{"id":9997,"date":"2021-03-17T19:55:49","date_gmt":"2021-03-17T19:55:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/?page_id=9997"},"modified":"2025-04-11T14:39:21","modified_gmt":"2025-04-11T14:39:21","slug":"monthly-book-club","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/monthly-book-club\/","title":{"rendered":"Monthly Book Club"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/\" target=\"_self\" itemprop=\"url\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/CBL-NO-THE.png\" alt=\"CBL NO THE\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"1487\" width=\"2762\" title=\"CBL NO THE\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<button tabindex=\"0\" aria-label=\"Menu\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t<nav aria-label=\"Main\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/SiteNavigationElement\">\n\t\t<ul id=\"menu-main\"><li id=\"menu-item-9393\"><a href=\"\/mission-statement\">About<\/a><ul>\t<li id=\"menu-item-9382\"><a href=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/mission-statement\/\">Mission Statement<\/a><\/li>\t<li id=\"menu-item-9381\"><a href=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/what-we-do\/\">What We Do<\/a><\/li>\t<li id=\"menu-item-9392\"><a href=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/founder\/\">About the Founder, Dr. Brenda M. 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Lists<\/a><ul>\t<li id=\"menu-item-10011\"><a href=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/re-envisioning-our-lives-through-literature\/\">Re-Envisioning Our Lives Through Literature (ROLL) Program<\/a><\/li>\t<li id=\"menu-item-10010\"><a href=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/john-oliver-killens-reading-series\/\">John Oliver Killens Reading Series<\/a><\/li>\t<li id=\"menu-item-10109\"><a href=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/writers-on-writing\/\">Writers on Writing Radio Program<\/a><\/li>\t<li id=\"menu-item-10012\"><a href=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wild-seeds-retreat\/\">Wild Seeds Retreat for Writers of Color<\/a><\/li>\t<li id=\"menu-item-10013\"><a href=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/dr-edith-rock-writing-workshop-for-elders\/\">Dr. Edith Rock Writing Workshop for Elders<\/a><\/li>\t<li id=\"menu-item-10108\"><a href=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/introduction-to-fiction\/\">Fiction Writing Workshop<\/a><\/li>\t<li id=\"menu-item-10014\"><a href=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/monthly-book-club\/\" aria-current=\"page\">Monthly Book Club<\/a><\/li>\t<li id=\"menu-item-11459\"><a href=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/recommended-reading-list\/\">Recommended Reading List<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li id=\"menu-item-10143\"><a href=\"#\">Publications + Journals<\/a><ul>\t<li id=\"menu-item-10142\"><a href=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/killens-review-of-arts-letters\/\">Killens Review of Arts &#038; Letters<\/a><\/li>\t<li id=\"menu-item-10141\"><a href=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/tales-of-our-times-anthology\/\">Tales of Our Times (Anthology)<\/a><\/li>\t<li id=\"menu-item-10537\"><a href=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/musings\/\">Musings (A MEC College Student Blog)<\/a><\/li>\t<li id=\"menu-item-13417\"><a href=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/emergents-poetry-from-wild-seeds\/\">Emergents: Poetry from Wild Seeds<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li id=\"menu-item-10855\"><a href=\"#\">Students\/Youth<\/a><ul>\t<li id=\"menu-item-10856\"><a href=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/musings\/\">Musings (A MEC College Student Blog)<\/a><\/li>\t<li id=\"menu-item-10857\"><a href=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/re-envisioning-our-lives-through-literature\/\">Re-Envisioning Our Lives Through Literature (ROLL) Program<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li id=\"menu-item-9379\"><a href=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/contact\/\">Contact Us\/Donate<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#\" aria-label=\"Search Icon Link\"><\/a><form  action=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/\" method=\"get\" role=\"search\"><label for=\"is-search-input-12218\">Search for:<input type=\"search\" id=\"is-search-input-12218\" name=\"s\" value=\"\" placeholder=\"Search here...\" autocomplete=off \/><\/label><button type=\"submit\">Search Button<\/button><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"id\" value=\"12218\" \/><\/form><\/li><\/ul>\n\t\t\t<\/nav>\n\t\t<h2>\n\t\t\tCenter for Black Literature Monthly Book Club\n\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/CBLMonthlyBookClub_TwitterPost_032223-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"CBLMonthlyBookClub\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"1280\" width=\"2560\" title=\"CBLMonthlyBookClub\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t\t<h3>\n\t\t\tReading and Discussing the Works of Black Authors Throughout the African Diaspora\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t<p>In March 2020, at the beginning stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States,\u00a0<strong>Dr. Brenda M. Greene\u00a0<\/strong>shared a note of hope to the cultural arts community-at-large. In an open letter to the community, Dr. Greene, the founder and executive director of the\u00a0<strong>Center for Black Literature\u00a0<\/strong>referenced a cross-section of Black artists and public figures to remind us all that: &#8220;In this time of despair, we can look to our musicians, artists and writers for sustenance. Our musical and literary artists bring us together and often act as agents for social change. Through their music and lyrics, they highlight critical issues and suggest ways that we can overcome. They are gifted visionaries, who through their insight, give us words and rhythms that feed our spirit and souls.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>That same month, Greene announced the newest program of the Center, the monthly book club. The online book discussion featured Edwidge Danticat&#8217;s powerful work,\u00a0<em><strong>Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist At Work<\/strong>. <\/em>Through the best-selling collection of essays, Danticat &#8220;tells stories of artists who create despite (or because of) the horrors that drove them from their homelands. The essence of the work focuses on artists who create during crisis.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The inaugural gathering on April 29, 2020, was a tremendous success. Danticat made a guest phone appearance to dozens of people who called in from all over the country: New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Florida, Iowa, Texas, and Massachusetts.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\ud83d\udcda NOTE:<\/strong> Monthly book club members gather every last Wednesday. To RSVP for the monthly sessions (which are all via Zoom), send an email to <a href=\"mailto:info@centerforblackliterature.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">info@centerforblackliterature.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\t\t<h4>\n\t\t\t2025 Books of the Month\n\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MonthlyBookClubCover_Sep2025.jpg\" alt=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Sep2025\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"475\" width=\"306\" title=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Sep2025\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<section>\n<p><b>September 2025 &#8211; <em>Black Skin, White Masks<\/em><\/b>\u00a0by <strong>Frantz Fanon<\/strong><\/p>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>A major influence on civil rights, anti-colonial, and black consciousness movements around the world,\u00a0<i>Black Skin, White Masks<\/i>\u00a0is the unsurpassed study of the black psyche in a white world. Hailed for its scientific analysis and poetic grace when it was first published in 1952, the book remains a vital force today.<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MonthlyBookClubCover_Aug2025.jpg\" alt=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Aug2025\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"500\" width=\"331\" title=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Aug2025\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<section>\n<p><b>August 2025 &#8211; <em>Dream Count<\/em><\/b>\u00a0by <strong>Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie<\/strong><\/p>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>A publishing event ten years in the making-a searing, exquisite new novel by the bestselling and award-winning author of\u00a0<i>Americanah<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0<i>We Should All Be Feminists<\/i>-the story of four women and their loves, longings, and desires.\n<p>Chiamaka is a Nigerian travel writer living in America. Alone in the midst of the pandemic, she recalls her past lovers and grapples with her choices and regrets. Zikora, her best friend, is a lawyer who has been successful at everything until-betrayed and brokenhearted-she must turn to the person she thought she needed least. Omelogor, Chiamaka&#8217;s bold, outspoken cousin, is a financial powerhouse in Nigeria who begins to question how well she knows herself. And Kadiatou, Chiamaka&#8217;s housekeeper, is proudly raising her daughter in America-but faces an unthinkable hardship that threatens all she has worked to achieve.<\/p>\n<p>In\u00a0<i>Dream Count,<\/i>\u00a0Adichie trains her fierce eye on these women in a sparkling, transcendent novel that takes up the very nature of love itself. Is true happiness ever attainable or is it just a fleeting state? And how honest must we be with ourselves in order to love, and to be loved? A trenchant reflection on the choices we make and those made for us, on daughters and mothers, on our interconnected world,\u00a0<i>Dream Count<\/i>\u00a0pulses with emotional urgency and poignant, unflinching observations of the human heart, in language that soars with beauty and power. It confirms Adichie&#8217;s status as one of the most exciting and dynamic writers on the literary landscape.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MonthlyBookClubCover_Jul2025.jpg\" alt=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Jul2025\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"400\" width=\"268\" title=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Jul2025\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<section>\n<p><b>July 2025 &#8211; <em>Great Expectations<\/em><\/b>\u00a0by <strong>Vinson Cunningham<\/strong><\/p>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>A historic presidential campaign changes the trajectory of a young Black man&#8217;s life in the highly anticipated debut novel from one of\u00a0<i>The New Yorker<\/i>&#8216;s rising stars.\n<p>When David first hears the Senator from Illinois speak, he feels deep ambivalence. Intrigued by the Senator&#8217;s idealistic rhetoric, David also wonders how he&#8217;ll balance the fervent belief and inevitable compromises it will take to become the United States&#8217; first Black president.<\/p>\n<p>Great Expectations is about David&#8217;s eighteen months working for the Senator&#8217;s presidential campaign. Along the way David meets a myriad of people who raise a set of questions-questions of history, art, race, religion, and fatherhood-that force David to look at his own life anew and come to terms with his identity as a young Black man and father in America.<\/p>\n<p>Meditating on politics and politicians, religion and preachers, fathers and family,\u00a0<i>Great Expectations\u00a0<\/i>is both an emotionally resonant coming-of-age story and a rich novel of ideas, marking the arrival of a major new writer.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MonthlyBookClubCover_Jun2025.jpg\" alt=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Jun2025\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"529\" width=\"350\" title=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Jun2025\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<section>\n<p><b>June 2025 &#8211; <em>Rogue Justice<\/em><\/b>\u00a0by <strong>Stacey Abrams<\/strong><\/p>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>Acclaimed children&#8217;s author Nana Brew-Hammond makes her highly anticipated return with this soaring and profound story about love and understanding told through three generations of one Ghanian family.\n<p>Determined to avoid the pain and instability of her parents&#8217; turbulent, confusing marriage, Kokui marries a man far different from her loving, philandering, self-made father-and tries to be a different kind of wife from her mother.<\/p>\n<p>But when Kokui and her husband leave Ghana to make a new life for themselves in America, she finds history repeating itself. Her marriage failing, she is called home to Ghana when her father dies. Back in her childhood home, which feels both familiar and discomforting, she comes to realize that to exorcize the ghost of her parents&#8217; marriage she must confront them, not only to enable her own healing, but for the sake of her daughter who is considering a marriage proposal of her own.<\/p>\n<p>Tender and illuminating, warm and bittersweet <i>My Parents&#8217; Marriage<\/i>\u00a0is a compelling story of family, community, class, and self-identity from an author with deep empathy and a generous heart.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MonthlyBookClubCover_May2025.jpg\" alt=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_May2025\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"400\" width=\"267\" title=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_May2025\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<section>\n<p><b>May 2025 &#8211; <em>Rogue Justice<\/em><\/b>\u00a0by <strong>Stacey Abrams<\/strong><\/p>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\nThe second book in the &#8220;Avery Keene&#8221; series. Avery Keene is back, trying to get her feet on solid ground after unraveling a conspiracy that took down the President of the United States in <i>While Justice Sleeps<\/i>. But as the sparks of impeachment hearings and political skirmishes swirl around her, Avery is approached at a legal conference by Preston Davies, an unassuming young man and fellow law clerk to a federal judge in Idaho. Davies believes his boss, Judge Francesca Whitner, was being blackmailed in the days before she recently took her own life, and he gives Avery a file, a burner phone, and a fearful warning that there are highly dangerous people involved. Moments later, Avery is shocked when she witnesses Davies being murdered.\n<p>After breaking the encrypted file Davies gave to her, Avery reveals a list of names&#8211;all federal judges&#8211;and, alarmingly, all judges on the FISA Court (the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court), also known as America&#8217;s secret court. It is this body that grants permission to the government to wiretap American individuals or corporations suspected of terrorism. Avery knows Judge Whitner had been extorted, but as she investigates the names and cases associated with other judges on the list she begins to see a frightening pattern&#8211;and she worries that something far more sinister may be unfolding.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MonthlyBookClubCover_Apr2025.jpg\" alt=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Apr2025\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"475\" width=\"317\" title=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Apr2025\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<section>\n<p><b>April 2025 &#8211; <em>Duppy Conqueror<\/em><\/b>\u00a0by <strong>Kwame Dawes<\/strong><\/p>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<p>*Kwame Dawes will be joining the book club for an insightful discussion on\u00a0<i>Duppy Conqueror<\/i>, his poems, and more. You don&#8217;t want to miss this!<\/p>\n<p><b><i>Duppy Conqueror<\/i><\/b>\u00a0by Kwame Dawes is a collection of poems that explores the human condition through a variety of themes, including spirituality, politics, and sensuality. The book is rooted in art and music, and its title comes from the biblical story of Jacob and Esau.\u00a0<\/p>\n<b>About the book:<br \/>\n<\/b>The book includes new work and some of Dawes&#8217;s best poetry from his previous 15 books.\u00a0\n<p>The book was a finalist for the Milt Kessler Poetry Book Award and won the Paterson Award for Literary Excellence.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/MonthlyBookClubCover_Feb2025.jpg\" alt=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Feb2025\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"391\" width=\"250\" title=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Feb2025\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<section>\n<p><b>February 2025 &#8211; <em>Meridian<\/em><\/b>\u00a0by <strong>Alice Walker<\/strong><\/p>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<i>As the old rules of Southern society collapse, Meridian fights a lonely battle to reaffirm her own humanity &#8211; and that of all her people.\n<\/i>\n<b>&#8220;A glowing affirmation of the possibility&#8230;of love and forgiveness &#8211; between men and women, black and white.&#8221;<\/b>\nThe second novel written by Alice Walker, preceding\u00a0<i>The Color Purple<\/i>\u00a0is a heartfelt and moving story about one woman&#8217;s personal revolution as she joins the Civil Rights Movement. Set in the American South in the 1960s it follows Meridian Hill, a courageous young woman who dedicates herself heart and soul to her civil rights work, touching the lives of those around her even as her own health begins to deteriorate. Hers is a lonely battle, but it is one she will not abandon, whatever the costs. This is classic Alice Walker, beautifully written, intense and passionate.\n<\/section>\n<section>Source: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/60944.Meridian\">www.goodreads.com<\/a><\/strong><\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/MonthlyBookClubCover_Jan2025.jpg\" alt=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Jan2025\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"1000\" width=\"663\" title=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Jan2025\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<section>\n<p><b>January 2025 &#8211; <em>The Message<\/em><\/b>\u00a0by <strong>Ta-Nehisi Coates<\/strong><\/p>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>In the first of the book&#8217;s three intertwining essays, Coates, on his first trip to Africa, finds himself in two places at once: in Dakar, a modern city in Senegal, and in a mythic kingdom in his mind. Then he takes readers along with him to Columbia, South Carolina, where he reports on his own book&#8217;s banning, but also explores the larger backlash to the nation&#8217;s recent reckoning with history and the deeply rooted American mythology so visible in that city-a capital of the Confederacy with statues of segregationists looming over its public squares. Finally, in the book&#8217;s longest section, Coates travels to Palestine, where he sees with devastating clarity how easily we are misled by nationalist narratives, and the tragedy that lies in the clash between the stories we tell and the reality of life on the ground.Written at a dramatic moment in American and global life, this work from one of the country&#8217;s most important writers is about the urgent need to untangle ourselves from the destructive myths that shape our world-and our own souls-and embrace the liberating power of even the most difficult truths.\n<\/section>\n<section>Source: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ta-nehisicoates.com\/books\/the-message\/\">www.ta-nehisicoates.com<\/a><\/strong><\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\t\t<h4>\n\t\t\t2024 Books of the Month\n\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/MonthlyBookClubCover_Dec2024.jpg\" alt=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Dec2024\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"1000\" width=\"663\" title=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Dec2024\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<section>\n<p><b>December 2024 &#8211; <em>Youngblood<\/em><\/b>\u00a0by <strong>John Oliver Killens<\/strong><\/p>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>John Oliver Killens\u00a0(born January 14, 1916,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Macon-Georgia\" data-show-preview=\"true\">Macon<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Georgia-state\" data-show-preview=\"true\">Georgia<\/a>, U.S.-died October 27, 1987, Brooklyn, New York) was an American writer and activist known for his politically charged novels-particularly\u00a0<em>Youngblood<\/em>\u00a0(1954)-and his contributions to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/Black-Arts-movement\" data-show-preview=\"true\">Black Arts movement<\/a>\u00a0and as a founder of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Harlem-Writers-Guild\" data-show-preview=\"true\">Harlem Writers Guild<\/a>.<\/section>\n<section><br \/>\nFrom an early age Killens was exposed to African American writers and thinkers. His father encouraged him to read <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Langston-Hughes\" data-show-preview=\"true\">Langston Hughes<\/a>, and his mother introduced him to the work of poet and novelist\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Paul-Laurence-Dunbar\" data-show-preview=\"true\">Paul Laurence Dunbar<\/a>. Growing up in Georgia under\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/Jim-Crow-law\" data-show-preview=\"true\">Jim Crow law<\/a> had a profound impact on Killens&#8217;s political and social outlook and provided source material for his writings.\n<\/section>\n\n<section>John Oliver Killens&#8217;s landmark novel of social protest chronicles the lives of the Youngblood family and their friends in Crossroads, Georgia, from the turn of the century to the Great Depression. Its large cast of powerfully affecting characters includes Joe Youngblood, a tragic figure of heroic physical strength; Laurie Lee, his beautiful and strong-willed wife; Richard Myles, a young high school teacher from New York; and Robby, the Youngbloods&#8217; son, who takes the large risk of becoming involved in the labor movement.<\/section>\n<section>Sources: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/John-Oliver-Killens\">www.britannica.com<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/ugapress.org\/book\/9780820322018\/youngblood\/\">www.ugapress.org<\/a><\/strong><\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Keith-Gilyard.jpg\" alt=\"Keith Gilyard\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"1024\" width=\"680\" title=\"Keith Gilyard\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<p>Keith Gilyard has made significant contributions to English studies as a writer, teacher, and participant in professional associations. His more than 100 publications include the influential education memoir\u00a0<em>Voices of the Self: A Study of Language Competence<\/em>\u00a0(1991),\u00a0<em>On African-American Rhetoric<\/em>\u00a0(2018, with Adam Banks). He received an American Book Award for his biography\u00a0<em>John Oliver Killens: A Life of Black Literary Activism\u00a0<\/em>(2010).<\/p>\n<p>A native New Yorker, Gilyard is the Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of English and African American Studies at Penn State University. He previously taught at the City University of New York&#8211;Medgar Evers College, where he helped to establish the National Black Writers Conference, and at Syracuse University, where he directed the Writing Program. Active in the Conference on College Composition and Communication as well as the National Council of Teachers of English since 1983, Gilyard served as Chair of CCCC in 2000 and as President of NCTE in 2012.\u00a0He received an Honorary degree from Medgar Evers College at the 2024 Commencement.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MonthlyBookClubCover_Nov2024.jpg\" alt=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Nov2024\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"630\" width=\"409\" title=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Nov2024\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<section>\n<p><b>November 2024 &#8211; <em>Begin Again: James Baldwin&#8217;s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own<\/em><\/b>\u00a0by <strong>Eddie S. Glaude Jr.<\/strong><\/p>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section><em>Begin Again<\/em>\u00a0is one of the great books on James Baldwin and a powerful reckoning with America&#8217;s ongoing failure to confront the lies it tells itself about race. Just as in Baldwin&#8217;s &#8220;after times,&#8221; argues Eddie S. Glaude Jr., when white Americans met the civil rights movement&#8217;s call for truth and justice with blind rage and the murders of movement leaders, so in our moment were the Obama presidency and the birth of Black Lives Matter answered with the ascendance of Trump and the violent resurgence of white nationalism.\n<p>In these brilliant and stirring pages, Glaude finds hope and guidance in Baldwin as he mixes biography-drawn partially from newly uncovered Baldwin interviews-with history, memoir, and poignant analysis of our current moment to reveal the painful cycle of Black resistance and white retrenchment. As Glaude bears witness to the difficult truth of racism&#8217;s continued grip on the national soul,\u00a0<em>Begin Again<\/em> is a searing exploration of the tangled web of race, trauma, and memory, and a powerful interrogation of what we must ask of ourselves in order to call forth a new America.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<p>Source:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/575725\/begin-again-by-eddie-s-glaude-jr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/urldefense.proofpoint.com\/v2\/url?u%3Dhttps-3A__r20.rs6.net_tn.jsp-3Ff-3D001-5F5aBSJfTIJAM7LxNmhvj1Ar60sob2T7oTRu0e80jNKPtVCBqyADCwMM-5FzPCvCvor4kMoKHyc6URPsbiqWBq0eEPM6utvcL4R0bYpkEz-5F7DdrieHBmq1g2WhLFJMbNp56Ln-5Fajf8UMt6TBiOs4YQBMA-3D-3D-26c-3DzLHWQsbDqEjinUfBnozzcMBcF3yEhqKqAYaoqg2-5F7TkABk-2DzdeIcsg-3D-3D-26ch-3DNxHCGGj-2DebnqKYgMukLFeGHZG-2DToKkRM4hUVyWuakdcMezBtqz-2Djtg-3D-3D%26d%3DDwMFaQ%26c%3DOX75XE6Ovbuivb5ZMs_UO0wD4Fwo3w1FbacarYwBPog%26r%3DN--6Y8_6jrro4ZJL7hOUgS3YRzGZT7ZCpfzE-dgzDaU%26m%3DJWovOouXmavIB41wouD7Kp42qgDwgS1Qe_2MG9Fgp6L6U_0o2acP2RXvefRTe9lp%26s%3DJSrr08h5BV6eql_Oirkd95H8PiisWNcPgigdfZHLlGk%26e%3D&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1703178499775000&amp;usg=AOvVaw10nuD5xgqroR-elz2FDZAH\"><b>www.penguinrandomhouse.com<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MonthlyBookClubCover_Oct2024.jpg\" alt=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Oct2024\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"445\" width=\"296\" title=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Oct2024\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<section>\n<p><b>October 2024 &#8211; <em>James: A Novel<\/em><\/b> by <strong>Percival Everett<\/strong><\/p>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond.While many narrative set pieces of\u00a0<em>Adventures of Huckleberry Finn<\/em>\u00a0remain in place (floods and storms, stumbling across both unexpected death and unexpected treasure in the myriad stopping points along the river&#8217;s banks, encountering the scam artists posing as the Duke and Dauphin&#8230;), Jim&#8217;s agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light.\n<p>Brimming with the electrifying humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a &#8220;literary icon&#8221; (<em>Oprah Daily<\/em>), and one of the most decorated writers of our lifetime,\u00a0<em>James\u00a0<\/em>is destined to be a major publishing event and a cornerstone of twenty-first century American literature.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<p>Source:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/738749\/james-by-percival-everett\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/urldefense.proofpoint.com\/v2\/url?u%3Dhttps-3A__r20.rs6.net_tn.jsp-3Ff-3D001-5F5aBSJfTIJAM7LxNmhvj1Ar60sob2T7oTRu0e80jNKPtVCBqyADCwMM-5FzPCvCvor4kMoKHyc6URPsbiqWBq0eEPM6utvcL4R0bYpkEz-5F7DdrieHBmq1g2WhLFJMbNp56Ln-5Fajf8UMt6TBiOs4YQBMA-3D-3D-26c-3DzLHWQsbDqEjinUfBnozzcMBcF3yEhqKqAYaoqg2-5F7TkABk-2DzdeIcsg-3D-3D-26ch-3DNxHCGGj-2DebnqKYgMukLFeGHZG-2DToKkRM4hUVyWuakdcMezBtqz-2Djtg-3D-3D%26d%3DDwMFaQ%26c%3DOX75XE6Ovbuivb5ZMs_UO0wD4Fwo3w1FbacarYwBPog%26r%3DN--6Y8_6jrro4ZJL7hOUgS3YRzGZT7ZCpfzE-dgzDaU%26m%3DJWovOouXmavIB41wouD7Kp42qgDwgS1Qe_2MG9Fgp6L6U_0o2acP2RXvefRTe9lp%26s%3DJSrr08h5BV6eql_Oirkd95H8PiisWNcPgigdfZHLlGk%26e%3D&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1703178499775000&amp;usg=AOvVaw10nuD5xgqroR-elz2FDZAH\"><b>www.penguinrandomhouse.com<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MonthlyBookClubCover_Sep2024.jpg\" alt=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Sep2024\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"501\" width=\"334\" title=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Sep2024\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<section>\n<p><b>September 2024 &#8211; <em>Drinking from Graveyard Wells: Stories<\/em><\/b> by <strong>Yvette Lisa Ndlovu<\/strong><\/p>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>&#8220;Even in death, who has ownership over Black women&#8217;s bodies?&#8221;Questions like this lurk between the lines of this stunning collection of stories that engage with African women&#8217;s histories, both personal and generational. Their history is not just one thing: there is heartbreak and pain, and joy, and flying and magic, so much magic. An avenging spirit takes on the patriarchy from beyond the grave. An immigrant woman undergoes a naturalization ceremony in an imagined American state that demands that immigrants pay a toll of the thing they love the most. A first-generation Zimbabwean-American woman haunted by generational trauma is willing to pay the ultimate price to take her pain away-giving up her memories. A neighborhood gossip wakes up to find that houses are mysteriously vanishing in the night. A shapeshifting freedom fighter leaves a legacy of resistance to her granddaughter.\n<p>In\u00a0<em>Drinking from Graveyard Wells<\/em>, Yvette Lisa Ndlovu assembles poignantly reflective stories that center the voices of African women charting their own Black history through the ages. Ndlovu&#8217;s stories play with genre, from softly surreal to deeply fantastical. Each narrative is wrapped in the literary eloquence and tradition of southern African mythology, transporting readers into the lives of African women who have fought across space and time to be seen.<\/p>\n<p>Drawing on her own early experiences as a Zimbabwean living under the Mugabe dictatorship, Ndlovu&#8217;s stories are grounded in truth and empathy. Ndlovu boldly offers up alternative interpretations of a past and a present that speculates upon the everyday lives of a people disregarded. Her words explore the erasure of African women while highlighting their beauty and limitless magic. Immersed in worlds both fantastical and familiar, readers find themselves walking alongside these women, grieving their pain, and celebrating their joy, all against the textured backdrop of Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<p>Source:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kentuckypress.com\/9780813196978\/drinking-from-graveyard-wells\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/urldefense.proofpoint.com\/v2\/url?u%3Dhttps-3A__r20.rs6.net_tn.jsp-3Ff-3D001-5F5aBSJfTIJAM7LxNmhvj1Ar60sob2T7oTRu0e80jNKPtVCBqyADCwMM-5FzPCvCvor4kMoKHyc6URPsbiqWBq0eEPM6utvcL4R0bYpkEz-5F7DdrieHBmq1g2WhLFJMbNp56Ln-5Fajf8UMt6TBiOs4YQBMA-3D-3D-26c-3DzLHWQsbDqEjinUfBnozzcMBcF3yEhqKqAYaoqg2-5F7TkABk-2DzdeIcsg-3D-3D-26ch-3DNxHCGGj-2DebnqKYgMukLFeGHZG-2DToKkRM4hUVyWuakdcMezBtqz-2Djtg-3D-3D%26d%3DDwMFaQ%26c%3DOX75XE6Ovbuivb5ZMs_UO0wD4Fwo3w1FbacarYwBPog%26r%3DN--6Y8_6jrro4ZJL7hOUgS3YRzGZT7ZCpfzE-dgzDaU%26m%3DJWovOouXmavIB41wouD7Kp42qgDwgS1Qe_2MG9Fgp6L6U_0o2acP2RXvefRTe9lp%26s%3DJSrr08h5BV6eql_Oirkd95H8PiisWNcPgigdfZHLlGk%26e%3D&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1703178499775000&amp;usg=AOvVaw10nuD5xgqroR-elz2FDZAH\"><b>www.kentuckypress.com<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MonthlyBookClubCover_Aug2024.jpg\" alt=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Aug2024\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"379\" width=\"253\" title=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Aug2024\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<section>\n<p><b>August 2024 &#8211; <em>Acts of Forgiveness: A Novel<\/em><\/b> by <strong>Maura Cheeks<\/strong><\/p>\n<section>\n<section>\n<section>How much of their lineage is one family willing to unearth in order to participate in the nation&#8217;s first federal reparations program?Every American waits with bated breath to see whether or not the country&#8217;s first female president will pass the Forgiveness Act. The bill would allow Black families to claim up to $175,000 if they can prove they are the descendants of slaves, and for ambitious single mother Willie Revel the bill could be a long-awaited form of redemption. A decade ago, Willie gave up her burgeoning journalism career to help run her father&#8217;s struggling construction company in Philadelphia and she has reluctantly put family first, without being able to forget who she might have become.\u00a0Now she&#8217;s back living with her parents and her young daughter while trying to keep her family from going into bankruptcy. Could the Forgiveness Act uncover her forgotten roots while also helping save their beloved home and her father&#8217;s life&#8217;s work?\n<p>In order to qualify, she must first prove that the Revels are descended from slaves, but the rest of the family isn&#8217;t as eager to dig up the past. Her mother is adopted, her father doesn&#8217;t trust the government and believes working with a morally corrupt employer is the better way to save their business,\u00a0and her daughter is just trying to make it through the fifth grade at her elite private school without attracting unwanted attention. It&#8217;s up to Willie to verify their ancestry and save her family-but as she delves into their history, Willie begins to learn just how complicated family and forgiveness can be.<\/p>\n<p>With powerful insight and moving prose,\u00a0<em>Acts of Forgiveness\u00a0<\/em>asks how history shapes who we become and considers the weight of success when it is achieved despite incredible odds-and ultimately what leaving behind a legacy truly means.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<p>Source:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/716030\/acts-of-forgiveness-by-maura-cheeks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/urldefense.proofpoint.com\/v2\/url?u%3Dhttps-3A__r20.rs6.net_tn.jsp-3Ff-3D001-5F5aBSJfTIJAM7LxNmhvj1Ar60sob2T7oTRu0e80jNKPtVCBqyADCwMM-5FzPCvCvor4kMoKHyc6URPsbiqWBq0eEPM6utvcL4R0bYpkEz-5F7DdrieHBmq1g2WhLFJMbNp56Ln-5Fajf8UMt6TBiOs4YQBMA-3D-3D-26c-3DzLHWQsbDqEjinUfBnozzcMBcF3yEhqKqAYaoqg2-5F7TkABk-2DzdeIcsg-3D-3D-26ch-3DNxHCGGj-2DebnqKYgMukLFeGHZG-2DToKkRM4hUVyWuakdcMezBtqz-2Djtg-3D-3D%26d%3DDwMFaQ%26c%3DOX75XE6Ovbuivb5ZMs_UO0wD4Fwo3w1FbacarYwBPog%26r%3DN--6Y8_6jrro4ZJL7hOUgS3YRzGZT7ZCpfzE-dgzDaU%26m%3DJWovOouXmavIB41wouD7Kp42qgDwgS1Qe_2MG9Fgp6L6U_0o2acP2RXvefRTe9lp%26s%3DJSrr08h5BV6eql_Oirkd95H8PiisWNcPgigdfZHLlGk%26e%3D&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1703178499775000&amp;usg=AOvVaw10nuD5xgqroR-elz2FDZAH\"><b>www.penguinrandomhouse.com<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MonthlyBookClubCover_Jul2024.jpg\" alt=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Jul2024\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"348\" width=\"264\" title=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Jul2024\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<section>\n<p><b>July 2024 &#8211; <i>The Door of No Return<\/i><\/b> by <strong>Kwame Alexander<\/strong><\/p>\n<section>\n<section>From the Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award winning author Kwame Alexander, comes the first book in a searing, breathtaking trilogy that tells the story of a boy, a village, and the epic odyssey of an African family.In his village in Upper Kwanta, 11-year-old Kofi loves his family, playing\u00a0<em>oware<\/em>\u00a0with his grandfather and swimming in the river Offin. He&#8217;s warned though, to never go to the river at night. \u00a0His brother tells him &#8220;<em>There are things about the water you do not know<\/em>. &#8221;\u00a0<em>Like what?<\/em>\u00a0Kofi asks. &#8220;<em>The beasts<\/em>.&#8221; His brother answers.One fateful night, the unthinkable happens and in a flash, Kofi&#8217;s world turns upside down. Kofi soon ends up in a fight for his life and what happens next will send him on a harrowing journey across land and sea, and away from everything he loves.\n<p>This spellbinding novel by the author of\u00a0<em>The Crossover<\/em>\u00a0and<em>\u00a0Booked\u00a0<\/em>will take you on an unforgettable adventure that will open your eyes and break your heart.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Door of No Return\u00a0<\/em>is an excellent choice for independent reading, sharing in the classroom, homeschooling, and book groups.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<p>Source:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/kwamealexander.com\/product\/the-door-of-no-return\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/urldefense.proofpoint.com\/v2\/url?u%3Dhttps-3A__r20.rs6.net_tn.jsp-3Ff-3D001-5F5aBSJfTIJAM7LxNmhvj1Ar60sob2T7oTRu0e80jNKPtVCBqyADCwMM-5FzPCvCvor4kMoKHyc6URPsbiqWBq0eEPM6utvcL4R0bYpkEz-5F7DdrieHBmq1g2WhLFJMbNp56Ln-5Fajf8UMt6TBiOs4YQBMA-3D-3D-26c-3DzLHWQsbDqEjinUfBnozzcMBcF3yEhqKqAYaoqg2-5F7TkABk-2DzdeIcsg-3D-3D-26ch-3DNxHCGGj-2DebnqKYgMukLFeGHZG-2DToKkRM4hUVyWuakdcMezBtqz-2Djtg-3D-3D%26d%3DDwMFaQ%26c%3DOX75XE6Ovbuivb5ZMs_UO0wD4Fwo3w1FbacarYwBPog%26r%3DN--6Y8_6jrro4ZJL7hOUgS3YRzGZT7ZCpfzE-dgzDaU%26m%3DJWovOouXmavIB41wouD7Kp42qgDwgS1Qe_2MG9Fgp6L6U_0o2acP2RXvefRTe9lp%26s%3DJSrr08h5BV6eql_Oirkd95H8PiisWNcPgigdfZHLlGk%26e%3D&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1703178499775000&amp;usg=AOvVaw10nuD5xgqroR-elz2FDZAH\"><b>www.kwamealexander.com<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MonthlyBookClubCover_Jun2024.jpg\" alt=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Jun2024\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"500\" width=\"320\" title=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Jun2024\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<section>\n<p><b>June 2024 &#8211; <i>Neighbors and Other Stories<\/i><\/b> by <strong>Diane Oliver<\/strong><\/p>\n<section>\n<section>A remarkable talent far ahead of her time, Diane Oliver died in 1966 at the age of 22, leaving behind these crisply told and often chilling tales that\u00a0explore race and racism in 1950s and 60s America. In this first and only collection by a masterful storyteller finally taking her rightful place in the canon, Oliver&#8217;s insightful stories reverberate into the present day.There&#8217;s the nightmarish &#8220;The Closet on the Top Floor&#8221; in which Winifred, the first Black student at her newly integrated college, starts to physically disappear; &#8220;Mint Juleps not Served Here&#8221; where a couple living deep in a forest with their son go to bloody lengths to protect him; &#8220;Spiders Cry without Tears,&#8221; in which a couple, Meg and Walt, are confronted by prejudices and strains of interracial and extramarital love; and the high tension titular story that follows a nervous older sister the night before her little brother is set to desegregate his school.\n<p>These are incisive and intimate portraits of African American families in everyday moments of anxiety and crisis\u00a0that look at how they use agency to navigate their predicaments. As much a social and historical document as it is a taut, engrossing collection,\u00a0<em>Neighbors\u00a0<\/em>is an exceptional literary feat from a crucial once-lost figure of letters.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<p>Source:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/bookstore.centerforfiction.org\/item\/wLu_br6H3tVIrBueqUGhvA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/urldefense.proofpoint.com\/v2\/url?u%3Dhttps-3A__r20.rs6.net_tn.jsp-3Ff-3D001-5F5aBSJfTIJAM7LxNmhvj1Ar60sob2T7oTRu0e80jNKPtVCBqyADCwMM-5FzPCvCvor4kMoKHyc6URPsbiqWBq0eEPM6utvcL4R0bYpkEz-5F7DdrieHBmq1g2WhLFJMbNp56Ln-5Fajf8UMt6TBiOs4YQBMA-3D-3D-26c-3DzLHWQsbDqEjinUfBnozzcMBcF3yEhqKqAYaoqg2-5F7TkABk-2DzdeIcsg-3D-3D-26ch-3DNxHCGGj-2DebnqKYgMukLFeGHZG-2DToKkRM4hUVyWuakdcMezBtqz-2Djtg-3D-3D%26d%3DDwMFaQ%26c%3DOX75XE6Ovbuivb5ZMs_UO0wD4Fwo3w1FbacarYwBPog%26r%3DN--6Y8_6jrro4ZJL7hOUgS3YRzGZT7ZCpfzE-dgzDaU%26m%3DJWovOouXmavIB41wouD7Kp42qgDwgS1Qe_2MG9Fgp6L6U_0o2acP2RXvefRTe9lp%26s%3DJSrr08h5BV6eql_Oirkd95H8PiisWNcPgigdfZHLlGk%26e%3D&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1703178499775000&amp;usg=AOvVaw10nuD5xgqroR-elz2FDZAH\"><b>www.centerforfiction.org<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MonthlyBookClubCover_May2024.jpg\" alt=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_May2024\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"350\" width=\"232\" title=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_May2024\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<section>\n<p><b>May 2024 &#8211; <i>Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine<\/i><\/b> by <strong>Uch\u00e9 Blackstock<\/strong><\/p>\n<section>\n<section>Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, it never occurred to Uch\u00e9 Blackstock and her twin sister, Oni, that they would be anything\u00a0<em>but\u00a0<\/em>physicians. In the 1980s, their mother headed an organization of Black women physicians, and for years the girls watched these fiercely intelligent women in white coats tend to their patients and neighbors, host community health fairs, cure ills, and save lives.What Dr. Uch\u00e9 Blackstock did not understand as a child-or learn about at Harvard Medical School, where she and her sister had followed in their mother&#8217;s footsteps, making them the first Black mother-daughter legacies from the school-were the profound and long-standing systemic inequities that mean just 2 percent of all U.S. physicians today are Black women; the racist practices and policies that ensure Black Americans have far worse health outcomes than any other group in the country; and the flawed system that endangers the well-being of communities like theirs. As an ER physician, and later as a professor in academic medicine, Dr. Blackstock became profoundly aware of the systemic barriers that Black patients and physicians continue to face.\n<p><em>Legacy<\/em><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>is a journey through the critical intersection of racism and healthcare. At once a searing indictment of our healthcare system, a generational family memoir, and a call to action,\u00a0<em>Legacy<\/em> is Dr. Blackstock&#8217;s odyssey from child to medical student to practicing physician-to finally seizing her own power as a health equity advocate against the backdrop of the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<p>Source:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/705871\/legacy-by-uche-blackstock-md\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/urldefense.proofpoint.com\/v2\/url?u%3Dhttps-3A__r20.rs6.net_tn.jsp-3Ff-3D001-5F5aBSJfTIJAM7LxNmhvj1Ar60sob2T7oTRu0e80jNKPtVCBqyADCwMM-5FzPCvCvor4kMoKHyc6URPsbiqWBq0eEPM6utvcL4R0bYpkEz-5F7DdrieHBmq1g2WhLFJMbNp56Ln-5Fajf8UMt6TBiOs4YQBMA-3D-3D-26c-3DzLHWQsbDqEjinUfBnozzcMBcF3yEhqKqAYaoqg2-5F7TkABk-2DzdeIcsg-3D-3D-26ch-3DNxHCGGj-2DebnqKYgMukLFeGHZG-2DToKkRM4hUVyWuakdcMezBtqz-2Djtg-3D-3D%26d%3DDwMFaQ%26c%3DOX75XE6Ovbuivb5ZMs_UO0wD4Fwo3w1FbacarYwBPog%26r%3DN--6Y8_6jrro4ZJL7hOUgS3YRzGZT7ZCpfzE-dgzDaU%26m%3DJWovOouXmavIB41wouD7Kp42qgDwgS1Qe_2MG9Fgp6L6U_0o2acP2RXvefRTe9lp%26s%3DJSrr08h5BV6eql_Oirkd95H8PiisWNcPgigdfZHLlGk%26e%3D&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1703178499775000&amp;usg=AOvVaw10nuD5xgqroR-elz2FDZAH\"><b>www.penguinrandomhouse.com<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MonthlyBookClubCover_Apr2024.jpg\" alt=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Apr2024\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"336\" width=\"222\" title=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Apr2024\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<section>\n<p><b>April 2024 &#8211; <em>Medgar and Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened Americ<\/em>a<\/b>\u00a0by <strong>Joy-Ann Reid<\/strong><\/p>\n<section>Myrlie Louise Beasley met Medgar Evers on her first day of college. They fell in love at first sight, married just one year later, and Myrlie left school to focus on their growing family.Medgar became the field secretary for the Mississippi branch of the NAACP, charged with beating back the most intractable and violent resistance to black voting rights in the country. Myrlie served as Medgar&#8217;s secretary and confidant, working hand in hand with him as they struggled against public accommodations and school segregation, lynching, violence, and sheer despair within their state&#8217;s &#8220;black belt.&#8221; They fought to desegregate the intractable University of Mississippi, organized picket lines and boycotts, despite repeated terroristic threats, including the 1962 firebombing of their home, where they lived with their three young children.\n<p>On June 12, 1963, Medgar Evers became the highest profile victim of Klan-related assassination of a black civil rights leader at that time; gunned down in the couple&#8217;s driveway in Jackson. In the wake of his tragic death, Myrlie carried on their civil rights legacy; writing a book about Medgar&#8217;s fight, trying to win a congressional seat, and becoming a leader of the NAACP in her own right.<\/p>\n<p>In this groundbreaking and thrilling account of two heroes of the civil rights movement, Joy-Ann Reid uses Medgar and Myrlie&#8217;s relationship as a lens through which to explore the on-the-ground work that went into winning basic rights for Black Americans, and the repercussions that still resonate today.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p>Source:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harpercollins.com\/products\/medgar-and-myrlie-joy-ann-reid?variant=41057227702306\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/urldefense.proofpoint.com\/v2\/url?u%3Dhttps-3A__r20.rs6.net_tn.jsp-3Ff-3D001-5F5aBSJfTIJAM7LxNmhvj1Ar60sob2T7oTRu0e80jNKPtVCBqyADCwMM-5FzPCvCvor4kMoKHyc6URPsbiqWBq0eEPM6utvcL4R0bYpkEz-5F7DdrieHBmq1g2WhLFJMbNp56Ln-5Fajf8UMt6TBiOs4YQBMA-3D-3D-26c-3DzLHWQsbDqEjinUfBnozzcMBcF3yEhqKqAYaoqg2-5F7TkABk-2DzdeIcsg-3D-3D-26ch-3DNxHCGGj-2DebnqKYgMukLFeGHZG-2DToKkRM4hUVyWuakdcMezBtqz-2Djtg-3D-3D%26d%3DDwMFaQ%26c%3DOX75XE6Ovbuivb5ZMs_UO0wD4Fwo3w1FbacarYwBPog%26r%3DN--6Y8_6jrro4ZJL7hOUgS3YRzGZT7ZCpfzE-dgzDaU%26m%3DJWovOouXmavIB41wouD7Kp42qgDwgS1Qe_2MG9Fgp6L6U_0o2acP2RXvefRTe9lp%26s%3DJSrr08h5BV6eql_Oirkd95H8PiisWNcPgigdfZHLlGk%26e%3D&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1703178499775000&amp;usg=AOvVaw10nuD5xgqroR-elz2FDZAH\"><b>www.harpercollins.com<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MonthlyBookClubCover_Mar2024.jpg\" alt=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Mar2024\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"716\" width=\"474\" title=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Mar2024\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<section>\n<p><b>March 2024 &#8211; <\/b><em><strong>How to Say Babylon: A Memoir<\/strong><\/em> by <strong>Safiya Sinclair<\/strong><\/p>\n<section>Throughout her childhood, Safiya Sinclair&#8217;s father, a volatile reggae musician and a militant adherent to a strict sect of Rastafari, was obsessed with the ever-present threat of the corrupting evils of the Western world outside their home, and worried that womanhood would make Safiya and her sisters morally weak and impure. For him, a woman&#8217;s highest virtue was her obedience.Safiya&#8217;s extraordinary mother, though loyal to her father, gave her the one gift she knew would take Safiya beyond the stretch of beach and mountains in Jamaica their family called home: a world of books, knowledge, and education she conjured almost out of thin air. When she introduced Safiya to poetry, Safiya&#8217;s voice awakened. As she watched her mother struggle voicelessly for years under relentless domesticity, Safiya&#8217;s rebellion against her father&#8217;s rules set her on an inevitable collision course with him. Her education became the sharp tool to hone her own poetic voice and carve her path to liberation. Rich in emotion and page-turning drama,\u00a0<i>How to Say Babylon<\/i> is &#8220;a melodious wave of memories&#8221; of a woman finding her own power (NPR).\n<\/section>\n<p>Source:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.simonandschuster.com\/books\/How-to-Say-Babylon\/Safiya-Sinclair\/9781982132347\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/urldefense.proofpoint.com\/v2\/url?u%3Dhttps-3A__r20.rs6.net_tn.jsp-3Ff-3D001-5F5aBSJfTIJAM7LxNmhvj1Ar60sob2T7oTRu0e80jNKPtVCBqyADCwMM-5FzPCvCvor4kMoKHyc6URPsbiqWBq0eEPM6utvcL4R0bYpkEz-5F7DdrieHBmq1g2WhLFJMbNp56Ln-5Fajf8UMt6TBiOs4YQBMA-3D-3D-26c-3DzLHWQsbDqEjinUfBnozzcMBcF3yEhqKqAYaoqg2-5F7TkABk-2DzdeIcsg-3D-3D-26ch-3DNxHCGGj-2DebnqKYgMukLFeGHZG-2DToKkRM4hUVyWuakdcMezBtqz-2Djtg-3D-3D%26d%3DDwMFaQ%26c%3DOX75XE6Ovbuivb5ZMs_UO0wD4Fwo3w1FbacarYwBPog%26r%3DN--6Y8_6jrro4ZJL7hOUgS3YRzGZT7ZCpfzE-dgzDaU%26m%3DJWovOouXmavIB41wouD7Kp42qgDwgS1Qe_2MG9Fgp6L6U_0o2acP2RXvefRTe9lp%26s%3DJSrr08h5BV6eql_Oirkd95H8PiisWNcPgigdfZHLlGk%26e%3D&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1703178499775000&amp;usg=AOvVaw10nuD5xgqroR-elz2FDZAH\"><b>www.simonandschuster.com<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MonthlyBookClubCover_Feb2024.jpg\" alt=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Feb2024\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"413\" width=\"276\" title=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Feb2024\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<section>\n<p><b>February 2024 &#8211; <\/b><em><strong>Erasure<\/strong><\/em> by <strong>Percival Everett<\/strong><\/p>\n<section><strong>Percival Everett<\/strong>&#8216;s blistering satire about race and writing, available again in paperback.Thelonious Monk Ellison&#8217;s writing career is in a slump: despite critical acclaim for his previous works, his newest manuscript has been turned down by seventeen publishers. This rejection is all the more painful as he watches the soaring success of\u00a0<em>We&#8217;s Lives in Da Ghetto<\/em>, a debut novel by a writer whose only connection to Harlem is a brief visit to some relatives. Concurrently, Monk confronts real-life family crises: his elderly mother is rapidly deteriorating due to Alzheimer&#8217;s, and the echo of his father&#8217;s suicide seven years earlier still haunts him.\n<p>In a mix of frustration and desolation, Monk hastily writes a book intended as a rebuke to Juanita Mae Jenkins&#8217;s bestselling work. Though Monk never intended for\u00a0<em>My Pafology<\/em>\u00a0to be published-much less taken seriously-it is, under the pen name Stagg R. Leigh. To his shock, it becomes a literary sensation. The narrative then focuses on how Monk navigates the unexpected repercussions, both personal and professional, of his unintentional success, making this novel both uproariously funny and profoundly poignant.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p>Source:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/aalbc.com\/books\/bookinfo.php?isbn13=9781555975999\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/urldefense.proofpoint.com\/v2\/url?u%3Dhttps-3A__r20.rs6.net_tn.jsp-3Ff-3D001-5F5aBSJfTIJAM7LxNmhvj1Ar60sob2T7oTRu0e80jNKPtVCBqyADCwMM-5FzPCvCvor4kMoKHyc6URPsbiqWBq0eEPM6utvcL4R0bYpkEz-5F7DdrieHBmq1g2WhLFJMbNp56Ln-5Fajf8UMt6TBiOs4YQBMA-3D-3D-26c-3DzLHWQsbDqEjinUfBnozzcMBcF3yEhqKqAYaoqg2-5F7TkABk-2DzdeIcsg-3D-3D-26ch-3DNxHCGGj-2DebnqKYgMukLFeGHZG-2DToKkRM4hUVyWuakdcMezBtqz-2Djtg-3D-3D%26d%3DDwMFaQ%26c%3DOX75XE6Ovbuivb5ZMs_UO0wD4Fwo3w1FbacarYwBPog%26r%3DN--6Y8_6jrro4ZJL7hOUgS3YRzGZT7ZCpfzE-dgzDaU%26m%3DJWovOouXmavIB41wouD7Kp42qgDwgS1Qe_2MG9Fgp6L6U_0o2acP2RXvefRTe9lp%26s%3DJSrr08h5BV6eql_Oirkd95H8PiisWNcPgigdfZHLlGk%26e%3D&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1703178499775000&amp;usg=AOvVaw10nuD5xgqroR-elz2FDZAH\"><b>www.aalbc.com<\/b><\/a>. More info (including videos and book sales) at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/urldefense.proofpoint.com\/v2\/url?u=https-3A__r20.rs6.net_tn.jsp-3Ff-3D001-5F5aBSJfTIJAM7LxNmhvj1Ar60sob2T7oTRu0e80jNKPtVCBqyADCwMM-5FzPCvCvorVDpq7BgKnlQTZJoxE2Wzf6Jji8bYeIj8fJZiMD7ZLGxHYtBOEDgVoSxuK20kxLHXW-2DUQwjAQRDW6JFsIZ0n6jwS8Wx897IXCrGBJH3V7q4xWRwuqhn-2DeOkbvntiHL1vj4atyXzZ7VhA-3D-26c-3DzLHWQsbDqEjinUfBnozzcMBcF3yEhqKqAYaoqg2-5F7TkABk-2DzdeIcsg-3D-3D-26ch-3DNxHCGGj-2DebnqKYgMukLFeGHZG-2DToKkRM4hUVyWuakdcMezBtqz-2Djtg-3D-3D&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=OX75XE6Ovbuivb5ZMs_UO0wD4Fwo3w1FbacarYwBPog&amp;r=N--6Y8_6jrro4ZJL7hOUgS3YRzGZT7ZCpfzE-dgzDaU&amp;m=JWovOouXmavIB41wouD7Kp42qgDwgS1Qe_2MG9Fgp6L6U_0o2acP2RXvefRTe9lp&amp;s=n1krqlY7kpswthdGBLolvhKovpmQx6bC5t8-bRR8cGg&amp;e=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/urldefense.proofpoint.com\/v2\/url?u%3Dhttps-3A__r20.rs6.net_tn.jsp-3Ff-3D001-5F5aBSJfTIJAM7LxNmhvj1Ar60sob2T7oTRu0e80jNKPtVCBqyADCwMM-5FzPCvCvorVDpq7BgKnlQTZJoxE2Wzf6Jji8bYeIj8fJZiMD7ZLGxHYtBOEDgVoSxuK20kxLHXW-2DUQwjAQRDW6JFsIZ0n6jwS8Wx897IXCrGBJH3V7q4xWRwuqhn-2DeOkbvntiHL1vj4atyXzZ7VhA-3D-26c-3DzLHWQsbDqEjinUfBnozzcMBcF3yEhqKqAYaoqg2-5F7TkABk-2DzdeIcsg-3D-3D-26ch-3DNxHCGGj-2DebnqKYgMukLFeGHZG-2DToKkRM4hUVyWuakdcMezBtqz-2Djtg-3D-3D%26d%3DDwMFaQ%26c%3DOX75XE6Ovbuivb5ZMs_UO0wD4Fwo3w1FbacarYwBPog%26r%3DN--6Y8_6jrro4ZJL7hOUgS3YRzGZT7ZCpfzE-dgzDaU%26m%3DJWovOouXmavIB41wouD7Kp42qgDwgS1Qe_2MG9Fgp6L6U_0o2acP2RXvefRTe9lp%26s%3Dn1krqlY7kpswthdGBLolvhKovpmQx6bC5t8-bRR8cGg%26e%3D&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1703178499775000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0ElUX57ExkMoq5iFUx3lda\"><b>AALBC.com<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MonthlyBookClubCover_Jan2024.jpg\" alt=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Jan2024\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"500\" width=\"331\" title=\"MonthlyBookClubCover_Jan2024\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<section>\n<p><b>January 2024 &#8211; <\/b><em><strong>An Inconvenient Cop: My Fight to Change Policing in America<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0by <strong>Edwin Raymond<\/strong><\/p>\n<section>Over his decade and a half with the New York Police Department, Edwin Raymond consistently exposed the dark underbelly of modern policing, becoming the highest-ranking whistleblower in the history of the force and one of the country&#8217;s leading voices against police injustice. Offering a rare, often shocking view of American policing,\u00a0<em>An Inconvenient Cop<\/em>\u00a0pulls back the curtain on the many flaws woven into the NYPD&#8217;s training, data, and practices, which have since been repackaged and repurposed by police departments across the country.Gravitating toward law enforcement in the hope of being a positive influence in his community, Raymond quickly learned that the problem with policing is a lot deeper than merely &#8220;a few bad apples&#8221;-the entire mechanism is set up to ensure that racial profiling is rewarded, and there are weighty consequences for cops who don&#8217;t play along. Struggling with the moral dilemma of policing impartially while witnessing his fellow officers go with the flow, Raymond&#8217;s journey takes him to the precipice of personal and professional ruin. Yet, through it all, he remains steadfast in his commitment to justice and his belief in the potential for change.At once revelatory and galvanizing,\u00a0<em>An Inconvenient Cop<\/em> courageously bears witness to and exposes institutional violence. It presents a vision of radical hope and makes the case for a world in which the police&#8217;s responsibility is not to arrest numbers but to the people.\n<\/section>\n<p>Source:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/719823\/an-inconvenient-cop-by-edwin-raymond-with-jon-sternfeld\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/urldefense.proofpoint.com\/v2\/url?u%3Dhttps-3A__r20.rs6.net_tn.jsp-3Ff-3D001-5F5aBSJfTIJAM7LxNmhvj1Ar60sob2T7oTRu0e80jNKPtVCBqyADCwMM-5FzPCvCvor4kMoKHyc6URPsbiqWBq0eEPM6utvcL4R0bYpkEz-5F7DdrieHBmq1g2WhLFJMbNp56Ln-5Fajf8UMt6TBiOs4YQBMA-3D-3D-26c-3DzLHWQsbDqEjinUfBnozzcMBcF3yEhqKqAYaoqg2-5F7TkABk-2DzdeIcsg-3D-3D-26ch-3DNxHCGGj-2DebnqKYgMukLFeGHZG-2DToKkRM4hUVyWuakdcMezBtqz-2Djtg-3D-3D%26d%3DDwMFaQ%26c%3DOX75XE6Ovbuivb5ZMs_UO0wD4Fwo3w1FbacarYwBPog%26r%3DN--6Y8_6jrro4ZJL7hOUgS3YRzGZT7ZCpfzE-dgzDaU%26m%3DJWovOouXmavIB41wouD7Kp42qgDwgS1Qe_2MG9Fgp6L6U_0o2acP2RXvefRTe9lp%26s%3DJSrr08h5BV6eql_Oirkd95H8PiisWNcPgigdfZHLlGk%26e%3D&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1703178499775000&amp;usg=AOvVaw10nuD5xgqroR-elz2FDZAH\"><b>www.penguinrandomhouse.com<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\t\t<h4>\n\t\t\t2023 Books of the Month\n\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/TheHeavenandEarthGroceryStore_JamesMcBride.jpeg\" alt=\"TheHeavenandEarthGroceryStore_JamesMcBride\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"800\" width=\"530\" title=\"TheHeavenandEarthGroceryStore_JamesMcBride\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<section>\n<p><b>December 2023 &#8211; <em>The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store <\/em><\/b>by <strong>James McBride<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><b>James McBride<\/b>\u00a0is an award-winning author, musician, and screenwriter. His landmark memoir,\u00a0<i>The Color of Water<\/i>, published in 1996, has sold millions of copies and spent more than two years on\u00a0<i>The New York Times<\/i>\u00a0bestseller list. Considered an American classic, it is read in schools and universities across the United States. His debut novel,\u00a0<i>Miracle at St. Anna<\/i>, was turned into a 2008 film by Oscar-winning writer and director Spike Lee, with a script written by McBride.<\/p>\n<p>His 2013 novel,\u00a0<i>The Good Lord Bird<\/i>, about American abolitionist John Brown, won the National Book Award for Fiction.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Source:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/urldefense.proofpoint.com\/v2\/url?u=https-3A__r20.rs6.net_tn.jsp-3Ff-3D001-5F5aBSJfTIJAM7LxNmhvj1Ar60sob2T7oTRu0e80jNKPtVCBqyADCwMM-5FzPCvCvor4kMoKHyc6URPsbiqWBq0eEPM6utvcL4R0bYpkEz-5F7DdrieHBmq1g2WhLFJMbNp56Ln-5Fajf8UMt6TBiOs4YQBMA-3D-3D-26c-3DzLHWQsbDqEjinUfBnozzcMBcF3yEhqKqAYaoqg2-5F7TkABk-2DzdeIcsg-3D-3D-26ch-3DNxHCGGj-2DebnqKYgMukLFeGHZG-2DToKkRM4hUVyWuakdcMezBtqz-2Djtg-3D-3D&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=OX75XE6Ovbuivb5ZMs_UO0wD4Fwo3w1FbacarYwBPog&amp;r=N--6Y8_6jrro4ZJL7hOUgS3YRzGZT7ZCpfzE-dgzDaU&amp;m=JWovOouXmavIB41wouD7Kp42qgDwgS1Qe_2MG9Fgp6L6U_0o2acP2RXvefRTe9lp&amp;s=JSrr08h5BV6eql_Oirkd95H8PiisWNcPgigdfZHLlGk&amp;e=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/urldefense.proofpoint.com\/v2\/url?u%3Dhttps-3A__r20.rs6.net_tn.jsp-3Ff-3D001-5F5aBSJfTIJAM7LxNmhvj1Ar60sob2T7oTRu0e80jNKPtVCBqyADCwMM-5FzPCvCvor4kMoKHyc6URPsbiqWBq0eEPM6utvcL4R0bYpkEz-5F7DdrieHBmq1g2WhLFJMbNp56Ln-5Fajf8UMt6TBiOs4YQBMA-3D-3D-26c-3DzLHWQsbDqEjinUfBnozzcMBcF3yEhqKqAYaoqg2-5F7TkABk-2DzdeIcsg-3D-3D-26ch-3DNxHCGGj-2DebnqKYgMukLFeGHZG-2DToKkRM4hUVyWuakdcMezBtqz-2Djtg-3D-3D%26d%3DDwMFaQ%26c%3DOX75XE6Ovbuivb5ZMs_UO0wD4Fwo3w1FbacarYwBPog%26r%3DN--6Y8_6jrro4ZJL7hOUgS3YRzGZT7ZCpfzE-dgzDaU%26m%3DJWovOouXmavIB41wouD7Kp42qgDwgS1Qe_2MG9Fgp6L6U_0o2acP2RXvefRTe9lp%26s%3DJSrr08h5BV6eql_Oirkd95H8PiisWNcPgigdfZHLlGk%26e%3D&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1703178499775000&amp;usg=AOvVaw10nuD5xgqroR-elz2FDZAH\"><b>www.jamesmcbride.com<\/b><\/a>. More info (including videos and book sales) at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/urldefense.proofpoint.com\/v2\/url?u=https-3A__r20.rs6.net_tn.jsp-3Ff-3D001-5F5aBSJfTIJAM7LxNmhvj1Ar60sob2T7oTRu0e80jNKPtVCBqyADCwMM-5FzPCvCvorVDpq7BgKnlQTZJoxE2Wzf6Jji8bYeIj8fJZiMD7ZLGxHYtBOEDgVoSxuK20kxLHXW-2DUQwjAQRDW6JFsIZ0n6jwS8Wx897IXCrGBJH3V7q4xWRwuqhn-2DeOkbvntiHL1vj4atyXzZ7VhA-3D-26c-3DzLHWQsbDqEjinUfBnozzcMBcF3yEhqKqAYaoqg2-5F7TkABk-2DzdeIcsg-3D-3D-26ch-3DNxHCGGj-2DebnqKYgMukLFeGHZG-2DToKkRM4hUVyWuakdcMezBtqz-2Djtg-3D-3D&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=OX75XE6Ovbuivb5ZMs_UO0wD4Fwo3w1FbacarYwBPog&amp;r=N--6Y8_6jrro4ZJL7hOUgS3YRzGZT7ZCpfzE-dgzDaU&amp;m=JWovOouXmavIB41wouD7Kp42qgDwgS1Qe_2MG9Fgp6L6U_0o2acP2RXvefRTe9lp&amp;s=n1krqlY7kpswthdGBLolvhKovpmQx6bC5t8-bRR8cGg&amp;e=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/urldefense.proofpoint.com\/v2\/url?u%3Dhttps-3A__r20.rs6.net_tn.jsp-3Ff-3D001-5F5aBSJfTIJAM7LxNmhvj1Ar60sob2T7oTRu0e80jNKPtVCBqyADCwMM-5FzPCvCvorVDpq7BgKnlQTZJoxE2Wzf6Jji8bYeIj8fJZiMD7ZLGxHYtBOEDgVoSxuK20kxLHXW-2DUQwjAQRDW6JFsIZ0n6jwS8Wx897IXCrGBJH3V7q4xWRwuqhn-2DeOkbvntiHL1vj4atyXzZ7VhA-3D-26c-3DzLHWQsbDqEjinUfBnozzcMBcF3yEhqKqAYaoqg2-5F7TkABk-2DzdeIcsg-3D-3D-26ch-3DNxHCGGj-2DebnqKYgMukLFeGHZG-2DToKkRM4hUVyWuakdcMezBtqz-2Djtg-3D-3D%26d%3DDwMFaQ%26c%3DOX75XE6Ovbuivb5ZMs_UO0wD4Fwo3w1FbacarYwBPog%26r%3DN--6Y8_6jrro4ZJL7hOUgS3YRzGZT7ZCpfzE-dgzDaU%26m%3DJWovOouXmavIB41wouD7Kp42qgDwgS1Qe_2MG9Fgp6L6U_0o2acP2RXvefRTe9lp%26s%3Dn1krqlY7kpswthdGBLolvhKovpmQx6bC5t8-bRR8cGg%26e%3D&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1703178499775000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0ElUX57ExkMoq5iFUx3lda\"><b>AALBC.com<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/OneGirlsJourney_RuthJSimmons.jpeg\" alt=\"OneGirlsJourney_RuthJSimmons\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"1800\" width=\"1200\" title=\"OneGirlsJourney_RuthJSimmons\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<section>\n<p><b>November 2023 &#8211; <em>Up Home: One Girl&#8217;s Journey <\/em><\/b>by <strong>Ruth J. Simmons<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>An inspiring, indelible memoir from the daughter of sharecroppers in East Texas who became the first Black president of an Ivy League university-an uplifting story of girlhood and the power of family, community, and the classroom to transform one young person&#8217;s life. From the farmland of East Texas to Houston&#8217;s Fifth Ward to New Orleans at the dawn of the civil rights movement, Simmons depicts an era long gone but whose legacies of inequality we still live with today.<\/p>\n<p>Written in clear and timeless prose,\u00a0<i>Up Home<\/i>\u00a0is both an origin story set in the segregated South and the uplifting chronicle of a girl whose intellect, grace, and curiosity guide her as she creates a place for herself in the world.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/LoneWomen.jpeg\" alt=\"Lone Women\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"400\" width=\"265\" title=\"Lone Women\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<strong>October 2023 &#8211;<\/strong> <b><i>Lone Women<\/i><\/b> by <strong>Victor Lavalle<\/strong><br \/>\nPublished by Penguin Random House, March 21, 2023 | 304 Pages\n<section><strong>Hardcover Description:<\/strong>\n<p><strong>&#8220;If the literary gods mixed together Karuki Murakami and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/aalbc.com\/authors\/author.php?author_name=Ralph+Ellison\">Ralph Ellison<\/a>, the result would be Victor Lavaelle.&#8221; -Anthony Doerr, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/aalbc.com\/books\/buy.php?isbn13=9781501173219\">All the Light We Cannot See<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Blue skies, empty land-and enough room to hide away a horrifying secret. Or is there? Discover a haunting new vision of the American West from the award-winning author of\u00a0<em>The Changeling<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Adelaide Henry carries an enormous steamer trunk with her wherever she goes. It&#8217;s locked at all times. Because when the trunk is opened, people around her start to disappear&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>The year is 1915, and Adelaide is in trouble. Her secret sin killed her parents, and forced her to flee her hometown of Redondo, California, in a hellfire rush, ready to make her way to Montana as a homesteader. Dragging the trunk with her at every stop, she will be one of the &#8220;lone women&#8221; taking advantage of the government&#8217;s offer of free land for those who can cultivate it-except that Adelaide isn&#8217;t alone. And the secret she&#8217;s tried so desperately to lock away might be the only thing keeping her alive.<\/p>\n<p>Told in Victor LaValle&#8217;s signature style, blending historical fiction, shimmering prose, and inventive horror, Lone Women is the gripping story of a woman desperate to bury her past-and a portrait of early twentieth-century America like you&#8217;ve never seen.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/TheCherokeeRose_2.jpeg\" alt=\"The Cherokee Rose_2\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"400\" width=\"257\" title=\"The Cherokee Rose_2\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<strong>September 2023 &#8211;<\/strong> <b><i>The Cherokee Rose<\/i><\/b> by <strong>Tiya Miles<\/strong><br \/>\nPublished by John F. Blair, April 7, 2015 | 256 Pages\n<section><i>The Cherokee Rose,<\/i>\u00a0written by Tiya Miles, award-winning historian and recipient of a recent MacArthur &#8220;Genius Grant,&#8221; explores territory reminiscent of the works of Alice Walker, Octavia Butler, and Louise Erdrich. This luminous but highly accessible work examines a little-known aspect of America&#8217;s past slaveholding by Southern Creeks and Cherokees and its legacy in the lives of three young women who are drawn to the Georgia plantation where scenes of extreme cruelty and equally extraordinary compassion once played out. The novel is based on historical sources about the Chief Vann House Historic Site in Chatsworth, Georgia, and the Moravian mission sponsored there in the early 1800s. Miles uncovered this fascinating history while researching her book\u00a0<i>The House on Diamond Hill<\/i>. In\u00a0<i>The Cherokee Rose<\/i>, she has fictionalized the story and introduced contemporary aspects to make this history more accessible.The characters in\u00a0<i>The Cherokee Rose<\/i>\u00a0include Jinx, the free-spirited historian exploring her tribe&#8217;s complicated racial history; Ruth, whose mother sought refuge from a troubled marriage in her beloved garden and the cosmetic empire she built from its bounty; Cheyenne, the Southern black debutante seeking to connect with a meaningful personal history; and, hovering above them all, the spirit of long-gone Mary Ann Battis, a young woman suspected of burning a mission to the ground and then disappearing from tribal records. The story of the women&#8217;s discoveries about the secrets of a Cherokee plantation traces their attempts to connect with the strong spirits of the past and reconcile the conflicts in their own lives.<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/KP22.jpg\" alt=\"KP22\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"600\" width=\"400\" title=\"KP22\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<strong>June 2023 &#8211;<\/strong> <b><i>Grocery Shopping with My Mother<\/i><\/b> by <strong>Kevin Powell<\/strong><br \/>\nPublished by Soft Skull, December 6, 2022 | 192 Pages\n<section>&#8220;Kevin Powell returns with a poetic time capsule written with love in honor of his mother&#8217;s evolution. Powell investigates the nature of our country&#8217;s oppression through the generational wounds survived and passed on. These poems are a testament to the healing work of Kevin Powell, as they revel in the power of forgiveness, abundance, and lineage.&#8221;<strong> -Mahogany L. Browne, Lincoln Center&#8217;s inaugural poet in residence and author of <em>Vinyl Moon. <\/em><\/strong>When Kevin Powell&#8217;s elderly mother became ill, he returned home every week to take her grocery shopping in Jersey City. Walking behind her during those trips, Powell began to hear her voice, stories, and language in a new way-examining his own healing while praying for hers.<em>Grocery Shopping with My Mother <\/em>dives into the complexities of relationships and contemporary themes with honesty and vulnerability. Creatively and spiritually inspired by Stevie Wonder&#8217;s <em>Songs in the Key of Life<\/em>, Powell&#8217;s poems shift in form and style, from praise chants to reverential meditations to, most importantly, innovative hope.<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/recitatif.jpg\" alt=\"recitatif\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"228\" width=\"150\" title=\"recitatif\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<strong>May 2023 &#8211;<\/strong>\u00a0<b><i>Recitatif\u00a0 <\/i><\/b>by <b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tonimorrisonsociety.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Toni Morrison<\/a><\/b>, Introduction by <a href=\"https:\/\/zadiesmith.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Zadie Smith<\/a><br \/>\nFirst Published January 1, 1983, current publisher, Knopf Publishing Group, 2022\n<p>A beautiful, arresting short story by Toni Morrison-the only one she ever wrote-about race and the relationships that shape us through life, with an introduction by Zadie Smith.<\/p>\n<p>Twyla and Roberta have known each other since they were eight years old and spent four months together as roommates in the St. Bonaventure shelter. Inseparable at the time, they lose touch as they grow older, only to find each other later at a diner, then at a grocery store, and again at a protest. Seemingly at opposite ends of every problem, and in disagreement each time they meet, the two women still cannot deny the deep bond their shared experience has forged between them.<\/p>\n<p>Morrison herself described this story as &#8220;an experiment in the removal of all racial codes from a narrative about two characters of different races for whom racial identity is crucial.&#8221; Recitatif is a remarkable look into what keeps us together and what keeps us apart, and about how perceptions are made tangible by reality.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/generations.jpg\" alt=\"generations\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"228\" width=\"150\" title=\"generations\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<strong>April 2023 &#8211;<\/strong>\u00a0<b><i>Generations: A Memoir <\/i><\/b>by <b>Lucille Clifton<\/b>, Introduction by <strong>Tracey K. Smith<\/strong><br \/>\nPublished by NYRB Classics, November 16, 2021\n<p>A moving family biography in which the poet traces her family history back through Jim Crow, the slave trade, and all the way to the women of the Dahomey people in West Africa.<\/p>\n<p>In Generations, Lucille Clifton&#8217;s formidable poetic gift emerges in prose, giving us a memoir of stark and profound beauty. Her story focuses on the lives of the Sayles family: Caroline, &#8220;born among the Dahomey people in 1822,&#8221; who walked north from New Orleans to Virginia in 1830 when she was eight years old; Lucy, the first black woman to be hanged in Virginia; and Gene, born with a withered arm, the son of a carpetbagger and the author&#8217;s grandmother.<\/p>\n<p>Clifton tells us about the life of an African American family through slavery and hard times and beyond, the death of her father and grandmother, but also all the life and love and triumph that came before and remains even now.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/scifi.jpg\" alt=\"scifi\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"228\" width=\"150\" title=\"scifi\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<b>March 2023<\/b> &#8211; <strong><em>Black Sci-Fi Short Stories<br \/>\n<\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/%22Temi%20Oh%22;jsessionid=6DB9DF9BCD65695E45686231D851FA1B.prodny_store02-atgap03?Ntk=P_key_Contributor_List&amp;Ns=P_Sales_Rank&amp;Ntx=mode+matchall\">Temi Oh (Foreword by)<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/%22Sandra%20M.%20Grayson%22;jsessionid=6DB9DF9BCD65695E45686231D851FA1B.prodny_store02-atgap03?Ntk=P_key_Contributor_List&amp;Ns=P_Sales_Rank&amp;Ntx=mode+matchall\">Sandra M. Grayson (Introduction)<\/a>,\u00a0Tia Ross (Editor)<br \/>\nPublished by Flame Tree Collections June 15, 2021\n<p>Includes works by: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/747498.Sandra_M_Grayson\">Sandra M. Grayson\u00a0(Introduction)<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/16951259.Temi_Oh\">Temi Oh<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/3450131.James_Beamon\">James Beamon<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/10710.W_E_B_Du_Bois\">W.E.B. Du Bois<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/3378249.K_Tempest_Bradford\">K. Tempest Bradford<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/368074.Tara_Campbell\">Tara Campbell<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/4616021.Martin_R_Delany\">Martin R. Delany<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/19420719.Michelle_F_Goddard\">Michelle F. Goddard<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/6434969.Harambee_K_Grey_Sun\">Harambee K. Grey-Sun<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/22475736.Sutton_E_Griggs\">Sutton E. Griggs<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/14773598.Emmalia_Harrington\">Emmalia Harrington<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/4894560.Pauline_Elizabeth_Hopkins\">Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/3973692.Walidah_Imarisha\">Walidah Imarisha<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/21286403.Patty_Nicole_Johnson\">Patty Nicole Johnson<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/947281.Edward_Johnson\">Edward Johnson<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/6060410.Russell_Nichols\">Russell Nichols<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/23023548.Megan_Pindling\">Megan Pindling<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/22438208.Sylvie_Soul\">Sylvie Soul<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/20390595.Lyle_Stiles\">Lyle Stiles<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/9828980.Wole_Talabi\">Wole Talabi<\/a><\/p>\n<p>A deluxe edition of new writing and neglected perspectives.<\/p>\n<p>With a foreword by Alex Award-winning novelist\u00a0<strong>Temi Oh<\/strong>, an introduction by\u00a0<strong>Dr. Sandra M. Grayson<\/strong>, author of\u00a0<em>Visions of the Third Millennium: Black Science Fiction Novelists Write the Future<\/em>\u00a0(2003), and invaluable promotion and editorial support from\u00a0<strong>Tia Ross<\/strong>\u00a0and the\u00a0<strong>Black Writers Collective<\/strong>\u00a0and more, this latest offering in the Flame Tree Gothic fantasy series focuses on an area of science fiction which has not received the attention it deserves. Many of the themes in Sci-fi reveal the world as it is to others, show us how to improve it, and give voice to the many different expressions of a future for humankind.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/black.jpg\" alt=\"black\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"228\" width=\"150\" title=\"black\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<strong>February 2023 &#8211; Black Buck<\/strong> by\u00a0<strong>Mateo Askaripour <\/strong><br \/>\nPublished by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, January 5, 2021\n<p>An unambitious twenty-two-year-old, Darren lives in a Bed-Stuy brownstone with his mother, who wants nothing more than to see him live up to his potential as the valedictorian of Bronx Science. But Darren is content working at Starbucks in the lobby of a Midtown office building, hanging out with his girlfriend, Soraya, and eating his mother&#8217;s home-cooked meals. All that changes when a chance encounter with Rhett Daniels, the silver-tongued CEO of Sumwun, NYC&#8217;s hottest tech startup, results in an exclusive invitation for Darren to join an elite sales team on the thirty-sixth floor.<\/p>\n<p>After enduring a &#8220;hell week&#8221; of training, Darren, the only Black person in the company, reimagines himself as &#8220;Buck,&#8221; a ruthless salesman unrecognizable to his friends and family. But when things turn tragic at home and Buck feels he&#8217;s hit rock bottom, he begins to hatch a plan to help young people of color infiltrate America&#8217;s sales force, setting off a chain of events that forever changes the game. Black Buck is a hilarious, razor-sharp skewering of America&#8217;s workforce; it is a propulsive, crackling debut that explores ambition and race, and makes way for a necessary new vision of the American dream.<\/p>\n\t\t<h4>\n\t\t\t2022 Books of the Month\n\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/August-2022-Eloquent-Rage-A-Black-Feminist-Discovers-Her-Superpower-Brittney-Cooper.jpg\" alt=\"August 2022 Eloquent Rage, A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower Brittney Cooper\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"456\" width=\"300\" title=\"August 2022 Eloquent Rage, A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower Brittney Cooper\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<strong>August 2022 &#8211;<\/strong>\u00a0<b><i>Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower <\/i><\/b>\u00a0by\u00a0<b>Brittney Cooper<\/b><br \/>\nNOW A\u00a0<em>NEW YORK TIMES\u00a0<\/em>BESTSELLER\u00a0\u2022\u00a0An Emma Watson &#8220;Our Shared Shelf&#8221; Selection for November\/December 2018 \u2022\u00a0NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2018\/ MENTIONED BY:\u00a0The New York Public Library\u00a0\u2022\u00a0<em>Mashable\u00a0\u2022 The Atlantic\u00a0\u2022<\/em>\u00a0<em>Bustle\u00a0<\/em>\u2022\u00a0<em>The Root \u2022\u00a0Politico Magazine<\/em>\u00a0(&#8220;What the 2020 Candidates Are Reading This Summer&#8221;)\u00a0<em>\u2022<\/em>\u00a0NPR\u00a0<em>\u2022\u00a0Fast Company\u00a0<\/em>(&#8220;10 Best Books for Battling Your Sexist Workplace&#8221;)\u00a0<em>\u2022 The Guardian\u00a0<\/em>(&#8220;Top 10 Books About Angry Women&#8221;)<br \/>\nSo what if it&#8217;s true that Black women are mad as hell? They have the right to be. In the Black feminist tradition of Audre Lorde, Brittney Cooper reminds us that anger is a powerful source of energy that can give us the strength to keep on fighting.\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/July-2022-A-Brief-HIstory-of-Seven-Killings-Marlon-James.jpg\" alt=\"July 2022 A Brief HIstory of Seven Killings Marlon James\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"456\" width=\"300\" title=\"July 2022 A Brief HIstory of Seven Killings Marlon James\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<strong>July 2022 &#8211;<\/strong>\u00a0<b><i>A Brief History of Seven Killings: A Novel <\/i><\/b>by <b>Marlon James<\/b><br \/>\nWinner of the Man Booker Prize. A &#8220;thrilling, ambitious . . . intense&#8221; (<em>Los Angeles Times<\/em>) novel\u00a0that explores the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in the late 1970s, from the author of\u00a0<em>Black Leopard, Red Wolf. <\/em>In\u00a0<em>A Brief History of Seven Killings<\/em>, Marlon James combines masterful storytelling with his unrivaled skill at characterization and his meticulous eye for detail to forge a novel of dazzling ambition and scope.\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/June-2002-Moon-And-The-Mars-Kia-Corthron.jpg\" alt=\"June 2002 Moon And The Mars Kia Corthron\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"456\" width=\"300\" title=\"June 2002 Moon And The Mars Kia Corthron\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<strong>June 2022 &#8211;<\/strong>\u00a0<b><i>Moon and the Mars: A Novel <\/i><\/b>by <b>Kia Corthron<\/b><br \/>\nAn exploration of NYC and America in the burgeoning moments before the start of the Civil War through the eyes of a young, biracial girl-the highly anticipated new novel from the winner of the Center for Fiction&#8217;s First Novel Prize. &#8220;Corthron, a true heir to James Baldwin, presents a startlingly original exposure of the complex roots of American racism.&#8221; -Naomi Wallace, MacArthur &#8220;Genius&#8221; Playwriting Fellow and author of One Flea Spare\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/May-2022-Harlem-Shuffle-Colson-Whitehead.jpg\" alt=\"May 2022 Harlem Shuffle Colson Whitehead\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"456\" width=\"300\" title=\"May 2022 Harlem Shuffle Colson Whitehead\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<b>May<\/b> <strong>2022<\/strong> &#8211; <strong><em>Harlem Shuffle<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 by\u00a0<b>Colson Whitehead<br \/>\n<\/b>GOOD READS REVIEW:\u00a0<em>In his rollicking and heartrending novel, &#8220;Harlem Shuffle,&#8221;<\/em>\u00a0the Pulitzer Prize award-winning author brilliantly weaves crime fiction, family drama, and political history. In the embodiment of hustle,\u00a0Colson Whitehead\u00a0brilliantly weaves crime fiction, family drama and political history in one rollicking and heartrending novel with\u00a0<em>Harlem Shuffle<\/em>.\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/April-2022-Another-Brooklyn-Jacqueline-Woodson.jpg\" alt=\"April 2022 Another Brooklyn Jacqueline Woodson\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"456\" width=\"300\" title=\"April 2022 Another Brooklyn Jacqueline Woodson\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<strong>April 2022 &#8211; Another Brooklyn: A Novel<\/strong> by\u00a0<strong>Jacqueline Woodson<\/strong><br \/>\nRunning into a long-ago friend sets memory from the 1970s in motion for August, transporting her to a time and a place where friendship was everything-until it wasn&#8217;t. For August and her girls, sharing confidences as they ambled through neighborhood streets, Brooklyn was a place where they believed that they were beautiful, talented, brilliant-a part of a future that belonged to them.\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/March-2022-Theres-a-Revolution-Outside-My-Love-Letters-from-a-Crisis-Tracy-K-Smith-John-Freeman.jpg\" alt=\"March 2022 There's a Revolution Outside, My Love Letters from a Crisis Tracy K Smith, John Freeman\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"456\" width=\"300\" title=\"March 2022 There's a Revolution Outside, My Love Letters from a Crisis Tracy K Smith, John Freeman\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<strong>March 2022 &#8211; <em>There&#8217;s a Revolution Outside, My Love: Letters from a Crisis<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0by\u00a0<strong>Tracy K. Smith<br \/>\n<\/strong>This kaleidoscopic portrait of an unprecedented time brings together some of our most treasured writers today-Edwidge Danticat, Layli Long Soldier, Monica Youn, Julia Alvarez, Reginald Dwayne Betts, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor-to give voice to the unthinkable grief and hopeful possibilities born in an era of revolution and change. &#8220;A maelstrom of grief, anger, fear and confusion, with glimmers of gratitude and hope: a comprehensive emotional document of a moment.&#8221;-<em> The New York Times Book Review<\/em>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Feb-2022-Read-Until-You-Understand-The-Profound-Wisdom-of-Black-Life-And-Literature-Farah-Jasmine-Griffin.jpg\" alt=\"Feb 2022 Read Until You Understand - The Profound Wisdom of Black Life And Literature - Farah Jasmine Griffin\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"456\" width=\"300\" title=\"Feb 2022 Read Until You Understand - The Profound Wisdom of Black Life And Literature - Farah Jasmine Griffin\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<strong>February 2022 &#8211; <\/strong><strong><em>Read Until You Understand: The Profound Wisdom of Black Life and Literature<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0by\u00a0<strong>Farah Jasmine Griffin<\/strong><br \/>\nFarah Jasmine Griffin has taken to her heart the phrase &#8220;read until you understand,&#8221; a line her father, who died when she was nine, wrote in a note to her. \u00a0She has made it central to this book about love of the majestic power of words and love of the magnificence of Black life. Here, she shares a lifetime of discoveries: the ideas that inspired the stunning oratory of Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X, the soulful music of Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, the daring literature of Phillis Wheatley and Toni Morrison, the inventive artistry of Romare Bearden, and many more. Exploring these works through such themes as justice, rage, self-determination, beauty, joy, and mercy allows her to move from her aunt&#8217;s love of yellow roses to Gil Scott-Heron&#8217;s &#8220;Winter in America.&#8221;\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Jan-2022-The-Ones-Who-Dont-Say-They-Love-You-Maurice-Carlos-Ruffin.jpg\" alt=\"Jan 2022 The Ones Who Don't Say They Love You - Maurice Carlos Ruffin\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"456\" width=\"300\" title=\"Jan 2022 The Ones Who Don't Say They Love You - Maurice Carlos Ruffin\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<strong>January 2022 &#8211; <\/strong><strong><em>The Ones Who Don&#8217;t Say They Love You: Stories<\/em><\/strong> by <strong>Maurice Carlos Ruffin<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>The New York Times Editors&#8217; Choice<\/em> \u2022 A collection of raucous stories that offer a\u00a0&#8220;vibrant and true mosaic&#8221;\u00a0(<em>The New York Times<\/em>)\u00a0of New Orleans, from the\u00a0critically acclaimed\u00a0author of\u00a0<em>We Cast a Shadow.<\/em> SHORTLISTED FOR THE ERNEST J. GAINES AWARD \u2022\u00a0&#8220;Every sentence is both something that makes you want to laugh in a gut-wrenching way and threatens to break your heart in a way that you did not anticipate.&#8221;-Robert Jones, Jr., author of\u00a0<em>The Prophets,<\/em>\u00a0in\u00a0<em>The Wall Street Journal<\/em>.\n\t\t<h4>\n\t\t\t2021 Books of the Month\n\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/girl-woman.jpg\" alt=\"girl-woman\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"456\" width=\"300\" title=\"girl-woman\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<strong>June 2021 &#8211; <\/strong><em><strong>Girl, Woman, Other<\/strong><\/em><em>\u00a0by <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/bevaristo.com\/\"><strong>Bernardine Evaristo<\/strong><\/a> (Celebrating Caribbean Month).<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong>From a nonbinary social media influencer to a 93-year-old woman living on a farm in Northern England, these unforgettable characters also intersect in shared aspects of their identities, from age to race to sexuality to class. Read more about the book <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/41081373-girl-woman-other\">HERE<\/a>.\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/freedom.jpg\" alt=\"freedom\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"456\" width=\"300\" title=\"freedom\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<strong>May 2021 &#8211; <em>The Freedom Artist<\/em><\/strong> by <a href=\"https:\/\/benokri.co.uk\/\"><strong>Ben Okri<\/strong><\/a><br \/>\n<em>The<\/em> <em>Freedom Artist<\/em>\u00a0is an impassioned plea for justice and a penetrating examination of how freedom is threatened in a post-truth society. In Ben Okri&#8217;s most significant novel since the Booker Prize-winning <em>The Famished Road<\/em>, he delivers a powerful and haunting call to arms. Read more about the book <a href=\"https:\/\/benokri.co.uk\/books\/the-freedom-artist\/\">HERE<\/a>.\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/dragon.jpg\" alt=\"dragon\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"750\" width=\"500\" title=\"dragon\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<strong>April 2021 &#8211; <\/strong><strong><em>The Dragons, the Giant, the Women: A Memoir<\/em><\/strong> by <a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/contributors\/wayetu-moore-ee8250e5-9f3c-45ce-8e6b-7c375807b851\"><strong>Way\u00e9tu Moore<\/strong><\/a><br \/>\nMoore was a finalist for the 2020 National Book Club Critics Circle Awards. &#8220;This memoir adds an essential voice to the genre of migrant literature, challenging false popular narratives that migration is optional, permanent and always results in a better life.&#8221;<b>\u2015<i>The New York Times Book Review <\/i><\/b>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/nickel-boys.jpg\" alt=\"nickel-boys\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"456\" width=\"300\" title=\"nickel-boys\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<strong>March 2021 &#8211; <em>The Nickel Boys\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>by\u00a0<strong>Colson Whitehead<\/strong>\u00a0(Doubleday, 2019)<br \/>\nInspired by a real story,\u00a0<em>The Nickel Boys<\/em>\u00a0tells of two young boys unjustly sentenced to the Dozier School, a horrendous reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida. President Barack Obama selected the book for his 2019 Summer Reading List and described the book as &#8220;difficult to swallow&#8221; and &#8220;a necessary read.&#8221;\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/the-man.jpg\" alt=\"the-man\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"456\" width=\"300\" title=\"the-man\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<strong>February 2021 &#8211; <\/strong><strong><em>The Man Who Cried I Am<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0by\u00a0<strong>John A. Williams<\/strong>\u00a0(Harry N. Abrams, 2004)<br \/>\n&#8220;Generally recognized as one of the most important novels of the tumultuous 1960s,\u00a0<em>The Man Who Cried I Am<\/em>\u00a0vividly evokes the harsh era of segregation that presaged the expatriation of African-American intellectuals. &#8230; John A Williams reveals the hope, courage, and bitter disappointment of the civil-rights era.&#8221; &#8211; Goodreads\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/confessions.jpg\" alt=\"confessions\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"456\" width=\"300\" title=\"confessions\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<strong>January 2021 &#8211; <em>Confessions in B-Flat<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0by\u00a0<strong>Donna Hill<\/strong>\u00a0(Sideways Books, 2020)<br \/>\nIn her latest novel, author Donna Hill offers a powerful romance story between passionate, young activists during the American Civil Rights Movement. Historical photos, famous speeches, news articles, and real-life heroes from the day are woven throughout the book, including the late John Lewis, to whom the book is dedicated.\n\t\t<h4>\n\t\t\t2020 Books of the Month\n\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/praisesong.jpg\" alt=\"praisesong\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"456\" width=\"300\" title=\"praisesong\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<b>December 2020 <\/b>&#8211;\u00a0<b><i>Praisesong for the Widow\u00a0<\/i><\/b>by<b>\u00a0Paule Marshall\u00a0<\/b>(Penguin, 1983)<br \/>\nFrom the acclaimed author of\u00a0<i>Daughters<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0<i>Brown Girl, Brownstones<\/i>\u00a0comes a &#8220;work of exceptional wisdom, maturity, and generosity, one in which the palpable humanity of its characters transcends any considerations of race or sex.&#8221; &#8211;<i>Washington Post Book World.\u00a0<\/i>More information on the book and review <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Praisesong_for_the_Widow\">HERE<\/a>.\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/vanishing.jpg\" alt=\"vanishing\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"456\" width=\"300\" title=\"vanishing\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<b>November<\/b> <strong>2020<\/strong> &#8211; <b><i>The Vanishing Half<\/i><\/b>\u00a0 by\u00a0<b>Brit Bennett<\/b>\u00a0(Penguin Press, 2020)<br \/>\nFrom <em>The New York Times<\/em> best-selling author of\u00a0<i>The Mothers<\/i>, a stunning new novel about twin sisters, inseparable as children, who ultimately choose to live in two very different worlds, one Black and one White. Read more reviews and testimonials <a href=\"https:\/\/britbennett.com\/the-vanishing-half\">HERE<\/a>.\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/truths.jpg\" alt=\"truths\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"760\" width=\"500\" title=\"truths\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<strong>October 2020 &#8211;<\/strong>\u00a0<b><i>The Truths We Hold: An American Journey<\/i><\/b>\u00a0by\u00a0<b>Kamala Harris<\/b>\u00a0(Penguin Press, 2019)<br \/>\nA\u00a0<i>New York Times<\/i>\u00a0bestseller from\u00a0<strong>Kamala Harris<\/strong>, one of America&#8217;s most inspiring political leaders and Vice President-elect this is a book about the core truths that unite us, and the long struggle to discern what those truths are and how best to act upon them, in her own life and across the life of our country.\n\t\t<h2>\n\t\t\tContact Us\n\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t<p><strong>Center for Black Literature <\/strong>(CBL)<br \/>at Medgar Evers College, CUNY<br \/>1534 Bedford Avenue | 2nd Floor<br \/>Brooklyn, New York 11216<br \/>(Click <a href=\"https:\/\/centerforblackliterature.org\/contact\/\">HERE<\/a> for the Postal Mailing Address)<strong>Main Phone:<\/strong> (718) 804-8884<br \/><strong>Main Office:<\/strong> <a href=\"mailto:info@centerforblackliterature.org\">info@centerforblackliterature.org<\/a><\/p>\t\t\n\t\t<h2>\n\t\t\tDonate to CBL Today!\n\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t<p>To carry out our literary programs and special events, we depend on financial support from the public. 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