-
Continue reading →: More Than a Cover: Why Getting the Right Book Edition MattersThere’s a special kind of disappointment that only a book lover can understand. It’s the feeling you get when you order a specific edition of a book online—drawn in by the familiar cover shown in the product photo—only to open the package and find a completely different design staring back…
-
Continue reading →: The White Myth of Classic LiteratureLet’s talk about classic literature. When you hear the term, what authors come to mind? For many, it’s a familiar, predominantly white list: Dickens, Austen, Hemingway, Fitzgerald. Let me be clear: I have read most of the “classics”. If you grew up in the Midwest, one or two of the…
-
Continue reading →: Igniting a Revolution: The Story of FIRE!!, the Harlem Renaissance’s Most Rebellious MagazineThis year, I embarked on a “Personal Curriculum” deep dive into the Harlem Renaissance. While I loved the classics, I became fascinated with the lesser-known voices—authors like Rudolph Fisher and Jessie Redmon Fauset. But nothing prepared me for the explosive rebellion I found in the pages of Fire!!, a short-lived…
-
Continue reading →: From the Screen to My Shelf: The Blaxploitation Classics in My Home LibraryThere’s a raw, funky, and undeniable energy to Blaxploitation films that you just can’t stream away. As a cornerstone of Black culture in the late 60s and 70s, these movies did more than just entertain—they gave Black people a new kind of pride, showcased fierce fashion, and introduced the world…
-
Continue reading →: The Ultimate List: 40 Banned Books by Black Authors in My Home LibraryOver the past five days on social media, I’ve shared the banned and challenged books by Black authors that fill the shelves of my home library. The response was so powerful that I knew I had to bring them all together in one definitive post for you. While Banned Books…
-
Continue reading →: Amplifying Black Voices: My Commitment for Banned Books Week and BeyondSince 1982, the United States has devoted a planned week to shed light about the growing occurrences of books being banned in schools and libraries across the country. Banned Books Week, isn’t a celebration, it is a collective stand for our right to free and open access to ideas, especially…
-
Continue reading →: The Exploitation of Blaxploitation: How Shaft Forged a New Path for Black CinemaLast week, I was watching a YouTube compilation of 70s Blaxploitation clips with my parents. We were hollering—the action was so gloriously over-the-top, the fight scenes literally had the three of us laughing out loud. But something else came through the screen, something uncanny. Beneath the flair and the funk,…
-
Continue reading →: A Seat at the Table, A Book on the Shelf: Solange’s Enduring Cultural LegacyIt’s been nearly a decade since Solange Knowles released A Seat at the Table, her masterful third studio album that firmly established her as a visionary artist in her own right. For me, this was the album that transcended music; it was a profound meditation on Black identity, healing, and heritage.…
-
Continue reading →: Reclaiming a Lost Legacy: A Review of The Portable Nineteenth-Century African American Women WritersWhat if the most vital voices of an era were almost lost to history? The Portable Nineteenth-Century African American Women Writers, a landmark Penguin Classics anthology curated by the renowned scholars Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Dr. Hollis Robbins, is a powerful answer to that question. This isn’t just a book; it’s a monumental act…
-
Continue reading →: The Courage to Be Seen and Understood: Why “Finding Me” is a Must-ReadViola Davis’s memoir, “Finding Me,” is a masterpiece of vulnerability. She holds back nothing in her gut-wrenching account of the journey to becoming the powerhouse she is today. This is not a glamorous tale of fame; it is a raw and unflinching journey of self-discovery and self-love. It’s a constant…
