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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; Hoopla eBook; Hoopla eAudiobook. 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; Hoopla eBook. 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
Non-Fiction, 704.942 C898B; Hoopla eBook; Hoopla eAudiobook. 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
Non-Fiction, 747 R259I; Hoopla eBook. 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: The Iconic Works
by Dieter Buchhart
Non-Fiction, 759.13 B851J. Jean-Michel Basquiat--artist and art world provocateur--took New York City by storm with his powerful and complex works that relentlessly engaged with charged sociopolitical issues, including race, police brutality, and structural inequity. In this important volume, devoted to an exhibition at the Brant Foundation in their newly opened Manhattan outpost featuring the artist's key works, Basquiat's art returns to its East Village roots, contextualized for the first time in decades in the very neighborhood that served as one of his greatest inspirations.
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Derrick Adams
by Book Author
Non-Fiction, 759.13 G122D. The highly anticipated first monograph on one of the most celebrated American contemporary artists. Through portraits, social scenes, photographs, sculptures, and immersive installations, Derrick Adams has developed an artistic practice that jocundly visualizes modern Black American life. Equally informed by popular culture as he is by the history of modern art, Adams's work brings the everyday experiences of Black Americans to the forefront, capturing fashionable moments of joy, resilience, and celebration. His artworks are filled with color, energy, and complexity, whether they depict intimate, everyday moments or grand, sweeping statements. Adams's first-ever monograph includes 150 of the most significant works from his thirty-year career, along with four newly commissioned texts from cultural luminaries. Filled with beautifully reproduced images and presented in a cloth case with a painting tipped onto the front cover, this stunning book establishes Derrick Adams as one of the most important figurative artists working today.
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Michael Ray Charles: A Retrospective
by Cherise Smith
Non-Fiction, 759.13.SM53M. 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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Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child
Hoopla Movie. A thoughtful portrait of a renowned artist, this documentary shines the spotlight on New York City painter Jean-Michel Basquiat. Featuring extensive interviews conducted by Basquiat's friend, filmmaker Tamra Davis, the production reveals how he dealt with being a black artist in a predominantly white field. The film also explores Basquiat's rise in the art world, which led to a close relationship with Andy Warhol, and looks at how the young painter coped with acclaim, scrutiny and fame.
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Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
by Javaka Steptoe
Juvenile Caldecott Collection, STEPTOE; Hoopla eAudiobook. 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; Hoopla eBook; Hoopla eAudiobook. 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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Dreaming in Ensemble: How Black Artists Transformed American Opera
by Lucy Caplan
Non-Fiction, 782.1 C172D. Lucy Caplan explores the flourishing of Black composers, performers, and critics of opera in America during the early twentieth century. Working outside mainstream opera houses, these artists fostered countercultural forms of expression that reimagined opera as a medium of Black aesthetic and political creativity.
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Hell's Kitchen: Behind the Dream
by Alicia Keys
New Non-Fiction, 782.14 K522H. A stunning behind-the-scenes look into Alicia Keys' hit Broadway musical, Hell's Kitchen, featuring never-before-seen photographs, exclusive interviews, and insights from Keys herself. Hell's Kitchen debuted on Broadway in 2024--and the show has been electrifying audiences ever since. With plenty of awards attention, the musical has drawn sold-out crowds to the Shubert Theatre for Alicia Keys' relatable, raw and refreshingly fun production that shows us where dreams begin. Based on Keys' own experiences of growing up in New York City's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, your journey starts with Ali, a 17-year-old girl full of fire, searching for freedom, passion, and her place in the world. Along the way, you'll meet the musical mentor who changes her life, her dynamic family, and the neighborhood that helps her grow. It's a celebration of finding yourself, your purpose, and the people who lift you up.
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Isn't Her Grace Amazing: The Women Who Changed Gospel Music
by Cheryl Wills
Non-Fiction, 782.254 W685I; Hoopla eBook; Hoopla eAudiobook. 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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Jay-Z: Made in America
by Michael Eric Dyson
Non-Fiction, 782.421649 D995J; Hoopla eAudiobook. 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; Hoopla eAudiobook. 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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Promise That You Will Sing About Me: The Power and Poetry of Kendrick Lamar
by Miles Marshall Lewis
Non-Fiction, 782.421649 L587P; Hoopla eAudiobook. A pop culture critic and music journalist explores the life of one of the most influential rappers, songwriters and record producers of his generation, providing an in-depth look at how he revolutionized the music industry from the inside.
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Stomp Off, Let's Go: The Early Years of Louis Armstrong
by Ricky Riccardi
New Biography, ARMSTRONG, LOUIS. In Stomp Off, Let's Go, author Ricky Riccardi offers a fresh take on the most widely discussed period of Louis Armstrong's life. Tracing the trumpeter's meteoric rise to fame from childhood in New Orleans all the way to Chicago, where he changed the course of music with the Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings, Riccardi foregrounds the voices of Armstrong and his contemporaries to explore Armstrong's path and relationships more intimately, in turn providing essential insights into how Armstrong rose to become one of America's most beloved icons.
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From the Shadow of the Blues: My Story of Music, Addiction, and Redemption
by Jr. Hooker, John Lee
Biography, HOOKER, JOHN LEE. A powerful memoir of redemption from the son of blues legend John Lee Hooker. As a teenager, junior was featured attraction at his father's shows, but a broken childhood and drug addiction led to decades in and out of prisons. Emerging sober and finding the Lord, he launched a successful career as a Grammy-nominated artist and became a minister.
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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; Hoopla eBook; Hoopla eAudiobook. 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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This Is Rhythm: Ella Jenkins, Children's Music, and the Long Civil Rights Movement
by Gayle F. Wald
New Biography, JENKINS, ELLA. 99-year-old Ella Jenkins was a pioneer in American children's music and an early practitioner of what became known as multiculturalism. Here Gayle Wald, with unparalleled access to Jenkins's papers, documents not just Jenkins's life but the influence of her music among musicians and also educational institutions, including Chicago's South Parkway YMCA, where Jenkins taught music and dance. She became a fixture and touchstone of the folk music scene, putting out dozens of albums and performing worldwide. Her story illuminates the cultural history of Chicago and of postwar America, tying together musical history, gay and lesbian studies, racial and musical lineages, and more--
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Adversity for Sale: You Gotta Believe
by Jeezy
Biography, JENKINS, JAY; Hoopla eAudiobook. 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; Hoopla eAudiobook. 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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Gentleman of Jazz: A Life in Music
by Ramsey Lewis
Biography, LEWIS, RAMSEY; Hoopla eBook; Hoopla eAudiobook. 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; Hoopla eBook. 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; Hoopla eBook. 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
Biography, MONK; Hoopla eAudiobook. 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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Truly
by Lionel Richie
New Biography, RICHIE, LIONEL; Audio-CD B RICHIE, LIONEL. The long-awaited memoir of the legendary Lionel Richie. As a storyteller second to none, Lionel Richie is ready to tell it all. In this intimate, deeply candid memoir, Lionel revisits hilarious and harrowing events to inspire all who doubt themselves or feel their dreams don't matter. Lionel chronicles lessons learned during his unlikely story of remarkable success--his dramatic transformation from painfully shy, tragically late bloomer to world-class entertainer and composer of love songs that have played as the soundtrack of our lives
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Life's Too Short: A Memoir
by Darius Rucker
Biography, RUCKER, DARIUS; Playaway B RUCKER; Audio-CD B RUCKER; Hoopla eBook; Hoopla eAudiobook. A raw, heartfelt memoir from Darius Rucker, the Grammy Award- winning country music sensation and multiplatinum-selling lead singer of Hootie & The Blowfish In 1986 Darius Rucker cofounded Hootie & The Blowfish at the University of South Carolina. What began as a party band playing frat houses and dive bars quickly became a global pop rock phenomenon through their multiplatinum-selling debut album, cracked rear view, which featured era-defining hit songs like Only Wanna Be with You, Let Her Cry, and Hold My Hand. Later, Darius would chart a pioneering path as a solo country music artist, with classic anthems like Wagon Wheel and Alright. Nearly forty years after the band's formation, Darius tells his remarkable story through the lens of the songs that shaped him.
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Only God Can Judge Me: The Many Lives of Tupac Shakur
by Jeff Pearlman
New Biography, SHAKUR, TUPAC. Scrutinized in life, mythologized in death, Tupac Shakur remains a subject of cultural significance and speculation nearly thirty years after his murder. Despite a multitude of books, documentaries, and even a feature film, much about Tupac's story remains shrouded and misunderstood. Like many icons who died tragically young, Tupac the man has long been obscured--his edges sanded down, his complexity numbed--by the competing agendas that surround his legacy. Jeff Pearlman recreates West Coast hip hop in all its glory, going inside Death Row Records and on the sets of movies like Juice and Poetic Justice to offer a clear-eyed rendering of the man who still casts a shadow over modern hip hop.
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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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Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin): A Memoir
by Sly Stone
Biography, STONE, SLY; Hoopla eAudiobook. In a much-anticipated memoir, a legendary rock star is finally ready to share his story—a story that many thought he'd never have the chance to tell.
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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; Hoopla eBook. 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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Let Love Have the Last Word: A Memoir
by Common
Hoopla eBook; Hoopla eAudiobook. 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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Queen of Bebop: The Musical Lives of Sarah Vaughan
by Elaine M. Hayes
Hoopla eBook; Hoopla eAudiobook. 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
Hoopla eBook; Hoopla eAudiobook. 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
Hoopla eBook; Hoopla eAudiobook. 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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Prince: The Man, the Symbol, the Music
by Eric Braun
Hoopla eBook; Hoopla eAudiobook. 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
Hoopla eBook; Hoopla eAudiobook. 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
Hoopla eAudiobook;, 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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Nina
Feature Films, NINA; Hoopla Movie. 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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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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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; Hoopla Movie. 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; Hoopla Movie. 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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Black Achievements in Music: Celebrating Louis Armstrong, Beyoncé, and More
by Elliott Smith
New Juvenile Non-Fiction, 305.896073 SM55B3; Hoopla eBook. Music changes over time, and new artists rise to fame with every generation. Black artists of the past and present have produced hit songs, won Grammy Awards, and written about difficult or challenging topics. Their creative styles have influenced other artists in a variety of genres, including pop, rap, and R&B. Celebrate artists such as Nina Simone, Prince, Aretha Franklin, and Kendrick Lamar who have made notable achievements in music.
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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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How Sweet the Sound
by Kwame Alexander
A celebration of the history of Black music in America.--
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A Change Is Gonna Come
by Sam Cooke
New Picture Books, COOKE, SAM. An illustrated version of the civil rights anthem by Sam Cooke.
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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
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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The Strangers: Five Extraordinary Black Men and the Worlds That Made Them
by Ekow Eshun
New Non-Fiction, 920.009296 ES36S; Hoopla eBook; Hoopla eAudiobook. In the western imagination, a Black man is always a stranger, outsider, foreigner, intruder, alien; one who remains associated with their origins irrespective of how far they have travelled from them. One who is not an individual in his own right, but the representative of a type. What kind of performance is required for a person to survive this condition? What happens beneath the mask--what is the cost to the mind and body, to one's relationships and one's sense of self? Searching for answers, Ekow Eshun channels the voices of five very different individuals. Each man a renowned trailblazer in his field. Each man haunted by a sense of isolation and exile. Each man a stranger in his own world: Ira Aldridge, nineteenth century British actor and playwright; Matthew Henson, the first Black man to reach the North Pole; Frantz Fanon, French-Martinican psychiatrist and political philosopher; Malcolm X, civil rights activist and leader; Justin Fashanu, Britain's first openly gay professional footballer. Telling their stories, Eshun pushes the boundaries of genre to capture them in all their complexity, interweaving biography, fiction, historical record, and memoir, sharing his own experiences living as a Black Briton in the art world. The Strangers illuminates both the hostility and the beauty each man encountered in the world, positioning them all within a wider landscape of Black art, culture, history, and politics throughout the diaspora.
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To Reach the Nation's Ear: A History of African American Public Speaking
by Richard W. Leeman
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; Hoopla eAudiobook. 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; Hoopla eBook; Hoopla eAudiobook. 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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Simply More: A Book for Anyone Who Has Been Told They're Too Much
by Cynthia Erivo
Biography, ERIVO, CYNTHIA. Cynthia Erivo learned the music to Wicked a decade before she needed it, not knowing those ... lyrics would change her life. Now she has performed those songs on the world stage, showing us there is always time to keep discovering ourselves--and to illustrate that it's often the parts of ourselves we are told to bury that make us shine. In a series of ... personal vignettes, Cynthia reflects on the ways she has grown as an actor and human and the practices she's learned over years of performing and reminds us all we are capable of so much more than we think--
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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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Successful Failure: Lessons Learned Flat on My Face
by Kevin Fredericks
New Biography, FREDERICKS, KEVIN. Being successful is no laughing matter . . . unless the road there is littered with flops, fool's errands, fizzles, and straight-up failures--from the New York Times bestselling co-author of Marriage Be Hard.I'm so happy Kev failed, because these stories will set so many free from perfection!--Tabitha Brown, bestselling author of Feeding the SoulKevin Fredericks (aka KevOnStage) is a viral stand-up star, an NAACP Image Award-winning comedian, the founder of KevOnStage Studios, a New York Times bestselling author, and a superstar on social media. But his path to success wasn't always smooth. As a kid, Kevin noticed something useful: If he made people laugh, the grown-ups would let him stay up late. In church plays, his commitment to the role of Goliath led to a busted lip, and the audience couldn't get enough. He dreamed of becoming a performer, of finding that big break that would launch him into the bright lights of pop culture fame. But as he soon found, the road to the life we want is longer, weirder, more embarrassing, and more entertaining than we think it will be.In Successful Failure, the comedian recounts hilarious stories and sincere insight from his adventures (and misadventures) trying to make it in life. From performing under an alias to avoid getting fired from his suit-and-tie day job to breaking a chair onstage and quitting stand-up for six months, from pooping his pants on a bus next to his future wife to starting a clothing line called Dreams Don't Die (they sure do if the merch doesn't sell), Kevin reminds readers that while we might not be The Rock, Warren Buffett, or Kevin Hart, we're all out here trying, and that's okay.Laugh-out-loud in one moment and perceptive in the next, Successful Failure is a wild ride from one of America's funniest comics and a sendup of our ideals around hustle culture and success.
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Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me
by Whoopi Goldberg
Biography, GOLDBERG, WHOOPI; Hoopla eBook; Hoople eAudiobook. 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; Hoopla eAudiobook. 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; Hoopla eBook. 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; Hoopla eAudiobook. 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; Hoopla eBook; Hoopla eAudiobook. 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
Hoopla eBook; Hoopla eAudiobook. 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; Hoopla eBook; Hoopla eAudiobook. 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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Michigan City Public Library
100 E. 4th Street
Michigan City, Indiana 46360
219-873-3044mclib.org/ |
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