Black Page Turners

Fiction

Hidden In Plain Sight by:Sharon D. Moore
Two Pastors. Two Penalties. One Shot at Redemption.

When Philly-born playboy, Jason White, discovers a devastating family secret about the identity of his biological father, he launches an angry quest to find and confront the man. A lengthy investigation into his father, a prominent pastor of a large church in North Carolina, spurs a quick, covert, out-of-town visit to the pastor’s church on Easter Sunday. Will Jason follow through on his desire to destroy the man he believes left him alone and in poverty?

In Raleigh, North Carolina, the greedy and lecherous Bishop Quincy Stewart’s less than discreet history of deceit and all around messiness is threatened with exposure when he loses control over his manufactured persona. A chance encounter and life-changing lunch unlocks the chains holding Stewart’s wife, Lucy, hostage and sets the stage for a much needed shift in her life. In a desperate act to break his wife’s spirit and force her into compliance, Bishop Stewart does the unthinkable. Will he go down for his horrific actions? Will Lucy ever be set free from the pain he has caused her?

The Camelot-like existence of popular and honorable Bishop James Collins becomes shrouded in an indefinable dark cloud when his wife, Victoria, invites an unstable element into their lives. Will Bishop Collins overcome being blindsided by the ugly truths he’s forced to face or will his life and ministry be forever changed?
Release:9/13/16
Click to purchase: (Kindle) or (Paperback)

Non-Fiction

Original Gangstas: The Untold Story of Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur, and the Birth of West Coast Rap by:Ben Westhoff
Based on five years of research and reporting, Original Gangstas is the definitive history of L.A. gangsta rap, revealing how a cohort of then-unknown rappers, including Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac Shakur, grappled with rivalries, crime, drugs, gangs, racist cops and bad record deals to create the defining music of a generation.

In the late 1980s the emergence of a new genre, gangsta rap, shifted the epicenter of hip-hop from New York to Los Angeles. Award-winning journalist Ben Westhoff shows how N.W.A’s shocking success led to rivalries among members and clashes between Eazy’s Ruthless Records and Suge Knight’s Death Row; backlash from the FBI, politicians, and police; and eventually an all-out war between East and West Coast rappers that would turn deadly. In the process, hip-hop burst into mainstream America at a time of immense social change.

Original Gangstas includes revelations about seminal events, including the death of Eazy-E from AIDS, Suge Knight’s ascent at Death Row, the whereabouts of rappers – including Tupac Shakur – during the 1992 L.A. riots, the events that led to the East Coast / West Coast feud, and the murders of Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G, among many others.

Packed with insights from original interviews with Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, MC Ren, the D.O.C., and dozens more – including rappers, girlfriends, family members, and industry professionals – Ben Westhoff’s Original Gangstas is a monumental work of music history.
Release: 9/13/16
Click to purchase: (Kinde) or (Hardcover)

Legacy by:Michael I. Days
As President Obama’s time in the White House draws to a close, this celebratory book documents his transformative accomplishments.

Evidence indicates President Barack Obama has been tremendously successful and effective by objective measures. On economic indicators alone, he is credited with the longest streak of job growth in U.S. history, a two-thirds reduction in the federal budget deficit, and the rebounding of the stock market to record highs following the record lows of the recession under his predecessor. His victories have come against a backdrop of criticism and sometimes open defiance from conservatives, lack of cooperation in Congress, and racially tinged commentary in traditional and social media. Through it all, the President who campaigned on a slogan of ‘Yes, We Can!’ has persevered in his determination to make a difference and left an indelible mark on American politics and the world. LEGACY is a commemoration of his eight years in the White House.
Release: 9/13/16
Click to purchase: (Kindle) or (Hardcover)

The Boys of Dunbar by:Alejandro Danois
The inspiring true story of a high-school basketball team that overcame desperate circumstances in 1980s Baltimore to produce four NBA players and give hope to a neighborhood and a city, thanks to a remarkable coach who relentlessly pursued perfection.

As the crack epidemic swept across inner-city America in the early 1980s, the streets of Baltimore were crime ridden. For poor kids from the housing projects, the future looked bleak. But basketball could provide the quickest ticket out, an opportunity to earn a college scholarship and perhaps even play in the NBA.

Dunbar High School had one of the most successful basketball programs, not only in Baltimore but in the entire country, and in the early 1980s, the Dunbar Poets were arguably the best high school team of all time. Four starting players—Muggsy Bogues, Reggie Williams, David Wingate, and Reggie Lewis—would eventually play in the NBA, an unheard-of success rate. In The Boys of Dunbar, Alejandro Danois takes us through the 1981-1982 season with the Poets as the team conquered all its opponents. But more than that, he takes us into the lives of these kids, and especially of Coach Bob Wade, a former NFL player from the same neighborhood who knew that the basketball court, and the lessons his players would learn there, held the key to the future.

Drawing on interviews with Coach Wade, Muggsy Bogues, and others, The Boys of Dunbar is a remarkable testament to the power of dedication, inspiration, and teamwork. It is an ode to an extraordinary coach, a father figure who had lived the life of his players years before and who turned a dream into reality.
Release: 9/13/16
Click to purchase: (Kindle) or (Hardcover)

My Life with Earth, Wind & Fire by:Maurice White, Herb Powell
The Grammy-winning founder of the legendary pop/R&B/soul/funk/disco group tells his story and charts the rise of his legendary band in this sincere memoir that captures the heart and soul of an artist whose groundbreaking sound continues to influence music today.With its dynamic horns, contrasting vocals, and vivid stage shows, Earth, Wind & Fire was one of the most popular acts of the late twentieth century—the band “that changed the sound of black pop” (Rolling Stone)—and its music continues to inspire modern artists including Usher, Jay-Z, Cee-Lo Green, and Outkast. At last, the band’s founder, Maurice White, shares the story of his success.

Now in his seventies, White reflects on the great blessings music has brought to his life and the struggles he’s endured: his mother leaving him behind in Memphis when he was four; learning to play the drums with Booker T. Jones; moving to Chicago at eighteen and later Los Angeles after leaving the Ramsey Lewis Trio; forming EWF, only to have the original group fall apart; working with Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond; his diagnosis of Parkinson’s; and his final public performance with the group at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Through it all, White credits his faith for his amazing success and guidance in overcoming his many challenges.

Keep Your Head to the Sky is an intimate, moving, and beautiful memoir from a man whose creativity and determination carried him to great success, and whose faith enabled him to savor every moment.
Release: 9/13/16
Click to purchase: (Kindle), (Hardcover), (Paperback)

I’m Judging You by:Luvvie Ajayi
Comedian, activist, and hugely popular culture blogger at AwesomelyLuvvie.com, Luvvie Ajayi, serves up necessary advice for the common senseless in this hilarious book of essays.

With over 500,000 readers a month at her enormously popular blog, AwesomelyLuvvie.com, Luvvie Ajayi has become a go-to source for smart takes on pop culture. I’m Judging You is her debut book of humorous essays that dissects our cultural obsessions and calls out bad behavior in our increasingly digital, connected lives—from the cultural importance of the newest Shonda Rhimes television drama to serious discussions of race and media representation to what to do about your fool cousin sharing casket pictures from Grandma’s wake on Facebook. With a lighthearted, rapier wit and a unique perspective, I’m Judging You is the handbook the world needs, doling out the hard truths and a road map for bringing some “act right” into our lives, social media, and popular culture.
Release: 9/13/16
Click to purchase: (Kindle) or (Paperback)

We Gon’ Be Alright by:Jeff Chang
In his most recent book, Who We Be, Jeff Chang looked at how art and culture effected massive social changes in American society. Since the book was published, the country has been gripped by waves of racial discord, most notably the protests in Ferguson, Missouri. In these highly relevant, powerful essays, Chang examines some of the most contentious issues in the current discussion of race and inequality.

Built around a central essay looking at the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement and the events in Ferguson, Missouri, surrounding the death of Michael Brown, Chang questions the value of “the diversity discussion” in an era of increasing racial and economic segregation. He unpacks the return of student protest across the country and reveals how the debate over inclusion and free speech was presaged by similar protests in the 1980s and 1990s. The author of Can’t Stop Won’t Stop looks at how culture impacts our understanding of the politics of this polarized moment. Throughout these essays Chang includes the voices of many of the leading activists as he charts how popular voices on the ground and in social media have catalyzed the push for protest and change.
Release: 9/13/16
Click to purchase: (Kindle) or (Paperback)

Sing For Your Life by:Daniel Bergner
The touching, triumphant story of a young black man’s journey from violence and despair to one of the world’s most elite artistic institutions, as if The Blind Side were set in the world of opera.

Ryan Speedo Green had a tough upbringing in southeastern Virginia: his family lived in a trailer park and later a bullet-riddled house across the street from drug dealers. His father was absent; his mother was volatile and abusive.

At the age of twelve, Ryan was sent to Virginia’s juvenile facility of last resort. He was placed in solitary confinement. He was uncontrollable, uncontainable, with little hope for the future.

In 2011, at the age of twenty-four, Ryan won a nationwide competition hosted by New York’s Metropolitan Opera, beating out 1,200 other talented singers. Today, he is a rising star performing major roles at the Met and Europe’s most prestigious opera houses.

SING FOR YOUR LIFE chronicles Ryan’s suspenseful, racially charged and artistically intricate journey from solitary confinement to stardom. Daniel Bergner takes readers on Ryan’s path toward redemption, introducing us to a cast of memorable characters–including the two teachers from his childhood who redirect his rage into music, and his long-lost father who finally reappears to hear Ryan sing. Bergner illuminates all that it takes–technically, creatively–to find and foster the beauty of the human voice. And Sing for Your Life sheds unique light on the enduring and complex realities of race in America.
Release: 9/13/16
Click to purchase: (Kindle) or (Hardcover)

Prison Industrial Complex Beginners by:James Braxton Peterson
Prison Industrial Complex For Beginners is a graphic narrative project that attempts to distill the fundamental components of what scholars, activists, and artists have identified as the Mass Incarceration movement in the United States.

Since the early 1990s, activist critics of the US prison system have marked its emergence as a “complex” in a manner comparable to how President Eisenhower described the Military Industrial Complex. Like its institutional “cousin,” the Prison Industrial Complex features a critical combination of political ideology, far-reaching federal policy, and the neo-liberal directive to privatize institutions traditionally within the purview of the government. The result is that corporations have capital incentives to capture and contain human bodies.

The Prison Industrial Complex relies on the “law and order” ideology fomented by President Nixon and developed at least partially in response to the unrest generated through the Civil Rights Movement. It is (and has been) enhanced and emboldened via the US “war on drugs,” a slate of policies that by any account have failed to do anything except normalize the warehousing of nonviolent substance abusers in jails and prisons that serve more as criminal training centers then as redemptive spaces for citizens who might re-enter society successfully.

Prison Industrial Complex For Beginners is a primer for how these issues emerged and how our awareness of the systems at work in mass incarceration might be the very first step in reforming an institution responsible for some of our most egregious contemporary civil rights violations.
Release: 9/13/16
Click to purchase: (Kindle) or (Paperback)

The Essential RuPaul: Herstory, Philosophy & Her Fiercest Queens by:John Davis, Libby Vanderploeg
The essential guide for fans of the most famous drag queen in the world. RuPaul—the most famous drag queen in the world, recording artist, cult television host, pop-cultural icon—is celebrated in this essential fan guide. Bursting onto the scene over two decades ago with the huge hit Supermodel of the World, RuPaul has been confounding critics to clear her own path over the many years since. Most recently, RuPaul has again become an unlikely pop-cultural icon by producing and starring in RuPaul’s Drag Race—a reality television series that judges the charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent of the competing drag queens. Over seven seasons and numerous spin-off series (including All Stars and RuPaul’s Drag U), RuPaul’s Drag Race has become a cult global hit—fans know the catchphrases, the personalities, the catfights. The Essential RuPaul celebrates Ru’s history (or herstory, as she frames it) and philosophy (“If you can’t love yourself—how in the hell you gonna love someone else”), as well as profiling the most loved and reviled queens from her TV series. This is one for the true fans.
Release: 9/13/16
Click to purchase: (Hardcover)

Long Road to Hard Truth: The 100 Year Mission to Create the National Museum of African American History and Culture by:Robert Leon Wilkins
In Long Road to Hard Truth: The 100 Year Mission to Create the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Robert L. Wilkins tells the story of how his curiosity about why there wasn’t a national museum dedicated to African American history and culture became an obsession-eventually leading him to quit his job as an attorney when his wife was seven months pregnant with their second child, and make it his mission to help the museum become a reality. Long Road to Hard Truth chronicles the early history, when staunch advocates sought to create a monument for Black soldiers fifty years after the end of the Civil War and in response to the pervasive indignities of the time, including lynching, Jim Crow segregation, and the slander of the racist film Birth of a Nation. The movement soon evolved to envision creating a national museum, and Wilkins follows the endless obstacles through the decades, culminating in his honor of becoming a member of the Presidential Commission that wrote the plan for creating the museum and how, with support of both Black and White Democrats and Republicans, Congress finally authorized the museum. In September 2016, exactly 100 years after the movement to create it began, the Smithsonian will open the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The book’s title is inspired in part by James Baldwin, who testified in Congress in 1968 that “My history… contains the truth about America. It is going to be hard to teach it.” Long Road to Hard Truth concludes that this journey took 100 years because many in America are unwilling to confront the history of America’s legacy of slavery and discrimination, and that the only reason this museum finally became a reality is that an unlikely, bipartisan coalition of political leaders had the courage and wisdom to declare that America could not, and should not, continue to evade the hard truth.
Release: 9/13/16
Click to purchase: (Kindle), (Hardcover), (Paperback)

Children & Young Adults

Into White by:Randi Pink
When a black teenager prays to be white and her wish comes true, her journey of self-discovery takes shocking–and often hilarious–twists and turns in this debut that people are sure to talk about.

LaToya Williams lives in Birmingham, Alabama, and attends a mostly white high school. She’s so low on the social ladder that even the other black kids disrespect her. Only her older brother, Alex, believes in her. At least, until a higher power answers her only prayer–to be “anything but black.” And voila! She wakes up with blond hair, blue eyes, and lily white skin. And then the real fun begins . . .

Randi Pink’s debut dares to explore provocative territory. One thing’s for sure–people will talk about this book.
Release: 9/13/16
Ages: 14 to 18
Click to purchase: (Kindle) or (Hardcover)

The Haunted Howl (Key Hunters #3) by:Eric Luper
Getting lost in a good book has never been this dangerous!

Cleo and Evan have a secret. A collection of books so dangerous they are locked up tight. A friend has vanished inside the pages of one of them. It’s up to them to find the key that will set her free.

THE CURSE OF THE FULL MOON MUST BE BROKEN!

On a dark and stormy night, Cleo and Evan are haunted by a disaster. Evan has been bitten by a werewolf! If they can’t find the cure — and the right key — before the full moon rises, he’ll be stuck prowling the pages of this ghost story for good!
Release: 9/13/16
Click to purchase: (Kindle), (Hardcover), (Paperback)

Blood Brother : Jonathan Daniels and His Sacrifice for Civil Rights by:Rich Wallace, Sandra Neil Wallace
Jonathan Daniels, a white seminary student from New Hampshire, traveled to Selma, Alabama, in 1965 to help with voter registration of black residents. After the voting rights marches, he remained in Alabama, in the area known as “Bloody Lowndes,” an extremely dangerous area for white freedom fighters, to assist civil rights workers. Five months later, Jonathan Daniels was shot and killed while saving the life of Ruby Sales, a black teenager. Through Daniels’s poignant letters, papers, photographs, and taped interviews, authors Rich Wallace and Sandra Neil Wallace explore what led Daniels to the moment of his death, the trial of his murderer, and how these events helped reshape both the legal and political climate of Lowndes County and the nation.
Release: 9/13/16
Ages: 10 to 18, Grades: 4 And Up
Click to purchase: (Kindle) or (Hardcover)

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