Black Voices

“If you don’t know my name, you don’t know your own.”—James Baldwin An anthology of African-American literature featuring contributions from some of the most prominent Black and African-American authors of our time, including James Baldwin, Arna Bontemps, Gwendolyn Brooks, W. E. B. Du Bois, Ralph Ellison, Langston Hughes, Leroi Jones, Margaret Walker, Richard Wright, Malcom X, and many more. Featuring fiction, poetry, autobiography, and literary criticism, Black Voices captures the diverse and powerful words of a literary explosion, the ramifications of which can be seen and heard in the works of today’s African-American artists. A comprehensive and impressive primer, this anthology presents some of the greatest and most enduring work born out of the African-American experience in the United States. Contributors Also Include: Sterling A. Brown Charles W. Chesnutt John Henrik Clarke Countee Cullen Frederick Douglass Paul Laurence Dunbar James Weldon Johnson Naomi Long Madgett Paule Marshall Clarence Major Claude McKay Ann Petry Dudley Randall J. Saunders Redding Jean Toomer Darwin T. Turner Lerone Bennett, Jr. Frank London Brown Arthur P. Davis Frank Marshall Davis Owen Dodson Mari Evans Rudolph Fisher Dan Georgakas Robert Hayden Frank Horne Blyden Jackson Lance Jeffers Fenton Johnson George E. Kent Alain Locke Diane Oliver Stanley Sanders Richard G. Stern Sterling Stuckey Melvin B. Tolson

From dusty rural villages to northern ghettos, 12 Million Black Voices is an unflinching portrayal of the lives that many black Americans lived in the 1930s. It is a testament to the strength of black communities throughout America.

Black Lenses, Black Voices is a provocative look at films directed and written_and sometimes produced_by African Americans, as well as black-oriented films whose directors or screenwriters are not black. Mark Reid shows how certain films dramatize the contemporary African American community as a politically and economically diverse group, vastly different from film representations of the 1960s. Taking us through the development of African American independent filmmaking before and after World War II, he then illustrates the unique nature of African American family, action, horror, female-centered, and independent films, such as Eve's Bayou, Jungle Fever, Shaft, Souls of Sin, Bones, Waiting to Exhale, Monster's Ball, Sankofa, and many more.

‘A timely book and a conversation starter on race in Britain.’ Rachel Edwards, Author of Darling and Lucky ‘A timely book in a year that has made clear that Britain still has a very long way to go towards becoming the model of racial equality it aims to be.’ Kenya Hunt ‘Powerful and sometimes painful testimonies but they also provide uplifting and enriching experiences.’ Stephen Bourne ‘I'm so proud to hold this book in my hand. We are here in all our richness.’ Adjoa Andoh, Actor, Director ‘This book is such a moving read for everyone of all ages and races.’ Colin Jackson, CBE ‘A reinforcement of evocative truths that hurt and sting deeply but also empower tremendously.’ Sharon Duncan-Brewster The whole world is watching. 25 May, 2020. George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, is killed in Minneapolis while being arrested. His death, witnessed by horrified bystanders, is captured on camera – and within hours has spread far and wide across social media. We’re all bystanders now. The protests that follow express shock, sorrow, and outrage. Because what’s happened, has happened before – away from witnesses and cameras. The story didn’t begin here, and this is not where it ends… STILL BREATHING assembles a cast of 100 black voices to talk about their experiences of racism in Britain. Actresses Suzette Llewellyn (Eastenders) and Suzanne Packer (Holby City) are joined by musicians, Members of Parliament, poets, artists, athletes, civil servants, doctors, lawyers, and more. Touching on Windrush and the workplace, race riots and reforms, these essays seek to educate, to bear witness – and to offer hope for a better future, in Britain and around the world.

Award-winning viral curator and poet Natasha Marin follows-up her acclaimed Black Imagination with a brilliant new collection of sharply-rendered, breathtaking reflections from more than two dozen Black voices. What does it sound like when you claim yourself? When do you feel most at home in yourself? What is your relationship to Africa, real or imagined? Black Powerful examines Black Americans' relationship with Africa and intersperses their reflections with Continental Africans' thoughts on Black Folx raised elsewhere in a monumental chorus of authentic joy, tragedy, and imagination. Black Powerful is one sacred act of witnessing.

Meet three inspirational people from the world of literature: Maya Angelou, Anne Frank and Jane Austen! This set of three books from the internationally bestselling Little People, BIG DREAMS series introduces little dreamers to the lives of these incredible authors who changed the world. In these remarkable true stories, learn how three women dealt with hardship and achieved great success in writing. Maya – despite being afraid to speak as a child, she went on to find her voice and become one of the most beloved writers and speakers of the twentieth century. Anne – whose famous diary captured the hearts and minds of the public after World War Two. Jane – after growing up with low expectations, went on to write timeless novels about brave women who made their own choices and never gave up. Each of these moving books features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of the woman's life. Little People, BIG DREAMS is a bestselling biography series for kids that explores the lives of outstanding people, from designers and artists to scientists and activists. All of them achieved incredible things, yet each began life as a child with a dream. This empowering series of books offers inspiring messages to children of all ages, in a range of formats. The board books are told in simple sentences, perfect for reading aloud to babies and toddlers. The hardback and paperback versions present expanded stories for beginning readers. With rewritten text for older children, the treasuries each bring together a multitude of dreamers in a single volume. You can also collect a selection of the books by theme in boxed gift sets. Activity books and a journal provide even more ways to make the lives of these role models accessible to children. Inspire the next generation of outstanding people who will change the world with Little People, BIG DREAMS!

In the late 1920s, Reverend A. W. Nix (1880–1949), an African American Baptist minister born in Texas, made fifty-four commercial recordings of his sermons on phonographs in Chicago. On these recordings, Nix presented vocal traditions and styles long associated with the southern, rural Black church as he preached about self-help, racial uplift, thrift, and Christian values. As southerners like Nix fled into cities in the North to escape the rampant racism in the South, they contested whether or not African American vocal styles of singing and preaching that had emerged during the slavery era were appropriate for uplifting the race. Specific vocal characteristics, like those on Nix’s recordings, were linked to the image of the “Old Negro” by many African American leaders who favored adopting Europeanized vocal characteristics and musical repertoires into African American churches in order to uplift the modern “New Negro” citizen. Through interviews with family members, musical analyses of the sounds on Nix’s recordings, and examination of historical documents and relevant scholarship, Terri Brinegar argues that the development of the phonograph in the 1920s afforded preachers like Nix the opportunity to present traditional Black vocal styles of the southern Black church as modern Black voices. These vocal styles also influenced musical styles. The “moaning voice” used by Nix and other ministers was a direct connection to the “blues moan” employed by many blues singers including Blind Willie, Blind Lemon, and Ma Rainey. Both Reverend A. W. Nix and his brother, W. M. Nix, were an influence on the “Father of Gospel Music,” Thomas A. Dorsey. The success of Nix’s recorded sermons demonstrates the enduring values African Americans placed on traditional vocal practices.

Black Lenses, Black Voices is a provocative look at films directed and written_and sometimes produced_by African Americans, as well as black-oriented films whose directors or screenwriters are not black. Mark Reid shows how certain films dramatize the contemporary African American community as a politically and economically diverse group, vastly different from film representations of the 1960s. Taking us through the development of African American independent filmmaking before and after World War II, he then illustrates the unique nature of African American family, action, horror, female-centered, and independent films, such as Eve's Bayou, Jungle Fever, Shaft, Souls of Sin, Bones, Waiting to Exhale, Monster's Ball, Sankofa, and many more.