African American Literature Memoirs

Moving from a brownstone in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, to a housing project in the small town of Plainfield, New Jersey, young Kamil is exposed to another world and a different breed of people. Bonded by the pain caused by their absentee fathers, Kamil and his brother befriend a group of boys from the neighborhood, forming an unbreakable bond. The boys vow not to travel down the same road as their dads, making a pact to stay in school and out of the streets.

Walking Gentry Home tells the story of Alora Young’s ancestors, from the unnamed women forgotten by the historical record but brought to life through Young’s imagination; to Amy, the first of Young’s foremothers to arrive in Tennessee, buried in an unmarked grave, unlike the white man who enslaved her and fathered her child; through Young’s great-grandmother Gentry, unhappily married at fourteen; to her own mother, the teenage beauty queen rejected by her white neighbors.

This set of short essays on the funniest African Americans in the business answers your simple questions for all age groups! Perfect for kids, teens, college students, or just inspiration. Don't let history pass without spreading the word! Just Stand Up: A Tribute to Black Comedians is a look back at the funny black men and women who started it all and their struggles before stardom and fame. A lesson that need to be taught!

Meet. Love. Break. Recover. That’s been the routine of Staceyann Chin’s romantic life. But at 35, after yet another devasting breakup and overcome by an urgent and all-consuming desire to have a child, Chin realizes she’s running out of time. So she sets her sights on a single target: motherhood.

Critically acclaimed author Jabari Asim gives listeners a fascinating glimpse into the boyhood of civil rights leader John Lewis. Even as a very young boy, John Lewis knew he wanted to be a preacher when he grew up. He wanted to be the kind of leader who could use his passionate speeches to stir hearts to change, minds to think, and bodies to take action. But why wait to grow up? At five years old, when he became the official caretaker of the 60 chickens on his family's farm, he realized he had a wonderful audience to practice on.