Catalog Search Results
Author
Lexile measure
1020L
Language
English
Description
"Jesmyn Ward's universally acclaimed memoir shines a light on the community she comes from, in the small town of DeLisle, Mississippi, a place of quiet beauty and fierce attachment. Here, in the space of four years, she lost five young men dear to her, including her beloved brother--to accidents, murder, and suicide. Their deaths were seemingly unconnected, yet their lives had been connected, by identity and place, and as Jesmyn dealt with these losses,...
Author
Language
English
Description
"America's most popular sports media figure tells it like it is in this surprisingly personal book, not only dishing out his signature, uninhibited opinions but also revealing the challenges he overcame in childhood as well as at ESPN, and who he really is when the cameras are off. Stephen A. Smith has never been handed anything, nor was he an overnight success. Growing up poor in Queens, the son of Caribbean immigrants and the youngest of six children,...
Author
Language
English
Description
In this thought-provoking collection of essays, poems, and short reflections, Frederick Joseph explores issues of masculinity and patriarchy from both a personal and cultural standpoint. From fatherhood, and "manning up" to abuse and therapy, he fearlessly and thoughtfully tackles the complex realities of men's lives today and their significance for society, lending his insights as a Black man.
Author
Lexile measure
NC 1390L
Language
English
Appears on these lists
Formats
Description
Seldom does a book have the impact of Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow. Since it was first published in 2010, it has been cited in judicial decisions and has been adopted in campus-wide and community-wide reads; it helped inspire the creation of the Marshall Project and the new $100 million Art for Justice Fund; it has been the winner of numerous prizes, including the prestigious NAACP Image Award; and it has spent nearly 250 weeks on the New...
Author
Language
English
Description
For Damon Young, existing while Black is an extreme sport. The act of possessing black skin while searching for space to breathe in America is enough to induce a ceaseless state of angst where questions such as “How should I react here, as a professional black person?” and “Will this white person's potato salad kill me?” are forever relevant.
What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker chronicles Young's efforts to survive while battling and...
Author
Pub. Date
2024.
Language
English
Formats
Description
"Film legend recalls his remarkable life of nearly eight decades-a heralded actor who's played the roles he wanted, unchecked by the racism and typecasting so rife in the mostly all-white industry in which he triumphed. Billy Dee Williams was born in Harlem in 1937 and grew up in a household of love and sophistication. As a young boy, he made his stage debut working with Lotte Lenya in an Ira Gershwin/Kurt Weill production where Williams ended up...
Author
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Formats
Description
"Cops, politicians, and ordinary people are afraid of black men. The result is the Chokehold: laws and practices that treat every African American man like a thug. In this explosive new book, an African American former federal prosecutor shows that the system is working exactly the way it's supposed to. Black men are always under watch, and police violence is widespread--all with the support of judges and politicians. In his no-holds-barred style,...
Author
Pub. Date
2023.
Language
English
Formats
Description
"Early in his career, actor Courtney B. Vance lost his father to suicide. Recently, he lost his godson to the same fate. Still, as mental health discourse hits the mainstream, it leaves the most vulnerable out of the conversation: Black men. In America, we teach that strength means holding back tears and shaming your own feelings. In the Black community, these pressures are especially poignant. Poor mental health outcomes-- including diagnoses of...
Author
Language
English
Description
In the biting, hilarious vein of What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker and We Are Never Meeting in Real Life comes Ben Philippe's candid memoir-in-essays, chronicling a lifetime of being the Black friend in predominantly white spaces. From cheating his way out of swim tests to discovering stray family members in unlikely places, he finds the punchline in the serious while acknowledging the blunt truths of existing as a Black man in today's world....
Author
Language
English
Formats
Description
"In A Letter to My White Male Friends, Dax-Devlon Ross speaks directly to the millions of middle-aged white men who are suddenly awakening to race and racism. Finally, white men are realizing that simply not being racist isn't enough to end racism. These men want deeper insight not only into how racism has harmed black people, but, for the first time, into how it has harmed them. They are beginning to see that racism warps us all. A Letter to My White...
Author
Accelerated Reader
IL: UG - BL: 6.9 - AR Pts: 29
Lexile measure
950L
Language
English
Formats
Description
Examining the complexities of the problems of Black youths from an insider's perspective, an African-American journalist recalls his troubled childhood, his rehabilitation while in prison, and his successful career.
Author
Language
English
Description
"The inspiring, dramatic, and heartwarming true account of an escaped convict and his wife of thirty-five plus years who never knew his secret, which captured the imaginations of millions on Humans of New York"--
"The inspiring, dramatic, and heartwarming true account of an escaped convict and his wife of thirty-five plus years who never knew his secret, which captured the imaginations of millions on Humans of New York.Bobby and Cheryl Love were...
Author
Language
English
Description
Through his own riveting story, Datcher offers a view of young black men who long for loving, stable marriages, fatherhood, and homes in safe neighborhoods. He also writes of his desires and those of other black men to escape a cycle that deprives children of what they need most and creates empty shells of grown men.
Author
Language
English
Formats
Description
"In 1991, Shaka Senghor was sent to prison for second-degree murder. Today, he is a lecturer at the University of Michigan, a leading voice on criminal justice reform, and an inspiration to thousands. In life, it's not how you start that matters. It's how you finish. Shaka Senghor was raised in a middle class neighborhood on Detroit's east side during the height of the 1980s crack epidemic. An honor roll student and a natural leader, he dreamed of...
Author
Pub. Date
2023.
Accelerated Reader
IL: UG - BL: 6.8 - AR Pts: 8
Language
English
Formats
Description
Publisher Annotation: When a baby named Zion was born in 1997 to an imprisoned, drug-addicted mother, his future seemed bleak. Born without legs due to a rare condition called caudal regression syndrome, Zion was abandoned and shunted to a foster-care system ill-equipped to care for him. In this stirring memoir, readers will follow as he is bounced from home to home, subjected to abuse, neglect, and inconceivable hardship. Somehow, Zion finds supportive...
Author
Language
English
Formats
Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The acclaimed author of The Other Wes Moore and governor of Maryland continues his inspirational quest for a meaningful life and shares the powerful lessons—about self-discovery, service, and risk-taking—that led him to a new definition of success for our times.
“This book is about how to make our journeys not just about surviving and succeeding, but about coming truly alive.”—Arianna...
“This book is about how to make our journeys not just about surviving and succeeding, but about coming truly alive.”—Arianna...
Author
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Formats
Description
"The child of an incarcerated father, Antong Lucky grew up in an impoverished, crime-ridden neighborhood in East Dallas, Texas, born at the same time as East Dallas experienced an alarming rise in crack cocaine and heroin use. Despite his high grades and strong love for learning, Antong is introduced to gang life and its consequences when confronted by law enforcement. Antong eventually forms the Dallas Bloods gang, inaugurating a period in the 1990s...
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