“Buried as a g while tha whole world remembers me” –Tupac Shakur, from “Until the End of Time”Tupac Shakur was larger than life. A gifted rapper, actor, and poet, he was fearless, prolific, and contro
“We didn’t know then that the dramas we imagined weren’t even warm-ups for what real life held for us.” From the fifth grade to their fifth decade, Vaughn, Reenie, Susan, and Audrey share secrets an
Inspired by the extraordinary events of Dr. May Chinn’s life, Angel of Harlem is a deeply affecting story of love and transcendence. Weaving seamlessly scenes from the battlefields of the Civil War, d
For three days - from May 13 to 15, 2005 - a distinguished group of women was invited to celebrate the enduring achievements of twenty-five of their mentors and role models - and in the process pay t
Catherine Sanderson seems to have it all: a fulfilling career helping immigrant women find jobs, a lovely home, and a beautiful, intelligent daughter on her way to Smith College. What Catherine doesn’
These stories are not fables or fairy tales. They are severe chronicles of gangstas, written by men and women who have starved and bled and survived by the code of the streets.Essence magazine’s #1 be
SHE WANTED TO BE A HIP-HOP STAR BUT THE STREETS GOT IN THE WAY.Have you ever laid down with a man and wasn’t sure if you’d ever get back up? Tossed the sheets with a bone-knocking fear that only a har
Bestselling author Tracy Price-Thompson returns with another steamy novel, packed with wife swapping, down-low desires, racial self-hatred, and sexual swinging. . . .Kevin Lawson has a secret. This ha
“I may be a supersoldier but I sure as hell ain’t no Superwoman. Yes, it’s true my hand is steady, I have the eye of a marksman, and I can hit a moving target dead center at four hundred meters, but w
At forty-one, Juanita Lewis is running away from home, courtesy of a one-way ticket to Montana, a place that seems about as far away from the violence and poverty of the Columbus, Ohio, projects as th
Growing up in a Chicago ghetto, seventeen-year-old Donald “Don-Don” Haskill has nothing but time on his hands–time he rarely spends in school, choosing instead to smoke weed and hang out with friends.
“As Kwai Chang moved through the arid desert of the American West, I would move through the equally desolate ghettos of Brooklyn, and we would each search: he for his family and I for my father. . . .
Denmark Wheeler had it all: a gorgeous wife, Sierra, whom he passionately loved, and a respectable job that allowed him to keep her living in the style to which she was accustomed. The good life wasn’
Of Jackson Park, the first Cook County mystery featuring an unconventional trio of sleuths, Margo Jeffersonof The New York Times said, “Charlotte Carter blends street savvy with wry urbanity and deliv
New, from the number one bestselling author of Hand-me-down Heartache and Sorority Sisters, a novel about five women on the verge of turning thirty, whose lives are changed forever when they meet thro
In the refreshingly candid Oh God!, the Reverend Dr. Susan Newman–a United Church of Christ minister and senior adviser for religious affairs to the mayor of Washington, D.C.–showed African American w
Her man demanded loyalty, but her body wouldn’t obey.Have you ever rolled over in the middle of the night and realized you were doing things you swore you’d never do? Sexing brothers you vowed you’d n
Harriet Tubman is one of the giants of American history—a fearless visionary who led scores of her fellow slaves to freedom and battled courageously behind enemy lines during the Civil War. And yet in
There are many heroes of the civil rights movement—men and women we can look to for inspiration. Each has a unique story, a path that led to a role as leader or activist. Death of Innocence is the hea
The Apostles run Chicago’s streets. Their leader, “Solemn Shawn” Terson, is the most revered–and feared–man in town. Because of his past exploits, the Apostles have a loyalty among its members that ha
In this wry fiction debut, Elaine Meryl Brown plunges lucky readers into a gripping narrative of small-town hijinks and big-time hearts.Rule Number One: Never marry an Outsider. If you do, the boll we
From the national bestselling author of Waiting in Vain and Satisfy My Soul comes a sexy, witty collection of connected stories set on San Carlos, a tiny island with an old volcano in the Caribbean Se
Growing up on Philadelphia’s gritty streets, Jermaine Banks was used to fighting, but life has now thrown him some unexpected hooks and jabs. Almost thirty years old, with a three-year-old son who wor
With the unique blend of truth and humor that made her first novel, What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day . . ., a huge bestseller, Pearl Cleage returns with an extraordinary novel that is rich in
In the sprawling homes and upscale townhouses of the exclusive, largely African American Prince George’s County, the lives of five women intersect–and the secrets, scandals, loves, and losses that ens
Today seven million African American women are living in their prime, experiencing the joys and challenges of middle age. Now, at last, here is the book that addresses our total health needs—physical,
Carey McCullough is haunted by a recurring dream and a damaged past. But the more he tries to forget, the more uprooted he feels. Then, while in Jamaica, he crosses paths with a radiant woman who attr
“Ilyasah Shabazz has written a compelling and lyrical coming-of-age story as well as a candid and heart-warming tribute to her parents. Growing Up X is destined to become a classic.”–SPIKE LEEFebruary
At forty-one, Juanita Lewis is running away from home, courtesy of a one-way ticket to Montana, a place that seems about as far away from the violence and poverty of the Columbus, Ohio, projects as th
More than four decades after her death, Billie Holiday remains one of the most gifted artists of our time–and also one of the most elusive. Because of who she was and how she chose to live her life, L
What happens to a little girl who grows up without a father? Can she ever feel truly loved and fully alive? Does she ever heal--or is she doomed to live a wounded, fragmented life and to pass her woun
Queen Afua is a nationally renowned herbalist, natural health expert, and dedicated healer of women’s bodies and women’s souls who practices a uniquely Afrocentric spirituality. Her classic bestseller
Long cloaked in protective secrecy, demonized by Western society, and distorted by Hollywood, Santeria is at last emerging from the shadows with an estimated 75 million orisha followers worldwide. In
Born to former slaves on a Louisiana plantation in 1867, Madam C.J. Walker rose from poverty and indignity to become America's first black female millionaire, the head of a hugely successful beauty co
"Today, the poetry scene flourishes at New York open-mic spots like the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Brooklyn's YWCA Tea Party and Harlem's Sugar Shack. Progeny of hip poets--the Beats of the 50s and protest
"It is a great beauty of a book, and I am so proud of you for standing with and for the disappeared. A sister, a lover, a witness."--Alice WalkerMary is nineteen and living alone in Albuquerque. Adrif
"[An] empathetic portrait of a modern woman wrestling with issues of love, work, and family obligations."?????????? --Publishers Weekly??????????????????????Born into a comfortable Washington, D.C., h
Courageous. Uplifting. Triumphant. The story of Kweisi Mfume is a classic American saga. Uprooted from the rural tranquillity of Turners Station and thrust upon the gritty streets of west Baltimore, t
"[AN] OUTSTANDING COLLECTION...The powerful opening excerpt by Frederick Douglass evokes his boyhood as a slave, and the collection closes with an eloquent discussion of the race problem today by Corn
MANY CULTURES * ONE WORLD"Boricua is what Puerto Ricans call one another as a term of endearment, respect, and cultural affirmation; it is a timeless declaration that transcends gender and color. Bori
