African Americans groped for firm grounding in U.S. society. Perhaps the social instability and American culture was forged. disorientation felt during this period contributed to Dunbar’s melancholy and disappointment as an artist.

His well-known poem, “Sympathy,” compared the predicament of the African American poet to that of a bird SMALL GIRL, MOMENTOUS VOCATION who beats his wings against the bars of the cage that imprisons him. In the concluding stanza of the poem, he wrote: The legacy of formal, written African American poetry begins in colonial America with Phillis Wheatley, a little Senegalese girl kidnapped in 1761 and enslaved by a Boston tailor and his family. In less than a decade the I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, brilliant child had mastered English, Latin and Greek, and produced the volume of poems that would become When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore, -- the first published book by an African in this country. The elite of Boston society remained in disbelief that the When he beats his bars and would be free; poems had been written by an African until the child’s performance in an oral examination convinced them that It is not a carol of joy or glee, she was indeed the extraordinarily gifted author. But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core, But a plea, that upward to Heaven, he flings – Phillis Wheatley’s book, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, was published in 1773 in England. I know why the caged bird sings! It is a collection of elegies and hymns reflecting literary conventions established by Alexander Pope and other

10 | 2015 AFRICAN AMERICAN BOOKLIST WWW.DETROITPUBLICLIBRARY.ORG | 11 Though generations of African American writers have bemoaned the debilitating weight of racism, the record shows that this struggle has not prevented, but rather intensified and empowered their literary production. THE SPIRIT OF THE “NEW NEGRO” They believed there would be better days ahead:

During the era of the Harlem Renaissance, poets gained the political clarity and greater sense of confidence …We shall not always plant while others reap in the future that Dunbar might have sought. They belonged to the period of the “new Negro,” that more self- The golden increment of bursting fruit…. assured African American who, rejecting definition by the dominant society, insisted on determining for himself We were not made eternally to weep. his place and potential within the national life. Such poets as James Weldon Johnson (mentioned above), Cullen, “From the Dark Tower” Countee Cullen, Claude McKay, Jean Toomer, and Langston Hughes responded to and influenced the major cultural, philosophical and political issues of the day -- including African American cultural identity, civil rights Langston Hughes remains the most beloved of the Harlem Renaissance poets. His popularity continued from and discrimination, labor rights and international affairs. the 1920s to his death in 1967, a long span during which his works represented African American experience with unfailing authenticity. His poems “talked the talk” that his people understood, while striking familiar jazz McKay, the firebrand of the period, is best remembered for his mastery of the sonnet, a fourteen-line poem and blues notes and poetic imagery in which African Americans saw themselves. He was revered by the many with strictly prescribed patterns of meter and rhyme, associated traditionally with sentimental themes. In poets whom he mentored as he pursued his own prodigious literary production. “Tropics in New York,” McKay follows conventional expectations in a sonnet of longing for the sumptuously beautiful natural world of his Jamaican childhood. However, in “If We Must Die,” he sets the sonnet form ablaze with indictments of American racism and inequalities. This poem became a manifesto of the period: I, too, sing America I am the darker brother. If We Must Die They send me to eat in the kitchen If we must die, let it not be like hogs When company comes, Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot, But I laugh, While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs, And eat well, Making their mock at out accursed lot. And grow strong. If we must die, O let us nobly die, So that out precious blood may not be shed Tomorrow In vain; then even the monsters we defy I’ll be at the table Shall be constrained to honor us though dead! When company comes O kinsmen, we must meet the common foe! Nobody’ll dare Though far outnumbered let us show us brave, Say to me, And for their thousand blows deal one deathblow! “Eat in the kitchen,” What though before us lies the open grave? Then. Langston Hughes Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack, Claude McKay Besides Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back! , They’ll see how beautiful I am Harlem Shadows, 1922 And be ashamed –

Countee Cullen, a highly-educated Harlem scion, caught painfully in the space between allegiance to Western I, too, am America. culture and acceptance of his African heritage, also observed European poetic conventions in his work. From The Weary Blues, 1926 Grappling with unresolved questions of racial and cultural identity, he penned some of the most exquisite lines of the Harlem Renaissance. In one of his best-known poems, he ponders why God would instill in an oppressed person the inspiration to be a poet: WHEN IT IS FINALLY OURS, THIS FREEDOM POETS

Yet do I marvel at this curious thing: Sterling Brown, Dudley Randall, Gwendolyn Brooks and Robert Hayden began their careers as poets during “To make a poet Black, and bid him sing!” the 1930s and 40s. Their works reflect the preoccupations of their generation – the effort to realize one’s gifts, Color, 1925 and to cultivate home, family and other essential institutions in America’s urban centers, despite the harsh conditions of racism, economic depression and war.

12 | 2015 AFRICAN AMERICAN BOOKLIST WWW.DETROITPUBLICLIBRARY.ORG | 13 Their poetic styles varied widely: Brown, a Harvard graduate, professor and literary critic, wrote poems of Robert Hayden, quiet University of Michigan professor and practitioner of the Baha’i faith, wrote studiously forthright simplicity, featuring African American folk heroes, humor and music. Randall’s poetry featured a contrived lines of gravity and wisdom. His poem honoring the great abolitionist exemplifies his mastery: rhythmic, measured voice, which we hear in this poem written for Mayor Coleman Young: Frederick Douglass Detroit Renaissance When it is finally ours, this freedom, this liberty, this beautiful Cities have died, have burned, and terrible thing, needful to man as air, yet phoenix-like returned usable as earth; when it belongs at last to all, to soar up livelier, lovelier than before. when it is truly instinct, brain matter, diastole, systole, Detroit has felt the fire reflex action; when it is finally won; when it is more yet each time left the pyre than the gaudy mumbo jumbo of politicians, as if the flames had power to restore. this man, this Douglass, this former slave, this Negro beaten to his knees, exiled, visioning a world Together we will build where none is lonely, none hunted, alien, a city that will yield this man, superb in love and logic, this man to all their hopes and dreams so long deferred. shall be remembered. O, not with statues’ rhetoric, New faces will appear not with legends and poems and wreaths of bronze alone, too long neglected here; but with the lives grown out of his life, the lives new minds, new means will build a brave new world. fleshing his dream of the beautiful, needful thing.

Gwendolyn Brooks, author of more than 15 volumes of poems, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1950, chiseled and polished her words to make sparse, incisive statements. Here she remembers Malcolm BLACK CONSCIOUSNESS, BLACK POWER, BLACK ARTS X’s powerful impact on the nation: The radical social and political changes of the 1960’s, engendered by protests against the Vietnam War, the Malcolm X Southern civil rights movement, and the influence of Third World independence struggles, ushered in a new Original. constellation of African American poets. These artists rejected Western cultural and political domination. They Ragged-round. shaped a new aesthetic based on African arts, cultural, and spiritual traditions. This new insistence on self- Rich-robust. determination grew into the Black consciousness and Black power movements that swept the entire African diaspora. African Americans achieved a new acceptance of their African physical features; they adopted He had the hawk-man’s eyes. African clothing, artifacts, music, dance and religion, and marked this wave of affirmation with the popular We gasped. We saw the maleness. slogan, ”Black is beautiful!” The maleness raking out and making guttural the air and pushing us to walls. Most celebrated among the poets of Black consciousness and Black Power were Sonia Sanchez, Haki Madhubuti, Audre Lorde and Amiri Baraka. They all upheld the major tenets of these movements, but special And in a soft and fundamental hour interests distinguished their writings. A sorcery devout and vertical Beguiled the world. An early concern of Madhubuti and Sanchez was to make their poetic styles approximate more closely the rhythms and color of popular African American speech. Lorde’s poetry emphasized solidarity with Third World He opened us – liberation efforts, advanced the causes of the women’s liberation, and revealed the challenges faced by African POETS who was a key, American lesbians. Baraka’s fierce revolutionary political convictions, which he demonstrated through activist who was a man. organizing in numerous arenas of national life, earned him the deep respect of his peers, and laid a foundation for the poets who have followed.

14 | 2015 AFRICAN AMERICAN BOOKLIST WWW.DETROITPUBLICLIBRARY.ORG | 15 Ka ‘Ba Amiri Baraka A closed window looks down on a dirty courtyard, and black people call across or scream across or walk across defying physics in the stream of their will

Our world is full of sound Our world is more lovely than anyone’s tho we suffer, and kill each other and sometimes fail to walk the air The Wind’s Song (Excerpt) Saul Williams We are beautiful people The square root of a kiss is a hum with african imaginations i hum under my breath when I contemplate full of masks and dances and swelling chants the drum of your heartbeat with african eyes, and noses, and arms, and my heart beats for your breath though we sprawl in grey chains in a place i revel in the wind for mere glimpses… full of winters, when what we want is sun. I love We have been captured, brothers. And we labor as instruments come to life through breath to make our getaway, into the wind sends my high notes to indigo communions the ancient image, into a new with Coltrane’s “Favorite Things” …this is my body correspondence with ourselves which is given for you, and our black family. We need magic this is my blood now we need the spells, to raise up which is shed for you… return, destroy, and create. What will be my love like the wind, uncaged the sacred words? blows time into timeless whirlpools transfiguring fear and all of its subordinates (possession, jealousy, fear) 21ST CENTURY: NEW DIRECTIONS into crumbling dried leaves….

The young poets who emerged as the 21st Century approached followed their passion wherever it called From The Seventh Octave, 1998 them, as their elders had established once and for all, yes, Black is beautiful and political power may, indeed, be realized through African unity. The intellectual work to reclaim African civilization and reestablish it on the world stage had been launched and was being advanced steadily by new Diasporan scholars. Poets could turn their attention elsewhere, or to more nuanced treatments of racial concerns --- to seeking grounding in the realm of metaphysical experience; to moving in synch with natural rhythms and cycles, and to envisioning the POETS integration of political and spiritual realities. Such themes pervade the brilliant work of Saul Williams, Jessica Care Moore and Nikky Finney, winner of the 2011 National Book Award in Poetry.

16 | 2015 AFRICAN AMERICAN BOOKLIST WWW.DETROITPUBLICLIBRARY.ORG | 17 Hurricane Beulah Chapter 4, Part 9 Nikky Finney

I Am FAME Missed Jessica Care Moore I was my grandmother’s heart. We belonged to each other. She had taught me to believe in things unseen. Even before the long car was Collard green trees grow out of sight I was there on the porch waiting for a sign from her that In Herman Gardens Projects she was alright. Standing there in the middle of her ocean of brilliant on Detroit’s westside pansies and begonias, I watched pine and oak sway like summoned Red kool-aid tongues dancers then bend loyally like servants. And just before the birth of hide sweat inside invisible squares her favorite time of day, with a soft suddenness, I felt the war heavy Where wind of the Great Mother lift the plain dutiful life of another mother hoops wait for new nets to the beyond. bets are made against my life can’t imagine a man loving me The World Is Round, 2003 or becoming somebody’s wife I want to be recognized in all my ugly The development of four African American publishing companies has brought the work of African American want the rain to ask me for fresh water poets into greater visibility in the United States and abroad. Dudley Randall’s Broadside Press, founded in Detroit in 1965, led the way. Third World Press, established in Chicago by Haki Madhubuti (known in the I am every daddy’s little girl 1960’s as Don L. Lee), followed in 1967. Dr. Naomi Madgett, current Poet Laureate of Detroit, joined her friend A single-mother’s daughter Dudley in a passion to bring the works of African American poets to wider audiences, launching her Lotus Press in 1972. Detroiter Jessica Care Moore, whose poetry spans the literary and spoken word/rap worlds, And the sun comes out even when the electricity is cut off created Moore Black Press in 1997, to feature emerging poets of her generation. These four companies have Lay out my favorite blue jeans every day for morning contributed significantly to African American literary production by providing attractive, independent outlets Bet you I can out-run you to the corner for talented writers. Following the retirement of Dr. Madgett, Lotus Press and Broadside Press will merge as I search for sage Broadside Lotus Press in 2015. or rose smells in my skin cross my heart and hope to out live give out haiku high fives Sources: showing off my dirty hands Bradley, Adam and DuBois, Andrew, eds. The Anthology of Rap. New Haven: Around here I have many fans Yale University Press, 2010. Waving at me when I make appearances Gates, Henry Louis and McKay, Nellie Y. The Norton Anthology of African On the front porch American Literature. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2004. ******

From The Words Don’t Fit in My Mouth Mullane, Deirdre. Crossing the Danger Water: Three Hundred Years of African POETS American Writing. New York: Random House, 1993.

Text: Gloria House, Ph.D.

18 | 2015 AFRICAN AMERICAN BOOKLIST WWW.DETROITPUBLICLIBRARY.ORG | 19 Gullah culture perspective, this Aurora Harris R. Madhubuti, best-selling poet collection reflects upon significant Solitude of Five Black Moons beginning in the Black Arts era, AFRICAN AMERICAN POETRY figures and events in the poet’s Broadside Press and shared a unique literary and personal life and in the life of the University of Detroit Mercy Press, personal relationship. In this nation – including the devastation 2011. collection of poems, Madhubuti Winner of the PEN Oakland- pays tribute to Ms. Brooks’ great This list of titles comprises a broad spectrum of African American poetry, featuring well-established, celebrated poets as of Hurricane Katrina. Josephine Miles Award for legacy. well as those whose works have recently won recognition. Four publishing companies which have lifted African American Nikki Giovanni Excellence in Literature, 2012. poets to national and international visibility are well represented here: Broadside Press, Lotus Press and Moore Black These poems share the profound Bicycles: Love Poems. Gwendolyn A. Mitchell Press, in Detroit; and Third World Press in Chicago. Reflecting diverse regional roots, including the Mississippi Gulf Coast, discernment and awareness Harper Perennial, 2010. House of Women. the West Coast, Chicago, Gullah country and the Caribbean, these poets explore captivating, unusual themes, while their often won by marginalized Third World Press, 2002. NY Times Bestseller styles, techniques and rhythms reflect unique aesthetic preferences. Jazz and blues vibrate beneath the lines, inundating individuals and groups, whether The poet gathers a circle of Romantic love is featured in all its in Mississippi, the Philippines, women who share their joy and the entire poetic field. There’s poetry here for everyone. Enjoy! exciting aspects, with the author’s the poet’s mother’s homeland, or pain in these poignant lyrics of delightful sense of humor and Palestine. Written with incisive love, solidarity, and sisterhood. serendipity casting a bright light. clarity, beauty and compassion by James Baldwin Ras Baraka the Detroit-born poet. Jessica Care Moore Suheir Hammad Jimmy’s Blues and Other Black Girls Learn Love Hard, Sunlight through Bullet Holes. Born Palestinian, Born Black: & Yusef Komunyakaa Moore Black Press, 2014 Poems. Moore Black Press, 2006. The Gaza Suite. Pulitzer Prize Winner Witnessing the times and daily Beacon Press, 2014. This collection, inspired by and UpSet Press, 2010. Testimony: A Tribute to Charlie challenges of life in her hometown This new collection, based on honoring the poet’s younger sister, Influenced by the voices of Parker: With New and Selected Detroit and in the world at large, the beloved author’s two books a casualty of domestic violence, major African American poets, Jazz Poems. the poet responds with her of poetry, includes narrative and provides beautifully confident, this passionate Arab-American Wesleyan Poetry Series, 2013. characteristic wit, love and hope, lyrical poems, all ringing with powerful insights into issues poet of the hip hop generation, In addition to the homage to paying homage to local artists and Charlie Parker, poems in this those who resist injustice. profound insights into the African troubling contemporary African invites readers to recognize the American experience in the commonalities of political and collection represent the lifetime American communities. Recently span of the poet’s impressive Sterling D. Plumpp U.S., and the brilliant mastery cultural injustice besetting African elected Mayor of Newark, NJ, this work. Home/Bass: Poems. of language for which Baldwin is Americans, Palestinians and other poet is one of the most compelling Amiri Baraka Third World Press, 2014. revered. people of color. voices of the hip hop generation. S O S: Poems Quraysh Ali Lansana Winner of the American Book They Shall Run: Harriet Tubman Award, 2014. Amiri Baraka Rita Dove Poems. Plumpp takes us into the rich everyday Kwame Dawes S O S: Poems, 1961 – 2013. Pulitzer Prize Winner, Past Poet Third World Press, 2004. culture of African Americans along Duppy Conqueror: New and Laureate of the U.S., Poet Laureate Grove Press, 2015. A portrayal of Harriet Tubman’s that passage connecting the rural Selected Poems. of the Virginia Commonwealth. extraordinary spiritual gifts, A collection presenting the full South and Chicago. We hear the Copper Canyon Press, 2013. Sonata Mulattica, W.W. Norton character and heroism in language and lore of this Southern range of work by this icon of Company, 2010. Intimate, affectionate reflections liberating hundreds of African culture gone north, all accompanied the Black Arts movement, who An intriguing book-length poem Americans from slavery -- with the by the steady beat of the Blues. on the everyday experiences of continued to be a powerful force exploring the fiery, short-lived poet striving for authenticity in the Africans throughout the Diaspora, in African American political and friendship between Beethoven rhythms and subtleties of dialect R. Flowers Rivera cultural developments until his by a prolific poet who was born in and the 19th Century mulatto that Tubman might have spoken. Heathen. Lotus Press, 2015. death in 2014. Ghana, raised in Jamaica, and is violinist, George Bridgetower. Winner of the Naomi Long Madgett now a widely respected writer and Haki Madhubuti Poetry Award, 2015. Nikky Finney Honoring Genius, Gwendolyn Exploring a wide range of subjects Wise Why’s Y’s: The Griot’s Song professor in the United States. Head Off and Split. Brooks: The Narrative of Craft, from mythology to mundane, everyday Third World Press, 1995. (Duppy, a Jamaican patois word, Haki Madhubuti Djeli Ya. Northwestern University Press, 2011. Art, Kindness and Justice. tasks, this poet “transforms the ordinary A poetic odyssey, charting African means ghost or spirit. “Duppy Honoring Genius, Gwendolyn Brooks: Winner of the National Book The Narrative of Craft, Art, Kindness Third World Press, 2011. into an exciting extraordinary…inviting Americans’ historic struggle from Conqueror” is the title of a song by Award - Poetry, 2011. and Justice. Poets Gwendolyn Brooks, a the reader to return to her poems time slavery to the present. Bob Marley.) Written from the poet’s unique Pulitzer Prize winner, and Haki and time again.”

20| 2015 AFRICAN AMERICAN BOOKLIST WWW.DETROITPUBLICLIBRARY.ORG | 21 POETRY (con’t)

POETRY ANTHOLOGIES House, Gloria, Weatherston, CHILDREN’S BOOKS Natasha Trethewey Saul Williams Rosemary, and Ward, Albert, Poet Laureate of the United Former Poet Laureate of California eds. Gwendolyn Brooks States, 2012. Seventh Octave. A Different Image: Winnie Congregation. Moore Black Press, 1998. The Legacy of Broadside Press. Third World Press, 1991. William Meredith Foundation/ The first collection of a truly Broadside Press and University of Poetry for children about South Dryad Press, 2014. brilliant hip hop generation poet, Detroit Mercy Press, 2004. African leader, Winnie Mandela, A collection of poems rooted in full of stunning imagery, and a Winner of the Notable Book Award written by the Pulitzer Prize the culture of the Mississippi Gulf captivating, exhortative voice of the Library of Michigan, 2005. winning African American poet. Coast, reflecting the folk wisdom calling us into future ways of This collection features selected of the poet’s friends and family, seeing and being. poems by five African American poets, who, originally published by who remained faithful to the region Broadside Press during the Black following Hurricane Katrina. Al Young Something About the Blues. Consciousness period, later won Al Young Sourcebooks, 2008. acclaim as major literary figures, Something About the Blues A poet who integrates blues and nationally and internationally. jazz in his poetry, Young includes Sonia Sanchez tributes to Ma Rainey, Lena Horne Madgett, Naomi L., ed. Morning Haiku and other notable artists in this Adam of Ife: Black Women in Beacon Press, 2010. publication, which includes a CD Praise of Black Men. of the poet’s performance with Lotus Press, 1992. Deeply moving haiku poems music accompaniment. Art by Carl Owens. celebrating great artists, political Poems in recognition and organizers, historic figures and appreciation of the struggles friends of this cherished poet, Gwendolyn Brooks and accomplishments of African whose major role in African Winnie American men, written by African American poetry began during the American women poets of several Black Consciousness movement generations. Naomi L. Madgett, ed. of the 1960’s. Some critics have Boyd, Melba J. Adam of Ife: Black Women in suggested that this is the poet’s Sonia Sanchez and Liebler, Michael, eds. Praise of Black Men. most beautiful work. Morning Haiku Abandon Automobile: Cedella Marley Matthew Shenoda Detroit City Poetry. Every Little Thing Tahrir Suite: Poems. Wayne State University Press, Chronicle Books, 2012. Triquarterly, 2014. An engaging, delightful book Albert Ward 2001. based on the lyrics of a Bob A book-length poem exploring Dry Twigs, Tinder Men. A comprehensive, ethnically Marley song, by Marley’s eldest themes of home, place and Broadside Press, 2015.

daughter. Bold color illustrations. POETRY belonging in relation to the ongoing These tender poems, set against representative collection of works For three – six years olds. revolutionary upheaval in Egypt, a familiar urban backdrop, explore by several generations of Detroit and its impact on communities the life conditions and strivings of Cedella Marley poets. This list was compiled by Gloria House, throughout the African diaspora. African American men. Natasha Trethewey Every Little Thing Ph.D. Congregation. 22 | 2015 AFRICAN AMERICAN BOOKLIST WWW.DETROITPUBLICLIBRARY.ORG |23 BEST OF 2014 - Fiction Billingsley, ReShonda Tate Carter, Stephen L Octavia E. Butler What’s Done In the Dark Back Channel: A Novel Unexpected Stories Simon And Schuster, 2014 Alfred A Knopf, 2014 College co-ed assists in preventing Open Road Media Sci-Fi & A one time indiscretion changes a nuclear holocaust. Fantasy, 2014 the lives of two families. *EBook and Audiobook available in Overdrive and Cynthia Bond Bond, Cynthia Hoopla Ruby Ruby Random House, 2014 Random House, 2014 Clarke, Breena A beautiful woman attempts to Angels Make Their Hope Here Little Brown, 2014 Stephen L. Carter escape from her painful past. A young woman escapes from slavery Back Channel: A Novel *Ebook & Audiobook available and tries to find safety and happiness Alfred A Knopf, 2014 in Overdrive in a multi-racial New Jersey community.

Roxane Gay Bowen, Michele Andrea Cush, Jean Love An Untamed State Pastor Needs a Boo Endangered Black Cat, 2014 St Martin’s Griffin, 2014 Harper-Collins, 2014 A mother struggles against the A former FBI agent, now pastor system to save her son from prison. Walter Mosley falls in love with a single mom,while Debbie Doesn’t Do it Anymore considering running for bishop. Davis, Bridgett M Doubleday, 2014 Into the Go-Slow Burt-Murray, Angela Feminist Press, 2014 Games Divas Play Angie travels to Nigeria to discover the truth about her sister’s death. Angel, Ahyiana Thomas & Mercer, 2014 A journalist moves to New York Preseason Love Dickey, Eric Jerome Simon and Schuster, 2014 to start an exciting new job but A Wanted Woman Scottie moves from Los Angeles to is caught up in her best friend’s Dutton, 2014 New York to gain more experience personal drama. An expert assassin finds that she in her career but finds herself has been double crossed after an making the same mistakes in her Butler, Octavia E. assignment goes wrong. personal life as she had in the Unexpected Stories *EBook and Audiobook past. available in Overdrive Open Road Media Sci-Fi & *Audiobook on CD Fantasy, 2014 Ashley & JaQuavis Cartel 5 Two never-before-published Francis-Sharma, Lauren Urban Books, 2014 stories from the archives of ‘Till the Well Runs Dry After the sudden deaths of the one of science fiction’s all- Henry Holt, 2014 men in the family the women take time masters A Trinidadian immigrant comes over the business. *Published as an EBook to the USA for a new start in life * Audiobook on CD available in Overdrive only to find new and different frustrations. Bennett, O.H. Campbell, Wanda Recognition Gay, Roxane Bolden, 2014 Back to Me An Untamed State A woman attempts to discover if Urban Christian, 2014 Black Cat, 2014 the husband she believed to be A woman tries to find inner peace Mireille’s world is shattered when dead is alive and living on the after she commits what she an unspeakable crime occurs after streets. believes is an unforgivable sin. her father fails to act in time.

24| 2015 AFRICAN AMERICAN BOOKLIST WWW.DETROITPUBLICLIBRARY.ORG |25 Mink, Meesha Octavia, Grace Weber, Carl Kiss the Ring: An Urban Tale His Last Wife The Choir Director 2: Runaway FICTION (con’t) Simon and Schuster, 2014 Dafina-Kensington, 2014 Bride When “Queen” discovers the son The mayor’s ex-wife is used as Grand Central Publishing, 2014 she gave up when she was a a scapegoat and a pawn in the Deception is the rule of the day in teenager was murdered she hits circumstances surrounding his the personal relationships of the Genovese, Ni’Chelle Howard, Ravi after doing his time in prison. But the streets to extract her revenge. death. Church Girl Gone Wild Driving the King he finds himself drawn back to his ministry team at First Jamaica Urban Books, 2014 Harper, 2015 old ways when he discovers his McCollors, Tia Smith, Dwayne Alexander Ministries. Friday Night Love: Days of Eva’s life is torn to shreds after An iconic singer repays a family is in danger. Forty Acres *EBook and Audio available on Grace Book 1 she is sent to prison for a crime childhood friend for saving his Simon and Schuster, 2014 Whitaker House, 2014 Overdrive she did not commit. life by giving him a job as a driver Lovely, Lutishia A young up and coming lawyer is when he is released from prison. A couple rely on help from their *Audiobook on CD The Perfect Deception invited to join a dangerous secret Grant, Michele Kensington Books, 2014 best friends in an attempt to rebuild their marriage. organization. Any Man I Want James, Marlon Jessica is torn between living Whitaker, Tu-Shonda L. Dafina-Kensington, 2014 A Brief History of Seven Killings happily with the man she has fallen Rich Girl Problems Morrison, Mary B. Swindle, Renee Two former fashion models get Riverhead Books, 2014 in love with or getting revenge for Kensington Books, 2014 her older sister. If You Don’t Know Me A Pinch of Ooh La La over their egos and fall in love. Fictional account of the Ladies of a popular reality show assassination attempt on Dafina Kensington, 2014 NAL. 2014 Marlow, L.Y. Madison fights to regain the love After discovering, in a very public get caught up in real life dramas. Guillory, Marcus J legendary reggae artist Bob A Life Apart and trust of her husband. *EBook available on Overdrive Red Now and Laters Marley and the political fallout that manner that her fiance was Broadway Books, 2014 Simon and Schuster, 2014 follows. *EBook available on Overdrive cheating, Abby doubts that she A sailor falls in love with the sister Ti’John grows up in South Park can trust love again but crazy Williams, Wendy of the shipmate who saved his life Mosley, Walter neighborhood of Houston, Texas Jenkins, Beverly family and friends show her Hold Me In Contempt during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Debbie Doesn’t Do It Anymore where he yearns to fit in with the Destiny’s Captive otherwise. William Morrow, 2014 Avon, 2014 Doubleday, 2014 other boys. Assistant D.A. Kimberly Kind is A Cuban rebel steals the heart of a Mason, J.D. The sudden death of her husband Crazy Sexy Revenge inspires a porn film star to quit the Tademy, Lalita usually able to keep her work life Hambly, Barbara hardened ship’s captain. St. Martin’s Griffin, 2014 business. Citizens Creek Crimson Angel *EBook available in Overdrive and personal life separate, then The chickens have finally come *EBook and Audiobook Atria Books, 2014 Severn House, 2014 *Audiobook on CD she meets “King” and that all home to roost for Jordan Gatewood available on Overdrive A man buys his freedom from Benjamin January reluctantly when the women he has hurt in his changes. Joy, E.N. his Creek Indian master, forging travels to Haiti to uncover the past and in the present decide to *EBook available on Overdrive More Than I Can Bear Mosley, Walter a legacy that his granddaughter secrets of a family treasure. extract their revenge. Urban Christian, 2014 Rose Gold builds upon. Doubleday, 2014 Hampton, Brenda A woman struggles to push past *EBook available on Overdrive Young, Tom Easy Rawlins is reluctantly drawn betrayal and defeat to find victory Sand and Fire Slick into the search for a University Urban Renaissance, 2014 and strength in her faith. Tate, Kim Cash Putnam Adult, 2014 of California co-ed, who is being Hidden Blessings Sylvia allows herself to fall into held hostage by a revolutionary As his retirement approaches, King, Joy Deja Thomas Nelson, 2014 an affair with her bff’s husband political group. Gunnery Sgt. Blount is compelled Female Hustler Kindra discovers a life changing after he discovers that she is also *EBook and Audiobook King Production, 2014 love and an even stronger faith to continue his Marine Corps having an affair. available on Overdrive Nino Carter’s “other daughter” after a devastating medical career after witnessing an attack *Audiobook on CD Hickman, Trice was not born to a life of luxury but diagnosis. by enemy jihadists. Troublemaker she did inherit his street smarts and ambition. Mott, Jason Dafina-Kensington, 2014 The Wonder of All Things Tucker, Pat; Sewell, Earl Young-Robinson, Christine Childhood sweethearts reunite Loyalty Among Friends Mira Books, 2014 We Didn’t See it Coming FICTION and make plans to spend their K’wan Simon and Schuster, 2014 When Ava’s secret is discovered, Strebor Books International, 2014 lives together but the mother of Animal III: Revelations Ava is caught between two friends Cash Money Content, 2014 she has to decide how much of the bride and the father of the when she discovers one of them Family secrets are revealed for A former street soldier plans on herself she can share and sacrifice groom have to deal with their own Howard, Ravi with others. is having an affair with the other’s three sisters after the sudden romantic past. living a peaceful life with his family Driving the King *EBook available on Overdrive husband. deaths of their parents.

26| 2015 AFRICAN AMERICAN BOOKLIST WWW.DETROITPUBLICLIBRARY.ORG |27 BEST OF 2014 - Clair, Maxine McNally, Dennis Non-Fiction Charles M. Blow Imagine This: Creating the Work On Highway 61: Music, Race, Fire Shut Up in My Bones You Love and the Evolution of Cultural Houghton Mifflin, 2014 Bolden, 2014 Freedom Life coach and author offers advice Counterpoint LLC, 2014 Pearl Cleage for achieving empowerment and Fascinating history of the founding Things I Should Have Told My self-fulfillment. fathers and mothers of the popular Daughter musical form known as “the blues” Atria Books, 2014 Duke, Bill; Sheila Moses Dark Girls and its origin in the Mississippi Jeff Hobbs Amistad Press, 2014 Delta. The Short and Tragic Life of Beautiful and lush photography Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young collection featuring women who Page, Alan Charles Man Who Left Newark share their insights on dark skin. Enter the Wu-Tang: How Nine for the Ivy League Men Changed Hip-Hop Forever Scribner Book Company, 2014 Eshun, Ekow; Kehinde Wiley Lone Gunman Media, 2014 Kehinde Wiley: The World Stage In-depth look at the iconic group’s Rick James & David Ritz Jamaica early history and why their music Stephen Friedman Gallery, 2014 Glow: The Autobiography of Rick garnered a cult like following in the James Contemporary portraiture artist hip-hop community. Atria Books, 2014 depicts modern Jamaicans in 17th and 18th century British life. Edward Lewis & Audrey Edwards Herron, Matt; John Dittmer BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIRS The Man from Essence: Creating Mississippi Eyes: The Story and a Magazine for Black Women Photography of the Southern Angelou, Maya Atria Books, 2014 Documentary Project Rainbow in the Cloud: the University Press of Mississippi/ Wisdom and Spirit of Maya Antoinette Tuff & Alex Talking Fingers Publications, 2014 Angelou Tresniowski Photographs document the Random House, 2014 turbulent and pivotal summer of Prepared for a Purpose: The Gathered from the late poet’s 1964. Inspiring True Story of How One many works, this collection shares Woman Saved an Atlanta School her wisdom and keen observations Under Siege Kopano, Baruti N.; Tamara on various topics. Bethany House Publishers, 2014 Lizette Brown; Phillip Brown Soul Thieves: The Appropriation and Misrepresentation of Bailey, Phillip; Keith Zimmerman NON-FICTION African American Popular Shining Star: Braving the Culture Elements of Earth, Wind & Fire ARTS/CULTURE Palgrave MacMillan, 2014 Viking Adult, 2014 Frank discussion of how black Memoir offers glimpses of the popular culture is used in white Bracey, John H; Sonia Sanchez; genesis of both an iconic singer mainstream commercialism. James Smethurst and an innovative band. SOS--Calling All Black People: Light, Alan A Black Arts Movement Reader Let’s Go Crazy: Prince and the Baram, Marcus University of Massachusetts Making of Purple Rain Gil Scott-Heron: Pieces of a Man Press, 2014 Atria Books, 2014 St. Martin’s Press, 2014 Researchers describe the cultural Details the road from vision to Biography of the socially conscious shift in the arts community reality Prince traveled to create the poet and musician often thought of beginning in the 1960’s. legendary movie and soundtrack. as a forefather of hip-hop.

28 | 2015 AFRICAN AMERICAN BOOKLIST WWW.DETROITPUBLICLIBRARY.ORG |29 Whitaker, Mark HISTORY Cosby: His Life and Times NON-FICTION (con’t) Simon & Schuster, 2014 Cobb Jr., Charles E. Account of the comedic icon’s This Nonviolent Stuff’ll Get You career, personal dramas and his Killed: How Guns Made the Civil impact on American race relations. Right Movement Possible Basic Books, 2014 Benson, George; Alan Goldsher Cleage, Pearl Copeland, Misty; Journalist and former SNCC Benson: The Autobiography Things I Should Have Told My Charisse Jones CAREER AND FINANCE field secretary asserts that non- Da Capo Press, 2014 Daughter Life in Motion: An Unlikely violence and armed self-defense From prodigy to award-winning Atria Books, 2014 Ballerina Harvey, Steve were complementary tools used to artist, Benson’s memoir details his Writer offers a candid look at her Touchstone, 2014 Act Like a Success, Think Like a achieve the goal of civil rights. Russell Simmons inspiring rise to fame. inner life through journal entries The first African American soloist Success: Discovering Your Gift Success Through Stillness: * Audiobook available on for the American Ballet Theatre and the Way to Life’s Riches Gates, Henry Louis Meditation Made Simple Blow, Charles M. Overdrive recounts her early personal and Amistad, 2014 Finding your Roots: The Official Fire Shut Up in My Bones professional struggles as a young Presents methods to achieve Companion to the PBS Series Ritz, David Houghton Mifflin, 2014 Clinton, George; Ben Greenman your economic goals and life’s University of North Carolina Press, dancer. Respect: The Life of Aretha Honest and courageous portrayal Brotha’s Be, Yo Like George, mission by recognizing, nurturing 2014 of a young man’s search for Ain’t That Funkin’ Kinda Hard Franklin Prominent figures trace their Hancock, Herbie; Lisa Dickey and capitalizing on your inherent identity, truth and healing. on You?: A Memoir Little Brown and Company, 2014 ancestry using DNA and research. Herbie Hancock: Possibilities talents. *EBook available on Overdrive Atria Books, 2014 Intimate portrait of the Queen of Viking, 2014 *Audiobook on CD Insightful look at the man who Soul, her family and her legendary Glaude, Jr., Eddie S. Authoritative biography covers musical career. Braxton, Toni delivered over four decades of music; Lewis, Edward; Audrey Edwards African American Religion: A Unbreak My Heart: A Memoir the life of the preeminent jazz Very Short Introduction from doo-wop to the Mothership. The Man from Essence: Creating It Books, 2014 pianist’s musical roots, his famous Oxford University Press, USA, 2014 Rule, Ja; Jeffery Atkinson a Magazine for Black Women Songstress candidly discusses collaborations and his struggles Explores the religious life of Unruly: The Highs and Lows of Atria Books, 2014 her journey through health issues, and triumphs. African Americans and the various Becoming a Man From idea to inception, innovative bankruptcy and plastic surgery. roles of the black church. Amistad, 2014 entrepreneur tells the story of the James, Rick; David Ritz Examination of the multi-talented often turbulent and personally Brown, Carolyn J. Glow: The Autobiography of Smiley, Tavis; David Ritz rap artist and his struggle to brutal journey of an iconic Song of My Life: A Biography of Rick James Death of a King: The Real Story become a good husband and American brand. Margaret Walker Atria Books, 2014 father, despite his lack of positive of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s University Press of Mississippi, Entertaining and unvarnished look Final Year role models. HEALTH 2014 at the complicated life of the late *EBook available on Overdrive Little,Brown and Company, 2014 Fascinating life story of the author award-winning artist and pioneer An emotional portrayal of the of the acclaimed novel Jubilee Simmons, Russell civil rights leader as he dealt with of funk. Saul, Scott Success Through Stillness: depression and the unforeseen Becoming Richard Pryor Brown, Daryl; Michael Chabries Meditation Made Simple rejection of his once admired Joseph, Peniel Harper, 2014 My Father the Godfather Gotham, 2014 ideology. Stokley: A Life Interviews and other exhaustive Waldorf Publishing, 2014 Norman, Jessye Ancient technique can be used to * Basic Civitas Books, 2104 EBook available Overdrive Unflinching look at one of the most Stand Up Straight and Sing! research reveal the journey that achieve one’s highest personal Chronicles the life of the iconic talented and yet misunderstood lead to the rise of the comedic potential. Tuck, Stephen civil rights leader best known for musicians of our times. Clyburn, James E. genius. *EBook available on Overdrive The Night Malcolm X Spoke at his call for black power. Blessed Experiences: the Oxford Union: Brown, Yamma; Genuinely Southern, Williams, John Mattocks, Charles A Transatlantic Story of Robin Gaby Fisher Proudly Black Norman, Jessye America’s Mistress: The Life Budget-Friendly Fresh and Antiracist Protest Cold Sweat: My Father James University of South Carolina Stand Up Straight and Sing! and Times of Miss Eartha Kitt Local Diabetes Cookbook University of California Press, Brown and Me Press, 2014 Houghton Mifflin, 2014 Quercus, 2014 American Diabetes Association, 2014 Chicago River Press, 2014 In-depth look at the prominent Engaging memoir includes the Thorough examination of the 2014 Imparts the significance of this A look into the private and complex politician’s rise from humble performer’s comments on history, entertainer and how her social Healthy, money and time-saving historic debate and its impact on life of the Godfather of Soul from beginnings to his place on the vocal training and the role of the consciousness and sex appeal meals can be created with race relations in America and the one daughter’s perspective. national stage. arts in our society. impacted her career. community grown produce. United Kingdom. NON-FICTION 30| 2015 AFRICAN AMERICAN BOOKLIST WWW.DETROITPUBLICLIBRARY.ORG | 31 Du Bois, W E B Walker, Alice Gandy, Debrena Darkwater: Voices for Within The World Will Follow Joy: Love Lies: 10 Revelations NON-FICTION (con’t) the Veil Turning Madness Into Flowers That Will Transform Your Martino Fine Books, 2014 (New Poems) Relationship and Enrich Your New Press, 2014 Reprint of the 1920 collection Love Life Award-winning author writes on of poignant poems and essays themes of politics, compassion Sunrise River Press, 2014 addressing political and social INSPIRATIONAL and spirituality. Discover the untruths and toxic Winfrey, Oprah reform. beliefs that sabotage relationships. Brown, Tim; James Lund What I know For Sure Weaver, Afaa Michael Making of a Man: How Men and Flatiron Books, 2014 Jones, Saeed Hard Summation Strawberry, Darryl ; Boys Honor God and Live with Brief chapters showcase some Prelude to Bruise Central Square Press, 2014 Tracy Strawberry; A.J. Gregory Integrity of the author’s favorite topics Coffee House Press, 2014 Our history, from the Middle Imperfect Marriage: Help for Thomas Nelson, 2014 Passage to the present, is explored from her column in “O, the Oprah Several themes, including Those Who Think It’s Over Football legend shares the vital Magazine” sexuality, gender and family are in this 13-poem collection. lessons that transformed his life. Howard Books, 2014 *EBook and Audiobook addressed in this collection. Personal accounts of the trials in available on Overdrive RELATIONSHIPS Burton, Valorie a marriage, and how their insights T. D. Jakes Moten, Fred Get Unstuck, Be Unstoppable: Abrams, Abiola can help improve yours. Instinct: The Power to Unleash Step Into the Amazing Life God Little Edges Sacred Bombshell Handbook LIFESTYLE/ ENTERTAINING Your Inborn Drive Imagined for You Poet experiments with “shaped of Self-Love: The 11 Secrets of Harvest House Publishers, 2014 prose,” arranging works in Feminine Power Hall, Carla SPORTS RELATED Life coach combines biblical Terry, Bryant rhythmic blocks to create an Love Univeristy, 2014 Carla’s Comfort Foods: Favorite principals and psychology to effect Afro-Vegan: Farm-Fresh audio-visual pattern for readers. Life coach takes women on a Dishes from Around the World Griner, Brittney; Sue Hovey major change. African, Caribbean, and journey of self-discovery and self- Atria Books, 2014 In My Skin: My Life on and Off Southern Flavors Remixed Rankine, Claudia appreciation. Jakes, Sarah International dishes and non- the Basketball Court Ten Speed Press, 2014. Citizen: An American Lyric Colliding with Destiny: Finding traditional uses of herbs and It Books, 2014 Chef and food justice activist Greywolf Press, 2014 Crews, Terry Hope in the Legacy of Ruth spices are introduced to the home blends a collage of international Manhood: How to be a Better A young woman overcomes Bethany House, 2014 cook. Prose, essays and images culled cuisines to create both a cookbook Man-or Just Live with One bullying while coming to terms Author explains how to use life’s from contemporary media and art and a history of Afro-diasporic Zink Ink, 2014 with her sexuality in this coming of disappointments as motivation to Neely, Pat; Gina Neely; are assembled to present a poetic Actor shares his struggles food. age story. move your life forward. Ann Volkwein discourse on racism. for personal growth and self- Back Home with the Neelys: POETRY actualization. Jakes, T. D. Comfort Food from Our Reisman, Rosemary M. Canfield Lazenby, Roland Instinct: The Power to Unleash Michael Jordan: The Life Southern Kitchen to Yours Brown, F Douglas African American Poets Your Inborn Drive Little, Brown & Company, 2014 Knopf, 2014 Zero to Three Salem Press, 2014 FaithWords, 2014 Couple updates recipes and Unvarnished account of the man Identify and listen to your inner voice University of Georgia Press, 2014 Anthology of poetry collected from cooking techniques passed and the brand. to achieve personal satisfaction. Poet explores familial ties, the Harlem Renaissance through down from their mothers and *EBook available on Overdrive especially the bond between today. grandmothers. father and child. Madden, Bill Tuff, Antoinette; Simpson, E Willa 1954: The Year Willie Mays and Stoudemire, Amar’e; Alex Tresniowski Chase-Riboud, Barbara On My Brother’s Shoulders: An the First Generation of Black Hardy Maxcel, III; Everytime a Knot Is Undone, a Prepared for a Purpose: The African American Anthology Superstars Changed Major Inspiring True Story of How Rosemary Black God Is Released: Collected and and Tribute to People of Color League Baseball Forever One Woman Saved an Atlanta Cooking with Amar’e: 100 Easy New Poems 1974-2011 Authorhouse, 2014 Da Capo Press, 2014 School Under Siege Recipes for Pros and Rookies in Seven Stories Press, 2014 Bethany House Publishers, 2014 the Kitchen Famed author, sculptor and poet Using commentary and poetry, Although Jackie Robinson broke The grace and empathy shown It Books, 2014 combines her artistic talents to artist examines the lynching of the color barrier in 1947, it was Fred Moten to a gunman averts a national Cookbook combines recipes, create a contemporary collection Emmett Till and its effect on the not until seven years later that the Little Edges tragedy. techniques and humorous stories. of verse. American psyche. impact was realized. NON-FICTION 32 | 2015 AFRICAN AMERICAN BOOKLIST WWW.DETROITPUBLICLIBRARY.ORG |33 NON-FICTION (con’t) FORTHCOMING TITLES IN 2015

Williams, Richard; Bart Davis Daniels, Cora ; Shipp, Robbin; Nick Chiles Black and White: John L. Jackson, Jr. Justice While Black: Helping Impolite Conservations: On The Way I See It African-American Families Atria Books, 2014 Race, Politics, Sex, Money, and Religion Navigate and Survive Father and coach shares how Atria Books, 2014 the Criminal Justice System. his upbringing and unorthodox Alternating chapters present Bolden, 2014. methods produced two of the disparate conversations on hot Noted journalist collaborates with greatest athletes in history. button topics. a defense attorney to present a primer for plotting a successful TODAY’S ISSUES Fund, John; Hans Von Spakovsky course through the legal system. Obama’s Enforcer: Eric Holder’s Banks, David; G. F. Lichtenberg Justice Department Soar: How Boys Learn, Succeed Smith, Candis Watts Broadside Books, 2014 Hughes, Langston; Arnold Coval, Kevin; Lansana, and Develop Character A scathing look at the former Black Mosaic: The Politics of Rampersad; David Roessel; Jealous, Benjamin Love, Reggie Lashonda Barnett Quraysh Ali Christa Fratantoro (Eds.) Reach: 40 Black Men Speak on Power Forward: My Presidential Atria / 37 Ink, 2014 head of the most powerful law Black Pan-Ethnic Diversity Jam On The Vine Breakbeat Poets: New American Selected Letters of Langston Living, Leading, and Succeeding Education Author asserts that parental enforcement agency in America. Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop New York University Press, 2014 Hughes support and community Discusses the varying political Gay, Roxane involvement are proven methods identities in the black community to successfully educate young Bad Feminist Harper Perennial, 2014 and their roots. men of color. Collection of essays examine the complexities of race and gender in Stevenson, Bryan Bryant, John Hope the 21st century. How the Poor Can Save Just Mercy: A Story of Justice Capitalism Hobbs, Allyson and Redemption Berrett-Koehler, 2014 A Chosen Exile: A History of Spiegel & Grau, 2014 Presents the argument that Racial Passing in American Life Author unveils the flaws in Harvard University Press, 2014 redefining the meaning of poverty the American justice system Recounts the stories of African and wealth will expand opportunity Americans who passed as white that punishes the poor and and allow the poor to join the and the benefits and repercussions disadvantaged disproportionately middle class. of their decision. while calling for more humane methods of dealing with offenders. Carson, Ben; Candy Carson Hobbs, Jeff One Nation: What We Can All The Short and Tragic Life of West, Cornel; Do to Save America’s Future Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark Sentinel, 2014 Christa Buschendorf for the Ivy League Famed physician calls for a return Black Prophetic Fire Scribner Book Company, 2014 Morris, James McGrath Solomon, Asali to traditional values to cure the Beacon Press, 2014 McCraney, Tarell Alvin Eye on the Struggle: Ethel Santiago, Wilfred Tyson, Mike; Larry Sloan Chronicles the life of a gifted Disgruntled nation’s ills. Enlightening exploration of six key Choir Boy Payne, the First Lady of the Michael Jordan: Bull on Parade Undisputed Truth student who struggled to maintain Black Press *EBook available on Overdrive his identity in disparate worlds. historic African Americans.

34| 2015 AFRICAN AMERICAN BOOKLIST WWW.DETROITPUBLICLIBRARY.ORG |35 Warner, Sally Grimes, Nikki EllRay Jakes Is Magic Chasing Freedom: The Life YOUTH BOOKS Puffin, 2014 Journeys of Harriet Tubman A boy and his classmates decide and Susan B. Anthony, Random House Books, 2014 to sabotage the tryouts in the An engaging source of historical Williams, Oneeka Dempsey, Kristy talent show by only offering the PICTURE BOOKS facts about two of the nineteenth Dr. Dee Dynamo’s Meteorite A Dance Like Straight: One third grade’s worst magic acts. century’s most powerful and Mission (Dr. Dee Dee Dynamo Ballerina’s Dream Beaty, Daniel Age: 6 – 8 inspiring American women. Books) Philomel; First Edition, 2014 Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dream Mascot Books, 2014 A girl from Harlem dreams of Age: 7 – 9 Warner, Sally EllRay Jakes Is Magic for Me A picture book that pairs fun becoming a prima ballerina in the Woods, Brenda Little, Brown Books for Young early 50’s. Kanefield, Teri science projects with fanciful The Blossoming Universe of Tadgell, Nicole Readers Age: 5 – 8 The Girl from the Tar Paper stories. Violet Diamond Friends for Freedom: The A strong close loving relationship Age: 3 – 6 Nancy Paulsen Books, 2014 School: Barbara Rose Johns Story of Susan B. Anthony & Flake, Sharon G. between father and son is and the Advent of the Civil Frederick Douglass Unstoppable Octobia May A young girl’s mixed heritage disrupted after he leaves the JUVENILE FICTION Rights Movement Charlesbridge, 2014 Super sleuth journey into frustrates her after experiencing Harry N. Abrams; , 2014 At a time when it was forbidden family to fend for themselves. dangerous territory where she Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem narrow-minded assumptions In 1951, the unfair conditions in for races to mix, two trail blazers Age: 3 – 6 witnesses a murder. Streetball Crew Book One directed at her by those living in a a segregated high school led to share stories of struggles and Scholastic Press, 2014 Sasquatch in the Paint predominantly white neighborhood the first public protest demanding commitments toward equality. Bolden, Tonya Age: 8 – 12 Disney-Hyperion; 2014 in Seattle. racial equality. Age: 6 – 9 Beautiful Moon: A sudden growth spurt in height Godin, Lynne Thelma Age: 9 – 12 Age: 9 – 13 A Child’s Prayers transforms a science geek into a Stoudemire, Amar’e The Hula Hoopin’ Queen Abrams Books, 2014 star basketball player. Stat #5: Most Valuable (STAT: Lee & Low Books, 2014 Mullenbach, Cheryl Age: 8 – 12 Standing Tall and Talented) A little boy offers simple prayers Kameeka’s goal in life is to become JUVENILE NONFICTION Double Victory: How African Scholastic, 2014 for the homeless, the hungry, and the Hula – Hoopin’ Queen; until American Women Broke Race Campbell, Isaiah The life story of a community oriented others. weekend chores, and a neighbor’s Bolden, Tonya Gender Barriers to Help Win The Troubles of Johnny Cannon birthday party changes everything. well – respected professional athlete. Age: 4 – 8 Searching for Sarah Rector: The World War II A twelve year old boy wrestles with Age: 6 – 10 Age: 8 – 12 family poverty and race relations Richest Black Girl in America Chicago Press, 2013 An overview of the efforts of McQuinn, Anna in the South. McKay, Hilary Harry N. Abrams, 2014 Woodson, Jacqueline women of color who integrated Brown Girl Dreaming Leo Loves Baby Time Simon & Schuster, 2014 Lulu and the Cat in the Bag A creek Indian freedmen in 1920 Charlesbridge, 2014 Age: 8 - 12 the workforce in military positions Penguin Group, 2014 Albert Whitman & Company; 2014 is given a land allotment with oil Mother and son enjoy quiet The adventure of a frightened during World War II. Author shares her life experiences deposits that leads to enormous growing up in the 60s & 70s during moments during story time. large stray orange and white Age: 10 – 12 wealth. the Jim Crow era in prose. Age: 4 – 5 cat emerges to join the already overgrown house of animals. Age: 10 – 14 Oelschlager, Vanita Wyckoff, Brit Edwin Age: 7 – 9 The Pullman Porter Warner, Sally The African-American Heart Freedman, Russell Vanita Books, 2014 EllRay Jakes Rocks the Philbrick, Rodman Surgery Pioneer: The Genius

After the Civil War, a group of YOUTH Zane and the Hurricane: A Story Because They Marched: The of Vivien Thomas (Genius Holidays! former slaves was hired to keep Puffin, 2014 of Katrina People’s Campaign for Voting Inventors and Their Great Ideas) things running smoothly in the new Enslow Elementary, 2013 Young boy is proud of himself until The Blue Sky Press, 2014 Rights That Changed America While visiting New Orleans a rail sleeper cars. Racist attitudes History of the first person of color his father reminds him that his skin Holiday House, 2014 twelve year old boy and his dog from customers lead this group of without a doctorate to perform An account of the events in the color makes a difference when experiences the horrors of the men to be active members of the open heart surgery on a white trying to “blend in.” history of Civil Rights Movement. Civil Rights Movement. patient in America. Flake, Sharon G. worst storm of the century. Age: 3 – 6 Unstoppable Octobia May Age: 10 – 14 Age: 8 – 10 Age: 7 – 8 Age: 10 & up 36| 2015 AFRICAN AMERICAN BOOKLIST WWW.DETROITPUBLICLIBRARY.ORG |37 Williams, Julie Daughters of political candidate Drama Queens in the House try to find their individuality. YOUTH BOOKS (con’t) Roaring Brook Press, 2014 Sixteen year old Jessie is Reid, Kimberly confronted with family problems, A Langdon Prep Mystery homosexual parents, and a Guys, Lies & Alibis biracial complex. NLA, Digital, 2014 JUVENILE BIOGRAPHY Norwich, Grace Age: 14 & Up I Am #12 LeBron James Teenage sleuth must focus on who Scholastic, 2014 is targeting her boyfriend.Simone, Benson, Kathleen SERIES Draw What You See: The Life An account of one of the best Nolan, Nina basketball players of all times. Ni-ni; Abrams, Amir and Art of Benny Andrews Mahalia Jackson: Walking with Billingsley, ReShonda Tate Age: 3 – 7 Hollywood High: Put Your Clarion Books, 2015 Kings and Queens Rumor Central: Real As It Gets Diamonds Up Finding inspiration from his Rumor Central: Truth or Dare Ransome-Cline, Lesa Hollywood High: Lights, Love childhood drawings of workers most noticeable monuments. Rumor Central: Boy Trouble Benny Goodman and Teddy “He Who Leaves a Trail of and Lip Gloss in southern cotton fields, despite Age: 8 – 10 Kensington Publishing Wilson: Taking the Stage as Glitter is Never Forgotten” Kensington Publishing Corp, 2014 hardships and struggles his work Corporation, 2014 the First Black-and-White Jazz Weatherford, Boston Carole Teenage gossip reporter keeps Rich, pampered young divas is finally accepted. Band in History Leontyne Price: Voice of a Walter Dean Myers you entertained with all the latest compete to be on top. Age: 4 – 8 Holiday House, 2014 Century August 12, 1937 – gossip. True stories of how two famous July 1, 2014 Knopt, 2014 TOO NEW TO REVIEW DePrince, Michaela jazz musicians help break down The life of a ground breaking opera Carter, Nikki Taking Flight: From War Orphan the color barrier. singer from the segregated South. Prolific and Beloved A Fab Life Novel: Get Over It Billingsley, Reshonda Tate to Star Ballerina Age: 5 – 9 Author of Award-Winning Kensington Publishing Real As It Gets: Rumor Central Knopf Books for Young Readers, Shabazz, IIyasah Children’s Books Corporation, 2014 Book 3 2014 Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Successful singer/songwriter Kensington Publishing A candid description of the Grew Up to Become Malcolm X TEEN FICTION works to maintain college status Atheneum Books, 2014 Corporation, 2014 physical and emotional struggles and relationships with friends and A historical biographical offering of romance as part of the everyday of becoming a high – performing Alexander, Kwame family. the life of an activist, educator, and experiences for some young teens King, Joy Deja classical ballerina dancer. The Crossover speaker. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014 of color. Gottesfeld, Jeff Ride Wit’ Me Part 2 Age: 12 & up Age: 6 – 10 Twin basketball players are Age: 12 & up Campus Confessions: Young Diamond Book, 2014 awesome on the court; but the Frenemies Greenly, Larry Turner, Ann importance of an education must Sewell, Earl Campus Confessions: Choices London, Kelli Eugene Bullard: World’s First My Name Is Truth: The Life of trump sports in this family. Boyfriend Shopping Campus Confessions: Crush Beware Of Boys: Black Fighter Pilot Sojourner Truth Age: 9 – 12 Harlequin, 2014 Saddleback Publishing, 2014 Charly’s Epic Fiasco NewSouth Books, 2013 HarperCollins, 2015 Freshman drama at a historically A young girl must risk falling in Book 4 The story of an aviator’s life from A story of the violent Myers, Walter Dean black college located in love with her boyfriend before Kensington Publishing birth to his combat experiences in dehumanization and escape from On A Clear Day Washington, D. C. she is comfortable selecting the Corporation, 2014 World War I and II. slavery that evolved into a well- Random House Children Books, known historical figure. 2014 perfect Christmas gift. Moore, Stephanie Perry Age: 10 – 13 Moore, Stephanie Perry & Age: 8 – 10 A futuristic novel depicting young The Sharp Sisters: Make Moore, Derrick YOUTH heroes attempting to change the Shabazz, Ilyasah Something of It Nolan, Nina Scream Loud/Quiet Strength: Walton, Eugene world. X: Novel The Sharp Sisters: Mahalia Jackson: Walking with Philip Reid Saves the Statue of Grovehill Giants, Book 3 A fictionalized first – person Turn Up for Real Kings and Queens Freedom Patrick, Denise Lewis The Sharp Sisters: All In/Stand Firm: Grovehill narrative of moments in the life of Amistad, 2015 Sleep Bear Press, 2013 A Matter of Souls Better Than Picture Perfect Giants, Book 4 A tribute to an artist of exceptional History of freed laborers, Carolrhoda Books, 2014 this famous icon. The Sharp Sisters: Real Diva/Man Up: Grovehill musical talent and determination. craftsmen, and sculptor A collection of short stories Candlewick, 2015 Truth and Nothing But Giants, Book 5 Age: 8 – 10 contributions to one of the U.S. that introduces spirituality and Age: 13 & up Saddleback Publishing, 2014 Saddleback Publishing, 2014

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