Celebrating Black Stories Titles

<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal>Revealing the warm and astonishing story of an influential jazz legend, this personal narrative tells the story of a man’s journey from a Southern upbringing to a career touring the world to play for adoring fans. It tells how James Brown first discovered the Parker brothers—Melvin, the drummer, and Maceo on sax—in a band at a small North Carolina nightclub in 1963. Brown hired them both, but it was Maceo’s signature style that helped define Brown’s brand of funk, and the phrase “Maceo, I want you to blow!” became part of the lexicon of black music. A riveting story of musical education with frank and revelatory insights about George Clinton and others, this definitive autobiography arrives just in time to celebrate the 70th birthday of the author—one of the funkiest musicians alive—and will be enjoyed by jazz and funk aficionados alike.

<DIV><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal>Comprising elements of the avant-garde, science fiction, cutting-edge hip-hop, black comix, and graphic novels, <I>Afrofuturism</I> spans both underground and mainstream pop culture. With a twofold aim to entertain and enlighten, Afrofuturists strive to break down racial, ethnic, and all social limitations to empower and free individuals to be themselves. This book introduces readers to the burgeoning artists creating Afrofuturist works, the history of innovators in the past, and the wide range of subjects they explore. From the sci-fi literature of Samuel Delany, Octavia Butler, and NK Jemisin to the musical cosmos of Sun Ra, George Clinton, and the Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am, to the visual and multimedia artists inspired by African Dogon myths and Egyptian deities, topics range from the “alien” experience of blacks in America to the “wake up” cry that peppers sci-fi literature, sermons, and activism. Interviews with rappers, composers, musicians, singers, authors, comic illustrators, painters, and DJs, as well as Afrofuturist professors, provide a firsthand look at this fascinating movement. </DIV>

<strong>Simmering racial tensions inflamed by discriminatory punitive measures sparked a violent confrontation aboard the USS <em>Kitty Hawk</em> while it was engaged in air strikes off the coast of North Vietnam. </strong><br /><br />The US Navy charged Black sailors with rioting and assaults on White sailors in an incident referred to as a race riot, while totally ignoring violent unprovoked assaults committed by White sailors and Marines.<br /><br />Author Marv Truhe was a Navy JAG defense lawyer seeking justice for the accused Black sailors. Truhe possesses one of the most complete collections, personal or institutional, of original source documents of the <em>Kitty Hawk</em> incident and its legal aftermath—trial transcripts, investigation reports, hundreds of sworn statements and medical reports, federal court pleadings, and case files and witness interviews.<br /><br />How could virtually all official and unofficial accounts of the incident have placed blame for the incident solely on twenty-three Black sailors? How could they have been subjected to blatant racial injustices without their story being told until now? <br /><br /><strong>It is time to reveal the uncomfortable answers to these questions and expose the injustices perpetrated against these twenty-three young men.</strong>

Shawn Harrington returned to Marshall High School as an assistant coach years after appearing as a player in the iconic basketball documentary film Hoop Dreams. In January of 2014, Marshall's struggling team was about to improve after the addition of a charismatic but troubled player. Everything changed, however, when two young men opened fire on Harrington's car as he drove his daughter to school. Using his body to shield her, Harrington was struck and paralyzed. The mistaken-identity shooting was followed by a series of events that had a devastating impact on Harrington and Marshall's basketball family. Over the next three years it became obvious that the dream of the game providing a better life had nearly dissolved. Author Rus Bradburd tells Shawn's story with empathy and care, exploring the intertwined tragedies of gun violence, health care failure, racial assumptions, struggling educational systems, corruption in athletics—and the hope that can survive them all.

<DIV>Celebrating the lesser known but significant lives and contributions of our nation’s early African American leaders, this multicultural complement to most children’s books on the American Revolution covers a wide spectrum of subjects, including military, art, religion, and science. Weaving the histories of dozens of men and women—soldiers, sailors, ministers, poets, merchants, doctors, and other community leaders—to properly recognize them among the founders of the United States of America, this text gives a better sense of what these individuals accomplished and the times in which they lived. Activities include celebrating Constitution Day, cooking colonial foods, publishing a newspaper, petitioning their government, and more. This valuable resource also includes a time line of significant events, a list of historic sites to visit or explore online, and Web resources for further study.</DIV>

<DIV>This presents the life story of African American revolutionary Shakur, previously known as JoAnne Chesimard.<BR></DIV>

This go-to guide can be your handbook as you enter the art world and navigate the nuances of becoming self-sufficient. Instead of feeding you new techniques, it will provide you with insights to help you make decisions based on your specific situation and goals. By the end of this book, you will have a set of guidelines for scenarios that range from taking on commission work and conducting negotiations to dealing with rejection and improving your organization. Be the Artist is designed to help up-and-coming creatives educate themselves on essential yet seldom-discussed strategies, learn about new and relevant artists, and gather the resources they need to build their business.

<div>Imagine a five-foot-two-inch-tall woman riding a Harley eight times across the continental United States. Now imagine she is black and is journeying across the country in the pre-Civil Rights era of the 1930s and ’40s. That is the amazing true story of Bessie Stringfield, the woman known today as The Motorcycle Queen of Miami and the first black woman to be inducted into the American Motorcyclist Association Hall of Fame and the Harley Davidson Hall of Fame. Stringfield was a pioneer in motorcycling during her lifetime; she rode as a civilian courier for the US military and founded the Iron Horse Motorcycle Club in Miami, all while confronting and overcoming Jim Crow in every ride.</div>

<strong>The life and career of Haitian American musician Jean Beauvoir, a member of the legendary New York City punk band the Plasmatics</strong><br /><br />Jean Beauvoir joined the Plasmatics in 1979, playing bass and keyboards for the most notorious band to emerge out of the New York City punk scene. By 1982, he was a member of Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, a retro-rock revival act headed by Steven Van Zandt. The Disciples of Soul videos played on MTV during the network’s earliest years, making Beauvoir one of the first Black recording artists to cross the start-up music channel’s “color line.” <br /><br />Beauvoir went on to become a multi-platinum artist, producer, and songwriter. <em>Bet My Soul on Rock #&39;n#&39; Roll </em>follows his ride through the American music industry, detailing his encounters with rock stars such as Bruce Springsteen, Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, and Lita Ford, as well as the actor Sylvester Stallone, the billionaire executive Richard Branson, and even Donald Trump. Beauvoir also considers the manner in which his Haitian heritage has shaped his public image, his music, and his role as an activist for the dispossessed and the poor.<br /> <br /><strong>Beauvoir’s collaborations</strong><b>—and stories—</b><strong>span genres, including work with KISS, Debbie Harry, Lionel Richie, and the Ramones</strong><br /> 

<strong><em>Birthing Liberation </em>presents reproductive justice as the pathway to equity and the birthplace of liberation.</strong><br /><br />Sabia C. Wade, renowned radical doula and educator, speaks to the intersections of systemic issues—such as access to health care, house transportation, and nutrition—and personal trauma work that, if healed, have the power to lead us to collective liberation in all facets of life.<br /><br />Collective liberation rests on the idea that in order for us all to have equity in this world—from the safety of childbirth, to the ability to bring a baby home to a safe community, to having access to resources, safety, and opportunities over the long term—we must all become liberated individuals.<br /><br /><strong><em>Birthing Liberation </em>creates a path to social and systemic change, starting within the birthing world and expanding far beyond.</strong>

On New Year's Eve, 1939, Elmer Rogers and his wife, Marie, were preparing for bed when a shotgun blast sent buckshot deep into Elmer's rib cage. When Marie ran from the room, screaming for help, a second gunshot erupted. The eldest Rogers child grabbed his baby brother and ran while the middle child clung to the bed frame, paralyzed with terror. The intruders poured coal oil around the house and set fire to the front door before escaping. Within a matter of days, investigators identified several suspects: convicts who had been at a craps game with Rogers the night before. Also at the craps game was a young black farmer named W. D. Lyons. As anger at authorities grew, political pressure mounted to find a villain. The governor's representative settled on Lyons, who was arrested, tortured into signing a confession, and tried for the murder. The NAACP's new Legal Defense and Education Fund sent its young chief counsel, Thurgood Marshall, to take part in the trial. The NAACP desperately needed money, and Marshall was convinced that the Lyons case could be a fundraising boon for both the state and national organizations. It was. The case went on to the US Supreme Court, and the NAACP raised much-needed money from the publicity. Conviction is the story of Lyons v. Oklahoma, the oft-forgotten case that set Marshall and the NAACP on the path that led ultimately to victory in Brown v. Board of Education and the accompanying social revolution in the United States.

<div>In 1950, a Negro man named Hilliard Brooks was shot and killed by a white policeman during an encounter involving a ride on a city bus. Brooks and Thomas Gray played football together as kids. Gray and other fellow veterans, outraged about an unjustifiable fatal shooting, protested, eventually staging a major march against police brutality downtown. Five years later, Gray protested again, this time against the unjust treatment of Negroes on the city&#39;s segregated buses. Author Karen Gray Houston&#39;s father, Thomas Gray, and her uncle, Fred D. Gray, were boycott leaders. Fred Gray represented Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and rarely mentioned teenage activist Claudette Colvin, a named plaintiff in <em>Browder v. Gayle</em>, the Supreme Court case that forced Alabama to desegregate its buses. Only as an adult did Houston began to appreciate how, in the face of threats and bombings, their bold, selfless actions helped change the nation’s racial climate, opening doors of opportunity for her and countless others. <em>Daughter of the Boycott</em> takes the reader on a journey through the struggles Houston’s family faced before and after the boycott, including the violence and setbacks. With the trained eye of an investigative reporter, she gives voice to the lives affected by this historical moment.</div><div> </div>

The unique and often overlooked stories of African American women who did extraordinary things to help the Allies during World War II are revealed in this important examination. Helping lay the foundation for the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s as they fought discrimination at home and abroad, a range of remarkable women—war workers, political activists, military women, volunteers, and entertainers—are profiled, offering a unique perspective on the Second World War. The book includes the accomplishments of heralded names, such as Mary McLeod Bethune and Lena Horne as well as those of lesser-known heroes, including Hazel Dixon Payne, the only woman to serve on the remote Alaska-Canadian Highway; Deverne Calloway, a Red Cross worker who led a protest at an army base in India; and Betty Murphy Phillips, the only black female overseas war correspondent. With source notes and a bibliography for further exploration, this work stands as a valuable piece of history and encourages young readers to look within their communities for the stories of the women of the "greatest generation" and to recover them before it is too late.

Celebrating one of the most influential figures in jazz, this comprehensive biography incorporates the legendary Duke Ellington’s talents into engaging activities for children. Enlisting the musician’s gifts as a pianist, composer, and band leader, this interdisciplinary approach shows how to create a ragtime rhythm, make a washtub bass, write song lyrics, dance the Lindy Hop, and even design an album cover. Exploring Ellington’s life and career, this activity guide includes information on additional topics such as the Harlem Renaissance, the musical evolution of jazz, and how technology has changed over the years—from piano rolls and record albums to CDs, television, and portable music devices. A time line, glossary, selected bibliography, and extensive resources—including Ellington’s greatest recordings, related websites, and recommendations for further study—are also included.

Insightful and fun, this collection of poetry captures the essence of the African American experience for young people.