Mama Said Knock You Out! Tyra Banks and Her Mom Team Up for a New Book
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include an interview with Tyra Banks.
Watch: The Barbershop Books Program Is Changing Lives
By the fourth grade, more than 80 percent of black boys in many of the nation’s school districts have fallen behind their peers in reading. This staggering figure not only highlights the shortcomings of America’s school system but also emphasizes the need for new ideas on how to approach and address the needs of…
Black, Bookish and Beautiful: This All-Black, All-Female Publishing Team Is Ensuring That Authors of Color Get Their Shine
Publishing is notoriously rough terrain for authors of color. Jack Jones Literary Arts—an all-black, all-female firm—is seeking to change that, committing to publishing and promoting books by writers who have traditionally been pushed to the margins of a historically white and male-dominated industry.
We Were 8 Years in Power Moves Ta-Nehisi Coates to Top of Black America’s Draft Board
On Jan. 21, 2004, Comedy Central’s groundbreaking Chappelle’s Show debuted the iconic “Racial Draft” sketch. In it, comedian Dave Chappelle imagined a draft in which each race selected and traded individuals to represent the race. The Asians drafted the Wu-Tang Clan, and Jews picked Lenny Kravitz. The concept quickly…
11-Year-Old Mo. Boy Launches Books N Bros Reading Club, Focusing on African-American Children’s Literature
Sidney Keys III loves to read, and about six months ago he concocted a plan to start a reading club for boys his age to band together and celebrate their love of literature. The reading club, which he dubbed Books N Bros, strongly emphasizes making reading fun while focusing on and celebrating African-American…
Black Lotus Is a Woman’s Search for Racial Identity in a Racist World
"'Passing' describes the choice to identify as a member of another racial group rather than face social prejudice,” writes Sil Lai Abrams in her memoir, Black Lotus: A Woman’s Search for Racial Identity. “Today the term is used almost exclusively to describe black people who consciously adopt a white identity.”
On Falling And Staying Madly And Deeply In Love With...The Library
I still remember my first library card. It was tan and all the private information that could be used for identity theft — name, age, face, favorite member of SWV, etc — was typed on its face. I don’t remember it because I have a great memory, but because my mom still has it. She is a hoarder of all things related to…
