Urban African American

Black women have higher rates of premature birth than other women in America. This cannot be simply explained by economic factors, with poorer women lacking resources or access to care. Even professional, middle-class Black women are at a much higher risk of premature birth than low-income White women in the United States. Dána-Ain Davis looks into this phenomenon, placing racial differences in birth outcomes into a historical context, revealing that ideas about reproduction and race today have been influenced by the legacy of ideas which developed during the era of slavery.

Peace. That's what Synovi now had and cherished more than anything. Free from all the disturbances his chaotic life once ensued, he wanted nothing more than to keep it that way. With a thriving business and relationship, almost nothing could take him back to that dark place of no love. His Love didn't reside there. His world is still hers, and she is still his. Without warning, Torin inserted herself into Synovi's life and remained. She's the person he can run to when everything begins to fade, but there's a price to pay when you have a good heart.

Knight Barron, the second eldest son of the Barron family is led by duty, honor, and chivalry. Above all else, he is dedicated to his family. When it’s his turn to accept a marriage planned by his parents, Knight steps up fully prepared to play dutiful husband. What Knight cannot foresee is another woman falling into his life. A woman that isn’t a part of the plan, but has him intrigued. It doesn’t take long before Knight is questioning whether to choose family loyalty or his happiness.

Law and Zuri met in the most unconventional way, but their connection was straight out of a storybook. It was genuine, poetic, and undeniable. However, haters will always ruin it. Learning what truly sent Law her way, Zuri cut off all ties with the man who had finally reminded her of what truly being unconditionally loved felt like.

The Witch Sphere is in turmoil. In the years since a stunning betrayal sent shockwaves through society, the Sphere was hit with another crisis: witches are giving birth to more typics (non-witches) and their numbers are diminishing. Nadia is determined to help but finds hers efforts at the Witch Health Organization entangled with the political machinations of her powerful mother.

Halleigh and Malek have been through more drama in their young lives than most people will ever see. Now, their saga is coming to an end. Find out what happens to Halleigh and Malek in the final installment of the Flint series. Will these young lovers, separated over and over again, finally be able to live their happily ever after, or will they be swallowed up by the streets?

Aphrodite Greer was born and raised in the bricks—projects in Jagoda Bay. She met the love of her life, Baguette, on that very soil. The ghetto goddess had her entire life mapped out for her, and just like most life plans, things took a turn for the worse. Infidelity, losing her baby girl Athena, and constant fights with her lover's mistress turned her from a rigid, dope boy's queen to a soft, put-up businesswoman. With five years between their failed relationship, Baguette and Aphrodite remain best friends, and since Baguette has moved on, his current girlfriend has also joined their circle.

In this scorching, mournful, often explicit, and never less than moving literary novel by the famed creator of the Easy Rawlins series, Debbie Dare, a black porn queen, has to come to terms with her sordid life in the adult entertainment industry after her tomcatting husband dies in a hot tub. Electrocuted. With another woman in there with him. Debbie decides she just isn't going to "do it anymore". But executing her exit strategy from the porn world is a wrenching and far from simple process.

When the identity of the traitor in Kiam's clique is revealed, justice is served swiftly - and with no mercy - sending a message to the others that betrayal will be met with death. But has Kiam really uncovered the treacherous one in his midst, or is the true culprit of disloyalty and larceny still hidden behind her beauty and guile, sacrificing her sister to save herself?

Starr Fields sits in the Clark County jail after being released then re-arrested and held without bail. She uses her time wisely during her incarceration. After making examples out of a few of the other inmates and putting the squeeze on her unit Double Gs style, Starr recruits some new talent for a plan she intends to execute when she gets out. Queen Fem isn't happy about all of the sudden attention on the Double Gs organization.

Jacari Thomson has had it all until she didn't. Upon learning her father's poor investments have ruined the stability of her family and the advancement of her career, Jacari's disparity kicks in. What started out as an All-Star weekend centered around enjoyment turns into a devious plan to trap a baller and at the very least, clout. What she didn't expect was to catch feelings in the middle of her target catching a case.

In New York City, Joanna Marshall is an aspiring singer obsessed with success, determined to overcome the racism and sexism that stand in her way. Her childhood friends Maggie Ellersley and Peter Bye confront similar barriers but with different goals in mind: Maggie is focused on finding love; Peter, on becoming a surgeon. But as their interests overlap and their ambitions collide, the course of Joanna and Maggie’s lives seems destined to change forever. Written in response to the dominant stereotypes of the time, There Is Confusion paints a revelatory portrait....

Revealing how seemingly race-neutral urban sites contain hidden racial assumptions and imperatives, Lipsitz examines the ways in which urban space and social experience are racialized and emphasizes that aggrieved communities do not passively acquiesce to racism. He recognizes the people and communities that have re-imagined segregated spaces in expressive culture as places for congregation.

There is a vampire war brewing in the underworld and at the center of it all is Damali Richards, spoken word artist and Vampire Huntress. But she is not just any Vampire Huntress, she is the millenium Neteru: a woman so potentially powerful that the vampire world is about to invoke a bloody battle that threatens to spill over onto her streets in order to possess her. It's just a matter of who will get to her first.

Auben Mutze has more vices than he can deal with - six to be exact - each branded down his arm for the world to see. They mark him as a lesser twin in society, as inferior, but there’s no way he’ll let that define him. Intelligent and outgoing, Auben’s spirited antics make him popular among the other students at his underprivileged high school. So what if he’s envious of his twin Kasim, whose single vice brand is a ticket to a better life, one that likely won’t involve Auben. Then Auben starts hearing voices that speak to his dangerous side - encouraging him to perform evil deeds....

Amina “Mimi” Washington thought she had life all figured out when she moved to Atlanta and got the family and the material things she’d always dreamed of. But when things took a turn for the worse, Mimi ended up in big trouble. Now she has come out of a coma and finds herself in a hospital bed, with no recollection of how she got there. When she discovers what happened to her, will she be able to handle the truth? Troy is busy searching the streets for Kaylin and the children with Mark and Jayden’s help. They search all over, but with no luck.

Reagan is a dedicated nurse who's seen it all, but nothing prepared her for a suffocating co-parenting relationship with a man who symbolizes everything she despises. She finds herself haunted by the consequences of her choices and burdened by the struggles of maintaining a facade of happiness while concealing her inner turmoil. However, a chance encounter with a gunshot victim during her shift opens Reagan's eyes to the possibility of liberation from her oppressive reality.

After a recently failed engagement, Phillip Gooden is burying himself in work at a therapy practice to avoid dealing with his problems. Dr. Gooden isn’t the typical, dull therapist. He has some unusual ways of addressing his patients’ concerns. From anger management and infidelity to intimacy issues and marital woes, he always makes his clients feel better. Many of his female clients think of him as Dr. Feelgood; however, Phil’s biggest challenge is making himself feel good again by letting go of his past.

Ryder is back and finally able to tell her story, it’s her turn to leave your jaws dropping. When two of Ryder’s best friends go missing, everyone starts to lose hope in finding them but when something about their disappearance leads to a fragment of Ryder’s past that she thought was dead and gone, Ryder has a choice to make. Will she face the demons and save the people that matter most to her? Or will she succumb to the death grip that her past has on her and lose her friends in the process?

In this urban take on Cinderella, Briella is trying to find her way in the world. She is dealing with her cruel stepmother who forces her to work in a brothel, being a slave to her stepsisters and trying to keep her grades up...Prince has always been a gentleman, even though he was raised by a kingpin. When he meets Briella something else ignited inside of him. He instantly knows he must do whatever he can to protect her, especially from her stepmother who is the core of Briella's rough life.