Showing results for "Songs" in African American

The great scholar W. E. B. Du Bois once wrote about the problem of race in America, and what he called ‘Double Consciousness', a sensitivity that every African American possesses in order to survive. Since childhood, Ailey Pearl Garfield has understood Du Bois' words all too well. 

In the Nine Lands, only those of noble blood can summon the spirits of their ancestors to fight in battle. But when Temi, a commoner from the slums, accidentally invokes a powerful spirit, she finds it could hold the key to ending a centuries-long war. But not everything that can be invoked is an ancestor. And some of the spirits that can be drawn from the ancestral realm are more dangerous than anyone can imagine.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER An official Oprah Winfrey’s “The Books That Help Me Through” selection The acclaimed Nobel Prize winner transfigures the coming-of-age story with this brilliantly imagined novel. Includes a foreword by the author and a new introduction by Tayari Jones. One...

*From the Viral Clark Atlanta University Commencement Speaker* *From the Georgia Author of the Year Award Winner* The beloved author of Don’t Cry for Me and Perfect Peace returns with a poignant, emotionally exuberant novel about a young queer Black man finding his voice in 1980s Chicago—a...

At age 45, Dr. Neil Taylor is an eligible bachelor, living a seemingly satisfied existence as a deacon of his church and director of Kingdom Builder's Academy. But despite outward appearances, Neil harbors secret pains that have caused him to erect a well-constructed wall of defense around his heart. Everything changes, however, when Shaylynn Ford, a beautiful young mother, strolls through the doors of his office. There's a marked difference in their ages, but the years that separate them are the least of Neil's worries.

Solae loved a man who never existed but found one who made her forget her heart was ever broken. For years, she built a life around Rah’s promises and was blind to the darkness he kept hidden behind charm. But when one secret shatters the illusion, she discovers the real Rah is ruthless...

Abeo Kata lives a comfortable, happy life in West Africa as the privileged nine-year-old daughter of a government employee and stay-at-home mother. But when the Katas' idyllic lifestyle takes a turn for the worse, Abeo's father, following his mother's advice, places the girl in a religious shrine, hoping that the sacrifice of his daughter will serve as atonement for the crimes of his ancestors. Unspeakable acts befall Abeo for the 15 years she is held in the shrine. When she is finally rescued, broken and battered, she must struggle to overcome her past.

In the days before the Civil War, an enslaved woman named Liz Spocott escapes from her captors into the labyrinthine swamps of Maryland's eastern shore, setting loose a drama of violence and hope among slave catchers, plantation owners, watermen, runaway slaves and free blacks. Liz is near death, wracked by disturbing visions of the future, and armed with 'the Code' - a fiercely guarded cryptic means of communication for slaves on the run.

Calliope "Callie" Palmer is one year fresh out of a relationship with a heartbreaking end. Since deciding to focus on herself and her bakery, the last thing Callie is looking for again is love. When her best friend recruits her for a photoshoot with her fiancé, Callie has a feeling she's being set up. Her initial apprehension is replaced with immediate attraction when she lays eyes on the handsome Thane St. Thomas.

A TOP TEN NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB PICK A WASHINGTON POST BEST AUDIOBOOK OF 2021 A GLAMOUR BEST AUDIOBOOK OF 2021 AN AUDIOFILE BEST AUDIOBOOK OF 2021 Immerse yourself in a celebration of Black womanhood and an epic tale of the stories that span generations. Ailey Pearl...

“The exhilarating must-read fantasy debut of the year.” —Tasha Suri, World Fantasy Award–winning author An unforgettable tale of revenge and rebellion unfolds when a reckless king implements an ill-fated plan to end a thousand-year war in this relentlessly gripping epic fantasy debut. A...

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Good Lord Bird, winner of the 2013 National Book Award for Fiction, Deacon King Kong, Five-Carat Soul, and Kill 'Em and Leave In the days before the Civil War, a runaway slave named Liz Spocott breaks free from her captors and escapes into the...

“Musical in structure—the octaves rise when the music calls for it; truths are revealed by the invisible beats of this gorgeous, rich story” –Ann Napolitano, New York Times bestselling author of Hello Beautiful (Oprah’s Book Club Pick) “Riveting, rhythmic, transcendent...a stellar...

The Millions “Most Anticipated” Books of 2023 Never-before-seen unpublished works by award-winning American literary icon Ntozake Shange, featuring essays, plays, and poems from the archives of the seminal Black feminist writer who stands alongside giants like Toni Morrison and Alice Walker...

Celebrated by book clubs and inspired by true events, Song of Redemption unveils a devastating mystery. In 1932, a media frenzy erupted when the body of Danielle, a gifted and enslaved songstress, was discovered hidden within the walls of an abandoned mansion on the Soileau Plantation. Through her sister, who returns to the English and French-speaking parish to identify the remains, reporters uncover the complexities of Danielle's life on and off the sugar plantation, where she was the former child companion of the master's daughter.

Ayla Peters, better known as Rosé Marie, was on the verge of burnout. The music career, which she worked so hard to establish, left her questioning who she was and stifled her creative process. With her album’s deadline swiftly approaching, Ayla takes a trip to a secluded island to rest and reset. While there, she meets an unlikely acquaintance, and a source for inspiration–in more ways than one.

This coming-of-age tale depicts the life of Lyric James, who grew up in a suburb division of Fort Worth, one of the fastest-growing inner cities in Texas. To her peers, she was considered ugly, the outcast, and oftentimes shut out of the cliques, but when entering high school, after dating a popular football player, her life takes an unsuspecting turn.

Throughout history and the present, inspiring and encouraging words from black people are like music to our souls when we become tired or distressed. The contribution and sacrifice of black people of the past and present are relevant, as we continue to fight inequality, racism and police brutality. Music or words in melodic form has always lifted black people when slave master's whip comes out, or when white mobs slaughter and murder innocent black people without remorse.

The future is bright and nothing like the dark, impoverished, and crime-filled past that occasionally haunts her sleeping form. It was a bright vision, infallible...until a series of tragedies and terrible events including murder and attempted rape start to plague Keturah's life. Trust is replaced with distrust. Hopefulness is replaced with fearful hopelessness. Prestige is wrongly replaced with accusations and infamy. Love is replaced by heartbreak. What she doesn't know is that a force of darkness trails and follows behind her....

"No justice, no peace!" The crowd marched through the streets, chanting as their hearts and minds are weighed down heavily. Each individual’s soul has been tattered and worn. The Black and Brown faces that make up the group all house expressions of anguish, pain, and restlessness. The words—"We the Jury, find the defendant, Tyler Mitchell, not guilty"—sting as they fall upon the ears of those who have gathered on the courthouse steps. Another White male has mercilessly taken innocent and unarmed lives. When will it end?