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Spotlight on Black Artists & Entertainers |
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Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures
by Kevin Michael Angelo Strait
Non-Fiction, 305.896073 AF85. This illustrated companion book to an upcoming Smithsonian exhibition explores the power of Afrofuturism to reclaim the past and reimagine Black futures.
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The New Brownies' Book: A Love Letter to Black Families
by Karida Brown
Non-Fiction, 305.896073 N42. In 1920, as art and writing flourished during the Harlem Renaissance, W. E. B. Du Bois published The Brownies' Book: A Monthly Magazine for Children of the Sun--the first periodical for African American youth, collecting original art, stories, letters, and activities to celebrate their identities and inspire their imaginations and ambitions. Building upon Du Bois's mission, esteemed professor and scholar Karida Brown and celebrated artist Charly Palmer reimagine the groundbreaking publication with The New Brownies Book, gathering the work of more than 60 contemporary Black artists and writers, including Ntozake Shange, Frank X. Walker, Danny Simmons, and Alice Faye Duncan. Created by and for Black families today, this anthology is filled with inspiring essays, poems, photographs, paintings, and short stories reflecting on the joy and depth of the Black experience.
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Fired Up! Ready to Go!: Finding Beauty, Demanding Equity: An African American Life in Art: The Collections of Peggy Cooper Cafritz
by Peggy Cooper Cafritz
Non-Fiction, 704.0396. After decades of art collecting, prominent Washington D.C.–based activist, philanthropist, and founder of the august Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Peggy Cooper Cafritz had amassed one of the most important collections of work by artists of color in the country. But in 2009, the more than three hundred works that comprised this extraordinary collection were destroyed in the largest residential fire in Washington, D.C. history. This beautifully illustrated volume features 200 of the works that were lost, along with works that she has collected since the fire, as well as important contributions by preeminent curators and artists.
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Blk Art: The Audacious Legacy of Black Artists and Models in Western Art
by Zaria Ware
Non-Fiction, 704.0396 W229B. A fun and fact-filled introduction to the dismissed Black art masters and models who shook up the world. Elegant. Refined. Exclusionary. Interrupted. The foundations of the fine art world are shaking. Beyonce and Jay-Z break the internet by blending modern Black culture with fine art in their iconic music video filmed in the Louvre. Kehinde Wiley powerfully subverts European masterworks. Calls resonate for diversity in museums and the resignations of leaders of the old guard. It's clear that modern-day museums can no longer exist without change--and without recognizing that Black people have been a part of the Western art world since its beginnings. Quietly held within museum and private collections around the world are hundreds of faces of Black men and women, many of their stories unknown. From paintings of majestic kings to a portrait of a young girl named Isabella in Amsterdam, these models lived diverse lives while helping shape the art world along the way. Then, after hundreds of years of Black faces cast as only the subject of the white gaze, a small group of trailblazing Black American painters and sculptors reached national and international fame, setting the stage for the flourishing of Black art in the 1920s and beyond. Captivating and informative, BLK ART is an essential work that elevates a globally dismissed legacy to its proper place in the mainstream art canon. From the hushed corridors of royal palaces to the bustling streets of 1920s Paris--this is Black history like never seen before.
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The Black Joy Project
by Kleaver Cruz
New Non-Fiction, 704.942 C898B. An educator and activist presents a counterbalance to the idea of how Blackness is often represented with pain, suffering and violence to present a comprehensive picture of how Black people resist oppression and thrive through joy.
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Iconic Home: Interiors, Advice and Stories from 50 Amazing Black Designers
by June Reese
New Non-Fiction, 747 R259I. Profiling 50 extraordinary Black interior designers, this stunning book tells their stories and shares their challenges and triumphs, bringing design philosophies and creative influences to light and providing a behind-the-scenes look at what it means to be a designer of color in the industry today.
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Jean-Michel Basquiat
by Jean Michel Basquiat
Non-Fiction, 759.13 B293J. Controversial cult artist, enfant terrible of the art world, friend of Haring and Warhol, and both idol and a victim of the art scene of the '80s-Jean-Michel Basquiat was a legend in his own lifetime. This catalog, published in conjunction with the major retrospective at the Lugano Museum of Modern Art, provides an excellent overview of Basquiat's life and work. As an African-American painter, Basquiat has made a significant impact on the history of contemporary art. From his origins as a street graffiti artist, he became one of the most influential artists of his time: in 2005 his work is being celebrated in separate exhibitions in the US and Europe. As emblems of the contemporary world, his explosive and colorful canvases have an unparalleled force. The brief but intense artistic career of this celebrated proponent of the downtown New York art scene of the 1980s is covered through some fifty paintings and twenty works on paper drawn from prestigious private collections and museums.
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Michael Ray Charles: A Retrospective
by Cherise Smith
Non-Fiction, 759.13. A curator and art historian presents this first in-depth examination of the artist whose provocative paintings recast images of racism in consumer culture, which is accompanied by nearly 100 color images documenting nearly 30 years of visual art.
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Black Hollywood: Reimaging Iconic Movie Moments
by Carell Augustus
Non-Fiction, 779.2 AU46B. In Black Hollywood, photographer Carell Augustus has enlisted Black celebrities and performers from all areas of entertainment to recreate iconic scenes from classic Hollywood movies, television, and other media. The images illuminate the role of race in Hollywood history by re-imagining classic films with Black actors, renewing readers' appreciation of the past while celebrating the hottest Black stars of today and inspiring the artists of the future.
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Black Archives: A Photographic Celebration of Black Life
by Renata Cherlise
Non-Fiction, 779.208996 C418B. The founder and curator of the hit multimedia platform Black Archives presents a visual archive of over 300 hundred images that illustrate the vibrant, ordinary lives of Black people throughout the twentieth century.
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Black Is Beautiful: JET Beauties of the Week
by Lamonte Mclemore
Non-Fiction, 779.24 M224B. The founding member/vocalist in the award-winning pop-soul group The 5th Dimension who also had a career as a photographer cementing Black women and models in American media and cultural history, showcases his “Beauty of the Week” shoots for JET magazine—a living document to everyday Black fashion and elegance.
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A New Color: The Art of Being Edythe Boone
Non-Fiction DVDs, B BOONE. Joyfully profiles the life and work of celebrated artist Edythe Boone whose colorful murals portray some of the major events of our time and illustrate the transformative power of art. Long before Black Lives Matter became a rallying cry, septuagenarian Boone embodied that truth as an accomplished artist and educator. From humble Harlem roots, the indefatigable Boone pursued her love of art and her dream of someday creating a new color – “a color that no one had ever seen before.” Boone moved her family from Harlem to Berkeley in the 1970’s. In the Bay Area, she was drawn to community mural projects that channeled her artistic talent into public advocacy for racial and social justice, including the landmark MaestraPeace mural on the San Francisco Women’s Building.
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Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
by Javaka Steptoe
Picture Books, STEPTOE. Presents the life of the artist, who was inspired as a child by a book of anatomy given to him by his mother after being injured in a car crash and who went on to become a celebrity in the art world before his early death at twenty-eight.
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The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Count Basie Transformed America
by Larry Tye
Non-Fiction, 781.65 T969J. Based on more than 250 interviews, this meticulously researched history of Black America in the early-to-mid 1900s through three longtime kings of jazz—Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Count Basie—who opened America's eyes and souls to their magnificent music, writing the soundtrack for the civil rights movement.
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Jazz: A History of America's Music
by Geoffrey C Ward
Non-Fiction, 781.65 W212J. A companion book to the acclaimed PBS series by the team who wrote The Civil War and Baseball furnishes a lavish photographic essay that celebrates the contributions of such artists as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and John Coltrane.
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Isn't Her Grace Amazing: The Women Who Changed Gospel Music
by Cheryl Wills
Non-Fiction, 782.254 W685I. Celebrating the overlooked women who have left an indelible mark on gospel music, this book showcases the talents, gifts and skills of twenty-five women, chronicling their journeys from the choir loft to the world's largest stages.
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My Black Country: A Journey Through Country Music's Black Past, Present, and Future
by Alice Randall
Non-Fiction, 782.421642 R158M. The first black woman to cowrite a #1 country hit, Trisha Yearwood's “XXX's and OOO's,” offers a lyrical, introspective and unforgettable account of her past and her search for the first family of black country music, in this celebration of the radical joy in realizing the power of black influence on American culture.
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Let Love Have the Last Word: A Memoir
by Common
Non-Fiction, 782.421649 C737L. The Grammy Award-, Academy Award- and Golden Globe-winning musician, actor and activist presents a follow-up to One Day It'll All Make Sense that explores how love and mindfulness can build communities and inspire positive empowerment.
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Jay-Z: Made in America
by Michael Eric Dyson
Non-Fiction, 782.421649 D995J. Examines the biggest themes of JAY-Z's career, including hustling, and it recognizes the way that he's always weaved politics into his music, making statements about race, criminal justice and black wealth. By the author of Tears We Cannot Stop.
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Rise of a Killah
by Ghostface Killah
Non-Fiction, 782.421649 G346R. The co-founder of the Wu-Tang Clan, a legendary hip-hop group who broke all the rules, focuses on the people, places and events that mean the most to him, sharing his defining personal moments as well as exclusive photos and memorabilia.
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Lightnin' Hopkins: His Life and Blues
by Alan B. Govenar
Biography, HOPKINS. By the time of his death in 1982, Sam “Lightnin” Hopkins was likely the most recorded blues artist in history. Born in 1912 to a poor sharecropping family, Hopkins left home when he was only eight years old with a guitar his brother had given him. He made his living however he could, playing the blues and taking odd jobs when money was short. Hopkins didn’t begin recording until 1946, when he was dubbed “Lightnin” during his first session, and he soon joined Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker on the national R & B charts. But by the time he was “rediscovered” by Mack McCormick and Sam Charters in 1959, his popularity had begun to wane. A second career emerged--now Lightnin’ was pitched to white audiences, not black ones, and he became immensely successful, singing about his country roots and injustices that informed the civil rights era with a searing emotive power.
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Didn't We Almost Have It All: In Defense of Whitney Houston
by Gerrick Kennedy
Biography, HOUSTON, WHITNEY. This look at the troubled star a decade after her passing examines her struggles with fame, relationships and mental health within the pressure of tabloid culture mental health stigmas, and racial divisions in America.
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Adversity for Sale: You Gotta Believe
by Jeezy
Biography, JENKINS, JAY. To Jeezy's legion of fans, his name is synonymous with hustle, grit, and the integrity to go out there and achieve your dreams. In his first book, Jeezy shares never heard stories of what it took for him to beat the odds and get out of the streets, his mindset he carefully honed to get an edge, and the lessons that changed his life and business.
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Biography of a Phantom: A Robert Johnson Blues Odyssey
by Mack McCormick
Biography, JOHNSON, ROBERT. Publishing the renowned musicologist's work for the first time, including 40 unseen black-and-white photographs documenting his search, this compelling biography of blues icon Robert Johnson reconstructs his mysterious life and develops theories about his untimely death at the age of 27.
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Let Love Rule
by Lenny Kravitz
Biography, KRAVITZ, LENNY. The popular rock musician reflects on his life, from his struggles at school and tensions at home to his three-decade career as a songwriter, producer, and performer.
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Gentleman of Jazz: A Life in Music
by Ramsey Lewis
Biography, LEWIS, RAMSEY. This immersive new autobiography provides insight into the early life and illustrious career of the late great Ramsey Lewis, one of the most popular jazz pianists of all time.
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The Big Life of Little Richard
by Mark Ribowsky
Biography, LITTLE RICHARD. The Big Life of Little Richard not only explores a legendary stage persona, but also a complex life under the makeup and pomade, the neon-lit duds and piano pyrotechnics, along with a full-body dive into the waters of sexual fluidity.
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Traveling Soul: The Life of Curtis Mayfield
by Todd Mayfield
Biography, MAYFIELD. Curtis Mayfield was one of the seminal vocalists and most talented guitarists of his era. He was also a social critic, and his music had a vital influence on the civil rights movement. Todd Mayfield tells his famously private father's story in riveting detail, from his birth into dire poverty and life in the slums of Chicago to the tragic accident that left him paralyzed, and his long-awaited recognition by the music industry.
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Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original
by Robin D. G. Kelley
In a book based on inside interviews and complete access to Monk's private papers and recordings, the author of Race Rebels tells an intimate story of the jazz great and puts him in historical context, in a book that includes an index, photos and a discography.
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Tell It Like It Is: My Story
by Aaron Neville
Biography, NEVILLE, AARON. Sharing his story for the first time, the legendary singer recounts his struggles with poverty, racism, addiction and loss, and how, through faith, family and music, he was able to find healing, salvation and the strength to turn his life around.
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Tupac Shakur: The Authorized Biography
by Staci Robinson
Biography, SHAKUR, TUPAC. The first and only Estate-authorized biography of the legendary artist, Tupac Shakur, a moving exploration of his life and powerful legacy, fully illustrated with photos, mementos, handwritten poetry, musings, and more. Tupac Shakur is one of the greatest and most controversial artists of all time. More than a quarter of a century after his tragic death in 1996 at the age of just twenty-five, he continues to be one of the most misunderstood, complicated and prolific figures in modern history. Tupac's unapologetic lyrics, for which he was villainized by many at the time, read in these pages as prophecy. His cry of outrage in a country that repeatedly told Black men and women that their lives did not matter, continues to inspire his fans around the world.
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Easily Slip into Another World: A Life in Music
by Henry Threadgill
Biography, THREADGILL, HENRY. This autobiography from one of the towering figures of contemporary American music recalls his childhood and upbringing in Chicago, his family life and education and his brilliant career in music.
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Dancing in My Dreams: A Spiritual Biography of Tina Turner
by Ralph H. Craig
Biography, TURNER, TINA. A religious biography of Tina Turner that maps her journey from the Black Baptist church to Buddhism and includes special attention to the diverse metaphysical beliefs that influenced her along the way.
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Queen of Bebop: The Musical Lives of Sarah Vaughan
by Elaine M. Hayes
Boundless eBook. An account of the life of the influential jazz artist and civil rights advocate shares additional insights into her lesser-known contributions as an African-American woman, drawing on inside sources to discuss her creative process and challenge misperceptions about her character.
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After the Dance: My Life with Marvin Gaye
by Jan Gaye
Boundless eBook. The second wife of the late, legendary R&B star, describes how she met the Motown superstar when she was 17 and began a torrid love affair and marriage that was eventually shattered by drugs, family dysfunction and the burdens of fame.
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Creative Quest
by Questlove
Boundless eBook. The award-winning cultural entrepreneur and co-founder of the influential hip-hop group The Roots draws on the philosophies and examples of the creative people in his life to counsel readers on how to change their perspectives about creativity to live a life of inspiration and originality.
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Chuck Berry: An American Life
by R. J. Smith
Boundless eBook. This definitive biography of the legendary performer and rock and roll pioneer examines his St. Louis childhood and his transformative effect on American culture, as well as the more troubling aspects of his public and private life.
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Life's Too Short: A Memoir
by Darius Rucker
Boundless eBook; Playaway; Non-Fiction Audio-CD. The three-time Grammy award-winning, Diamond-album-selling lead singer of Hootie & the Blowfish and country music star tells the story of his life through the music that made him and his own music with Hootie and as a solo artist, sharing stories of his road-hardened life that are raw, real, funny and deeply emotional. Illustrations.
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Prince: The Man, the Symbol, the Music
by Eric Braun
Boundless eBook. Profiles the life and career of the multitalented musician and songwriter, discussing his childhood, rise to fame, and contractual dispute with his record label.
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My Life with Earth, Wind & Fire
by Maurice White
Boundless eBook. Recounts the author's life, revealing the rise of the legendary group Earth, Wind & Fire, sharing the story of his success, and reflecting on the blessings music brought to his life.
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More Myself: A Journey
by Alicia Keys
Boundless eAudiobook; Playaway, Audio-CD. The 15-time Grammy Award-winning music artist traces her journey from self-censorship to full expression, describing her complicated relationship with her father, the people-pleasing nature that characterized her early career and her struggles with gender expectations.
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Bessie
Feature Films, BESSIE. Profiles the life and career of legendary blues singer Bessie Smith.
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Miles Ahead
Feature Films, MILES. A biography of legendary jazz trumpeter Miles Davis.
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Nina
Feature Films, NINA. Focuses on the late years of Nina Simone, a legendary African American jazz singer and songwriter, as she struggles with alcoholism, financial and mental problems, but with the help of her manager is able to return to her successful singing career.
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Piece by Piece
Feature Films, PIECE. A motion picture experience that invites audiences on a vibrant journey through the life of cultural icon Pharrell Williams. Told through the lens of LEGO animation, turn up the volume on your imagination.
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Ray
Feature Films, RAY. Ray Charles was born in a poor predominantly black town in central Florida. He went blind at the age of 7. With the staunch support of his determined single mother, he developed a fierce resolve. He had wit and incredible talent, which would eventually enable him to overcome not only Jim Crow racism and the cruel prejudices against the blind, but also discover his own sound. Nonetheless, as Ray's unprecedented fame grew, so did his weakness for drugs and women, until they threatened to strip away the very things he held most dear.
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Respect
Feature Films, RESPECT. Offers a look into the life of Aretha Franklin: from her childhood traumatized by the loss of her mother through her difficult rise to international fame in the sixties, when she was also struggling with an abusive marriage and alcohol problems
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Summer of Soul
Feature Film DVD, SUMMER. Tells the story of the Harlem Cultural Festival that took place in Mount Morris Park in 1969 and its significance as a celebration of black history and culture.
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Jazz
Series DVD, 781.65 J339. Traces the origins and history of jazz, focusing on the individual musicians who helped shape its development.
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Gospel
Non-Fiction DVD, 305.896073 G694. From acclaimed scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Gospel explores Black spirituality through sermon and song. From the blues to hip-hop, African Americans have been the driving force of sonic innovation for over a century. But, while musical styles come and go, there is one sound that has been a constant source of strength, courage, and wisdom. It is a message that resounds from the pulpit to the choir lofts on any given Sunday--one of good news in bad times: gospel. Since the time of the sorrow songs, Black sacred music was a cathartic and confidential way to communicate the anger and frustration of living as a Black person in America. Even now, gospel continues to evolve and remains a source of cultural affirmation and sustenance. Over the course of four hours, Gospel explores how class, gender, cultural innovations and consumer technologies--such as records, radio, television and the internet--shaped the development of Black preaching and gospel over the centuries.
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The Jazz Ambassadors
Non-Fiction DVD, 781.65 J3396. Through archival footage, photos, and radio clips, examines how American jazz musicians traveled the world as cultural ambassadors promoting the image of tolerant America while simultaneously fighting racism and segregation in the United States.
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Rejoice & Shout
Non-Fiction DVD, 782.254. Covers 200 years of musical history of African-American Christianity, featuring the legends of Gospel music, including The Staple Singers, The Clara Ward Singers, The Dixie Hummingbirds, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Culled from hundreds of hours of music, tracing the evolution of gospel music through its many styles – the spirituals and early hymns, the four-part harmony-based quartets, the integration of blues and swing, the emergence of “soul,” and the blending of rap and hip-hop elements. It connects the history of African-American culture with gospel as it first impacted popular culture at large and captures so much of what is special about this music and African-American Christianity.
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Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
Non-Fiction DVD, B DAVIS, MILES. Examines the life of Miles Davis through his music, home movies, and his manuscripts and paintings.
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Amazing Grace
Non-Fiction DVD, B FRANKLIN, ARETHA. Documentary presenting the live recording of the Aretha Franklin album
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The Torch
Non-Fiction DVD, B GUY, BUDDY. Looks at Buddy Guy's musical legacy through interviews, performances, and the young guitar player Quinn Sullivan, who has been mentored by Guy since he was a child.
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Little Richard: I Am Everything
Non-Fiction DVDs, B LITTLE RICHARD. Little Richard: I Am Everything tells the story of the Black queer origins of rock n' roll, exploding the whitewashed canon of American pop music to reveal the innovator - the originator - Richard Penniman. The soundtrack of the award-winning documentary includes timeless hits from Little Richard like "Tutti Frutti," "Rip It Up," and "Long Tall Sally," plus two covers from Valerie June and Cory Henry, and a piece from the film's original score, composed by Tamar-Kali Brown.
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Charley Pride: I'm Just Me
Non-Fiction DVD, B PRIDE, CHARLEY. Profiles the life and career of African American country musician, Charley Pride.
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Tina
Non-Fiction DVD, B TURNER, TINA. Profiles the life and career of Tina Turner, featuring her personal reflections, archival interviews, and contributions from others
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Marian Anderson: A Voice Uplifted
by Victoria Garrett Jones
Juvenile Biography, ANDERSON. Marian Anderson’s majestic voice mesmerized the nation--but her courage in confronting racism was even more inspirational. She became the first African - American to record spirituals for a major recording company, and the first to appear on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House. Victoria Garrett Jones tells her remarkable story, from Philadelphia’s poorest neighborhood to the world’s finest concert stages.
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Ella Fitzgerald: First Lady of Jazz
by Megan Schoeneberger
Juvenile Biography, FITZGERALD. Offers a brief introduction to the life of jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, who recorded more than two hundred albums and performed at Carnegie Hall twenty-six times.
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Song for Jimi: The Story of Guitar Legend Jimi Hendrix
by Charles R. Smith
Juvenile Biography, HENDRIX, JIMI. Accompanied by psychedelic artwork, this one-of-a-kind mix of rhythm and rhyme captures the soul of the rock icon as he struggled to live life on his own terms.
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Billie Holiday: Singer
by Forrest Cole
Juvenile Biography, HOLIDAY. Discusses the life and career of Billie Holiday.
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Who is Stevie Wonder?
by Jim Gigliotti
Juvenile Paperbacks, GIGLIOTTI. Looks at the life, musical accomplishments, and civil rights work of Stevie Wonder.
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Who was Louis Armstrong?
by Yona Zeldis McDonough
Juvenile Paperbacks, MCDONOUGH. Explores how a tough black kid from New Orleans became an amazing jazz musician and band leader at a pivotal time in American history.
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The Green Piano: How Little Me Found Music
by Roberta Flack
Picture Books, FLACK, ROBERTA. The multiple Grammy Award-winning singer recounts her childhood in a home surrounded by love and music that all started with an old, beat-up piano her father found in a junkyard that helped her become a legend in the music industry.
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Bridges Instead of Walls: The Story of Mavis Staples
by Mavis Staples
New Picture Books, STAPLES, MAVIS. Painting a beautiful portrait of the civil rights activist and legendary singer who's still performing in front of large audiences at 85 years old, this picture book brings her story and her inspiring message of love, faith and justice to young people.
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The Color of Dance: A Celebration of Diversity and Inclusion in the World of Ballet
by TaKiyah Wallace-McMillian
Non-Fiction, 792.8 W155C. Showcasing more than 190 colorful ballerinas of all ages and levels, the photographer behind the Instagram sensation Brown Girls Do Ballet redefines what this classically Eurocentric art form has looked like for centuries and inspires all of us to pursue our dreams no matter what barriers are put in front of us.
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To Reach the Nation's Ear: A History of African American Public Speaking
by Richard W. Leeman
New Non-Fiction, 973.0496 L517T. Throughout much of American history, African Americans have been denied easy access to most of the traditional modes of effective reform, such as newspapers, legislative assemblies, unions and political parties. Public speaking has thus been one of the most critically important means by which leaders and individuals have reached an audience, enacted or prevented change, and created community. Dating from the earliest days of American history, the African American community has produced many notable and eloquent speakers and has demonstrated a vibrant oral tradition.
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Dancing Down the Barricades: Sammy Davis Jr. and the Long Civil Rights Era: A Cultural History
by Matthew Frye Jacobson
Biography, DAVIS, SAMMY. Through the lens of Sammy Davis Jr.'s six-decade career in show business--from vaudeville to Vegas to Broadway, Hollywood, and network TV-Dancing Down the Barricades examines the workings of race in American culture. The title phrase holds two contradictory meanings regarding Davis's cultural politics: did he dance the barricades down, as he liked to think, or did he simply dance down them, as his more radical critics would have it? Sammy Davis Jr. was at once a pioneering, barrier-busting, anti-Jim Crow activist and someone who was widely associated with accommodationism and wannabe whiteness. Historian Matthew Jacobson attends to both threads, analyzing how industry norms, productions, scripts, roles, and audience expectations and responses were all framed by race, against a backdrop of a changing America. In the spirit of better understanding Davis's life and career, Dancing Down the Barricades examines the complexities of his constraints, freedoms, and choices for what they reveal about Black history and American political culture.
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Finding Me
by Viola Davis
Biography, DAVIS, VIOLA. The critically acclaimed film, television and theater actress presents an inspiring and deeply honest story of her life, from her coming-of-age in Rhode Island to her current hard-won success.
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Black and Blue: the Redd Foxx Story
by Michael Starr
Biography, FOXX. Tells the story of Foxx, a veteran comedian and "overnight sensation" at the age of forty-nine whose early life was defined by adversity - and his post-Sanford and Son years by a blur of women, cocaine, endless lawsuits, financial chaos, and a losing battle with the IRS. Foxx's frank, trailblazing style as the "King of the Party Records" opened the door for a generation of African-American comedians including Dick Gregory, Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, and Chris Rock. Foxx took the country by storm in January 1972 as crotchety, bow-legged Watts junk dealer Fred Sanford in Sanford and Son, one of the most beloved sitcoms in television history. Interviews with friends, confidantes, and colleagues provide a unique insight into this generous, brash, vulnerable performer - a man who Norman Lear described as "inherently, innately funny in every part of his being."
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Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me
by Whoopi Goldberg
Biography, GOLDBERG, WHOOPI. Whoopi shares many of the deeply personal stories of her mother and their lives together for the first time. Growing up in the projects in New York City...to this day, she doesn't know how her mother was able to give them such an enriching childhood, despite the struggles they faced--and it wasn't until she was well into adulthood that Whoopi learned just how traumatic some of those struggles were.
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Lena Horne: Goddess Reclaimed
by Donald Bogle
Biography, HORNE, LENA. From Turner Classic Movies and Donald Bogle, the award-winning author and leading authority on Black cinema history, this is a comprehensive and lavish biography of Hollywood's first African American movie goddess.
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Leslie F*cking Jones: A Memoir
by Leslie Jones
Biography, JONES, LESLIE. Introducing the woman behind the laughs, this audacious memoir reveals what it took to for Leslie Jones to become one of America's most beloved and plain-speaking superstars, encouraging others to let go of the fear and self-doubt holding them back to live a bigger life than ever imagined.
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Hattie McDaniel: Black Ambition, White Hollywood
by Jill Watts
Biography, MCDANIEL, HATTIE. An exploration of Hollywood racism as reflected in the life and career of the actress best known for her portrayal of "Mammy" in Gone with the Wind describes her denigration in spite of her Oscar-winning performance, her controversial decision to stick to stereotypical roles, and her successful efforts to integrate a Los Angeles neighborhood.
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Higher is Waiting
by Tyler Perry
Biography, PERRY, TYLER. The cinematic innovator behind Tyler Perry Studios traces his youth in New Orleans through his successful career in an uplifting account of his spiritual awakening that explains how his faith has enriched his life and sustained him in hard times.
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Will
by Will Smith
Biography, SMITH, WILL. A product of a profound journey of self-knowledge, and a reckoning with all that your will can get you and all that it can leave behind, in this memoir, one of the most dynamic and globally recognized entertainment forces of our time opens up fully about his life.
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You Got Anything Stronger?: Stories
by Gabrielle Union
Biography, UNION, GABRIELLE. The actress and activist, at her most vulnerable, sharing how her ever-changing life presents challenges, even as it gives her moments of pure joy, opens up about her surrogacy journey and takes on racist institutions and practices in the entertainment industry.
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Thicker Than Water: A Memoir
by Kerry Washington
Biography, WASHINGTON, KERRY. In this profoundly moving and beautifully written memoir, the award-winning actor and activist provides an intimate view into both her public and private worlds as she chronicles her life's journey thus far, sharing how she discovered her truest self and, with it, a deeper sense of belonging.
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What Have We Here?: Portraits of a Life
by Billy Dee Williams
Biography, WILLIAMS, BILLY DEE. Recalling his remarkable life of nearly eight decades, the film legend who has starred in 40 movies, seven Broadway plays and has made more than 40 TV shows and movies combined shows how he, as the first Black character in the Star Wars universe, became a true pop culture icon.
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Worthy
by Jada Pinkett Smith
Boundless eBook. A gripping, painfully honest, and ultimately inspirational memoir from global superstar and creator of the Red Table Talk series Jada Pinkett Smith. In a media driven landscape that crafts narratives for our celebrities, Smith recounts her story in an intimate conversation with readers. Along the way, she explores her path to accepting her power as a woman, and her discovery that a strong sense of self is every woman's right and saving grace. An impactful and rare memoir that engages and educates, Worthy is a courageous love song to self, to family, to life, and to the world. From an unconventional upbringing in Baltimore, to an unconventional marriage to one of the most famous men in the world, adhering to the status quo has never been a familiar road for Jada Pinkett Smith. In Worthy, Smith strips herself of all the labels and stories crafted by others, and reclaims her narrative with radical self-love. Worthy teaches us who Jada is, and how to embrace our most authentic lovable souls.
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I am Richard Pryor
Non-Fiction DVD, B PRYOR, RICHARD. Tells the life story of the iconic comedian and actor, Richard Pryor.
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Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker
by Patricia Hruby Powell
Juvenile Biography, BAKER, JOSEPHINE. Combines exuberant verse and stirring illustrations in a picture book introduction to the life of the passionate performer and civil rights activist that traces her journey from the slums of St. Louis to the world's most famous stages.
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Cicely Tyson
by Renâee Watson
New Juvenile Biography, TYSON, CICELY. A picture book biography about the life of Cicely Tyson, an Academy, Tony and three-time Emmy Award-winning actress and trailblazer who left an indelible mark on the world through her screen and stage roles.
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The Nutcracker in Harlem
by T. E. McMorrow
Picture Books, MCMORROW. Set in New York City at the height of the Harlem Renaissance, a reimagining of the classic Nutcracker story follows the efforts of a young girl who finds her voice as a musician during an enchanting adventure alongside a toy that comes to life.
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Michigan City Public Library
100 E. 4th Street
Michigan City, Indiana 46360
219-873-3044mclib.org/ |
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