"The daughter of a prostitute mother and an alcoholic father, Maggie Franklin knew her only way out was to marry someone upstanding and church-going. Someone like Hubert Wiggins, the most eligible man in Lexington, Alabama--and the son of its most revered preacher. Proper and prosperous, Hubert is glad to finally have a wife, even one with Maggie's background. For Hubert has a secret he desperately needs to stay hidden. And Maggie's unexpected charm,...

The critically acclaimed author of The Rib King returns with an eagerly anticipated collection of short stories including the title story written exclusively for this volume, that explore relationships in a Black neighborhood over the course from the late 1980s to the eve of Barack Obama's inauguration. The twelve stories in The Last Suspicious Holdout and Other Stories capture powerful and poignant moments in the everyday lives of African American...

If forgiving your ex-husband was easy, everybody would do it. Brent had cheated on Dayna and coldly said goodbye to her seven long years ago-dashing her hopes of having children or growing old with the love of her life. Working hard to make herself successful as a hospital executive, Dayna has moved on, finding comfort in a new dating relationship with a faith-filled colleague, Warren. But when Brent resurfaces on her doorstep at just the wrong time,...

Washington's dramatic, autobiographical account of how he had stood fast against the social and ideological bias prevalent in his day includes a new Afterword. Revised reissue. The autobiography of Booker T. Washington, a remarkable orator and former slave who pressed for equality and black community. "Born in a Virginia slave hut, Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) rose to become the most influential spokesman for African Americans of his day. In...

Shiloh Griffin has no identity outside of her roles as pastor's wife and mom. Some days that is enough. But not always. Particularly when she is partnered with the always confident, always gracious Jade Smith on a church ministry project. Rather than shying away from God in her nervousness, Shiloh clings to Him, seeking every day to redeem herself. When an opportunity arises for her to teach music at a local high school, she thinks maybe it's just...

"Bestselling author Walter Mosley has proven himself a master of narrative tension, both with his extraordinary fiction and gripping writing for television. The Awkward Black Man collects seventeen of Mosley's most accomplished short stories to display the full range of his remarkable talent. Mosley presents distinct characters as they struggle to move through the world in each of these stories - heroes who are awkward, nerdy, self-defeating, self-involved,...

"A resistance group takes America's racial reckoning into its own hands in this powerful, stirringly original debut novel. After the murder of an unarmed Black teenager by the hands of the police, protests spread like wildfire in Bliss City, New Jersey. A full-scale resistance group takes control of an abandoned housing project and decide to call it Hush Harbor, in homage to the secret spaces their enslaved ancestors would gather to pray. Jeremiah...

Indigo Burns is excited. Her wedding preparations to the man of her dreams are under way, her career as a photographer is a success, and her family seems to be doing better than ever - all except her brother Reuben who nobody has seen in years. But that's about to change, because Reuben has decided to move back home to Jubilant, Texas. But Reuben's hope to find healing with his sisters doesn't seem to be working. Soon enough their lives intersect...

""A stunning debut novel that delves fearlessly into the taboo subject of modern-day medical experimentation on African Americans"-- When Lena Johnson's beloved grandmother dies, and the full extent of the family debt is revealed, the black millennial drops out of college to support her family and takes a job in the mysterious and remote town of Lakewood, Michigan. On paper, her new job is too good to be true. High paying. No out of pocket medical...

"Vaughn Miller's Wall Street career was abruptly ended by a wrongful conviction and two years in prison. Since then, he's returned to his hometown, kept his head down and forged a way forward. When he is exonerated and his name cleared, he feels he can hold his head up once again, maybe even talk to the beautiful café owner who sets his blood to simmering. Sierra Crane escaped a disastrous marriage--barely. She and her six-year-old goddaughter have...