Showing results for "Harlem" in All Categories

The first and only full biography on legendary Harlem gangster, Bumpy Johnson who was depicted in the movies Cotton Club, Hoodlum, and American Gangster.

Author Ron Chepesiuk chronicles the little known history of organized crime in Harlem.

African American organized crime has had as significant an impact on its constituent community as Italian, Jewish, and Irish organized crime has had on theirs. Gangsters are every bit as colorful, intriguing, and powerful as Al Capone and Lucky Luciano, and have a fascinating history in gambling, prostitution, and drug dealing. In the late 1800s, Harlem became a highly fashionable neighborhood.

Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR! “A gripping narrative, don't miss this historical fiction about the woman who kicked off the Harlem Renaissance.”—People Magazine “A page turner and history lesson at once, Harlem Rhapsody reminds us that our stories are our generational wealth...

In the blood-soaked trenches of World War I, where courage was tested and humanity often lost, one regiment rewrote the meaning of heroism. They were the 369th Infantry Regiment—better known as the Harlem Hellfighters—African American soldiers who defied prejudice, shattered expectations, and became one of the most decorated and respected fighting units of the entire war. At a time when segregation defined every corner of American life, these men fought not only against the German army, but also against the racism of the country they served.

When Harlem gets off on a murder charge due to insanity, the asylum he’s sent to feels worse than death, with one exception: the beautiful Nurse Daphane. As their relationship grows, so do the stakes: She has the ability to help him escape, and he has the ability to set her free from her abusive relationship. Yet Harlem has one big secret: He was perfectly sane when he committed his crime. But in the end, Daphane’s own secret may be the deadliest of all....

In Harlem’s tumultuous history, there are many tragedies. For those growing up in this part of New York City, a young man known simply as Fritz from West 112th Street became an urban legend in Harlem. In the 1970s, Richard “Fritz” Simmons is introduced to the drug trade by an associate of the Lucchese crime family, one of the five families of La Cosa Nostra (the Mafia). After negotiating a deal with the Medellín Cartel, Fritz becomes New York’s Cocaine Consignment King. Harlem Holiday brings her inside scoop after almost three decades of silence.

Claude McKay’s most well-known Harlem Renaissance novel now in Penguin Classics A Penguin Classic Claude McKay’s first novel, Home to Harlem, was published in 1928 during the height of the Harlem Renaissance. McKay portrays Harlem post-WWI through two Black migrants to New York: Jake, a...

100 years ago, artists and writers were forging new visions of Blackness—across America and abroad. Introducing Harlem Is Everywhere, a brand new podcast from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Hear how music, fashion, literature, and art helped shape a modern Black identity. Presented alongside the exhibition The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism, the podcast is hosted by writer and critic Jessica Lynne. This five-part series features a dynamic cast of speakers who reflect on the legacy and cultural impact of the Harlem Renaissance. Shorty Award Winner | Best Art & Culture ...

Qua loves Wynner. Wynner loves Qua. Easy enough, right? But Wynner came with two brothers who couldn't stand Qua with their baby sister. Qua couldn't stand not having Wynner with him, even if he didn't have his life together. With faith, his word, and love, he grabs his love's hand and marries her at the court house. Flash forward five years, and all the promises that Qua has made Wynner he has come through on them. To stay true, secure the bag, and be her ace through all her pain. With Wynner always being sick, everyone babies her and is always worried about her.

Un grand roman sur le racisme, la violence, les combats pour les droits civiques, la place du Gospel, et l’amitié dans une langue crue, imagée et inoubliable.

Harlem is home to all kinds of kids. Jin sees life passing her by from the window of her family's bodega. Alex wants to help the needy one shelter at a time but can't tell anyone who she really is. Elvin's living on Harlem's cold, lonely streets, surviving on his own after his grandfather was mysteriously attacked. When these three strangers join forces to find out what happened to Elvin's grandfather, their digging leads them to an enigmatic artist whose missing masterpieces are worth a fortune.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “Dapper Dan is a legend, an icon, a beacon of inspiration to many in the Black community. His story isn’t just about fashion. It’s about tenacity, curiosity, artistry, hustle, love, and a singular determination to live our dreams out loud.”—Ava DuVernay...

When the American Civil War finally drew to an end in 1865, victory for the North seemed to herald a new beginning for African Americans. Emancipation for thousands of former slaves appeared, for the first time, to offer people the chance of full and equal participation in American society. That dream didn't last for long, particularly in the Southern states where new Jim Crow laws prevented African Americans from exercising fundamental rights, including the right to vote.

To hear Ethiopian and Swedish chef, TV personality, and restauranteur Marcus Samuelsson cook with special guests at the Red Rooster restaurant is to make an audio pilgrimage to Harlem. Listeners will get to know the iconic neighborhood, Marcus’ home, through its food, its history, and - most importantly - its people.

Con man Deak O'Hara is out of the state penitentiary and back on the street working the scam of a lifetime. The $87,000 he has schemed to get has been hijacked and hidden in a bale of cotton. Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones are on everyone's trail in one of their most entertaining thrillers.

In the late 1970s, a string of seemingly unconnected murders had Harlem police and federal authorities at their wits' end until they realized several commonalities. The victims were all either Mafia members or potential witnesses of Mafia activity and they'd all been shot from .22 pistols traced back to a single private sale in Florida. From these details, the FBI and police were able to build a profile of a rogue sect of Mafia hitmen known as the East Harlem Purple Gang.

New York City in the Jazz Age was host to a pulsating artistic and social revolution. Uptown, an unprecedented explosion in black music, literature, dance, and art sparked the Harlem Renaissance. While the history of this African-American awakening has been widely explored, one chapter remains...

Todd’s the best in the league and model-perfect. Damn shame he’s not gay...or is he? Dating Todd “Pretty” Carty is a trailblazing, headline-grabbing ride that has shocked and divided a team, a sport and a nation. While controversy rules, our feelings explode and we can’t deny the desire that sizzles between us. Nothing, however, is easy outside the bedroom. Not when my world-class, fearless athlete wants to shout from Everest that he’s in love with a man.

“In this terrific series opener, Afia evokes the women’s lives in all their wayward and beautiful glory, especially the abruptness with which their dreams, hopes and fears cease to exist.”--The New York Times The start of an exciting new historical mystery series set during the Harlem...

Hip‚ hip, hooray! It’s Hairiette’s Birthday! With her glowy hair done and the perfect dress picked out, Hairiette is ready for her special seventh birthday present. But on the big day, there is no bike in sight! But on the big day, there is no bike in sight! All she gets is a stinking barrette and comb. It looks like it isn’t going to be a hip, hip, hooray day after all … until a class unit on imagination changes everything!