African Art

Black Panther is one of the most financially successful and culturally impactful films to emerge from the American film industry in recent years. When it was released in 2018 it broke numerous records and resonated with audiences all around the world. In Black Panther: Interrogating a Cultural Phenomenon, author Terence McSweeney explores the film from a diverse range of perspectives, seeing it as not only a comic book adaptation and a superhero film, but also a dynamic contribution to the discourse of both African and African American studies.

When Aretha Franklin sang, she didn’t just sing...she sparked a movement. As a performer and a civil rights activist, the Queen of Soul used her voice to uplift freedom fighters and the Black community during the height of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. Her song “Respect” was an anthem of identity, survival, and joy. It gave hope to people trying to make change. And when Aretha sang, the world sang along. With Hanif Abdurraqib’s poetic voice, Sing, Aretha, Sing! demonstrates how one brave voice can give new power to a nation.

June Peters, You Will Change the World One Day aims to encourage young children by teaching them the value of giving back to others. Through this book, children will learn that at any age, they can make a difference in the world around them. June is a natural-born giver, always putting the needs of others before her own. This book is thought provoking and exciting. Parents and children will both enjoy it.

Even as our world has suffered through successive upheavals, Jesse McCarthy contends, "something was happening in the world of culture: a surging and unprecedented visibility at every level of Black art making". Who Will Pay Reparations on My Soul? reckons with this resurgence, arguing for the central role of art and intellectual culture in an age of widening inequality and moral crisis. McCarthy reinvigorates the essay form as a space not only for argument but for experimental writing that mixes and chops the old ways into new ones.

In We Can’t Breathe, Jabari Asim disrupts what Toni Morrison has exposed as the “Master Narrative” and replaces it with a story of black survival and persistence through art and community in the face of centuries of racism. In eight wide-ranging and penetrating essays, he explores such topics as the twisted legacy of jokes and falsehoods in black life; the importance of black fathers and community; the significance of black writers and stories; and the beauty and pain of the black body.

After watching the movie Selma, seven-year-old Nashida was shocked about race relations in America. Her parents vowed to teach Nashida about her culture every Saturday to help her understand America's unruly past. Nashida shares history lessons and her museum experience with listeners.

An examination of African American imagery and participation in American movies includes a timeline of important African American events in film history and discusses the achievements of noted celebrities.

"Sometimes I wish I was a little girl again, because bruised knees heal faster than broken hearts.” When you are young sometimes life doesn't always go as you plan it. For Taliyah, life wasn't always easy or hard but she wrote her own life story. From smiles to heart break as a teen, Taliyah went through it all. Having one high sweetheart isn't as easy as it looks.