‘Pure Grit’
When it comes to chores around the house, you have lots of responsibility.
‘I’ll Take You There: Mavis Staples, The Staple Singers, and the March Up Freedom’s Highway’
For as long as you can remember, there’s always been someone in your corner.
‘The Economy of You’
The rumblings you hear from around the office are disturbing. Something’s happening: layoffs, downsizing, something worse, you’re not sure which. You’re afraid it’ll crumble your career. It might tear your income in half.
‘The Invention of Wings’
Your best friend has been all a-flutter about something lately. You haven’t seen much of her, in fact. She’s been sticking close to her nest but that’s okay. Next time you get together, it’ll be just like you were never ...
Overt dissent expressed in ‘Party Music’
Politics have arguably been a part of the music of the African Diaspora every since the first slave ship off loaded its cargo in the New World. The Africans fashioned musical idioms as a salve for their wretched existence in ...
“Twelve Years a Slave”
Nobody could tell them like she could, either. She was full of tales of caution and thrift and could remember things that happened back when she was a girl. She even knew stories about her own grandparents, the lives they ...
‘Letters to an Incarcerated Brother’
You figured you had a lock on things. Sell or steal a little something. Hold for somebody, “borrow” a car, gain respect. Make a little money, and it’d be all good, right? Now that lock you h
“The 34-Ton Bat”
No matter where you are, you can remember that sound. You can just about hear it now: that “thwock” that comes when baseball meets bat. That hollow noise, that breathless second before the knowledge that you’ve hit it square; it’s ...
“The Rejected Stone”
You needed a leader. So why can’t it be you? In the new book, “The Rejected Stone” by the Rev. Al Sharpton, you’ll see how it could happen.
“Who Asked You?”
You can’t fix everything. That’s a hard lesson to learn, no matter who you are. You can’t swoop in and make things right, when they’re not yours to correct. You can’t throw money at something to make it go away; ...
“For Discrimination: Race, Affirmative Action, and the Law”
Hiring on the basis of race or gender is supposedly illegal … but it happens. And in the new book “For Discrimination” (c.2013, Pantheon $25.95 / $28.95, Canada 295 pages) by Randall Kennedy, we read why the author believes that ...
“Room 1219"
Would you be surprised to learn that in the beginning, Hollywood, despite the innocence of the time, could be very indecent? In the new book “Room 1219” by Greg Merritt, you’ll see how.
“The Speech”
Go back to school, and you could be a doctor or lawyer. Save money, and you could be rich(er). Learn a new skill, and you could be popular at parties. Teach a child, and she could be president someday.
‘A Family Affair’
You know the story of how your parents fell in love, but there are a lot of things you don’t know about them. And in the new book, “A Family Affair” by ReShonda Tate Billingsley, finding out could be a ...
‘What We Talk About When We Talk About God’
For most of your life, you’ve had a good relationship with God. He’s a close personal friend, in fact, and you talk to Him often. He even lives nearby; so close, that you visit Him often. He’s a good listener, ...
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