Category: African American Literature

December 24, 2021

Harlem Shuffle **** (of 4) Colson Whitehead

It is the early 1960s and Ray Carney sells contemporary furniture from a showroom on 125th Street in Harlem, New York City’s Black enclave. Harlem...

African American Literature

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July 15, 2021

Deacon King Kong by James McBride **** (of 4)

Let’s begin with some of the main characters in The Cause Housing projects of New York City, 1969: Sportscoat, Hot Sausage, Pudgy Fingers; and on...

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November 16, 2017

Darktown by Thomas Mullen **** (of 4)

Following the end of WWII, the Atlanta Police Force reluctantly added eight African American police officers. Their beats were restricted to Darktown, the part of...

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September 28, 2017

March: Book Three by Andrew Aydin, John Lewis, and John Noel Claude Lewis **** (of 4)

This is the final installment of the biography of Congressman John Lewis’s youthful campaign for civil rights for America’s black population. Books One and Two cover...

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September 7, 2017

The Cooking Gene by Michael Twitty ** (of 4)

It is a great idea for research that is long overdue. Michael Twitty explores the role of enslaved Africans in shaping American foodways. Think about...

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August 17, 2017

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead **** (of 4)

Before Colson Whitehead ever gets to the story of Cora’s attempted escape from enslavement, he sets the stage in Africa. Cora’s grandmother and mother are...

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August 18, 2016

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi *** (of 5)

Gyasi uses her own experience as a Ghanaian American to create an original tale of history. We are asked to follow the descendants of one...

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January 4, 2016

Negroland by Margo Jefferson *** (of 4)

Margo Jefferson is nearing the end of a successful career as an English professor and brings all of her skill as a cultural analyst and...

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June 4, 2015

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis *** (of 4)

This first novel captures the bleak experience of Hattie, the black mother of a dozen kids, who has come north as part of The Great...

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April 24, 2015

March: Books 1 and 2 by John Lewis **** (of 4)

These graphical biographies cover the early years of John Lewis, now a congressman, but formerly a preacher and activist with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Book one...

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