Forty years after John Edgar Wideman's first book of stories, comes this stunning collection that is vital reading for anyone interested in the state of America today. Its subjects range from Michael Jordan to Emmett Till, from distrust of authority to everyday grief, from childhood memories to the final day in a prison cell. A boy stands alone in his grandmother's house, unable to enter the room in which his grandfather's coffin lies, afraid the...

"Urban Apologetics equips pastors, churches, and everyday believers to engage, understand, and love African Americans who are involved in ethnocentric ideologies and black mystery cults."--

"A solid marriage, a thriving business, and the esteem of their close-knit Alabama community--Joyce and Odell Watson have every reason to count their blessings. Their marriage has given well-off Joyce a chance at the family she's always wanted--and granted Odell a once-in-a-lifetime shot to escape grinding poverty. But all that respectability and status comes at a cost. Just once, Joyce and Odell want to break loose and taste life's wild side, without...

"When white silver screen icon Kitty Karr Tate dies and bequeaths her multimillion-dollar estate to the three Black St. John sisters, it prompts questions. A celebrity in her own right, Elise St. John would rather focus on sorting out Kitty's affairs than deal with the press. But what she discovers in one of Kitty's journals rocks her world harder than any other brewing scandal could-and between a cheating fiancé and fallout from a controversial...

The adventures of a little boy in the city on a very snowy day. On board pages.

The Davenports are one of the few Black families of immense wealth and status in 1910 Chicago, and the two daughters, Olivia and Helen, are finding their way and finding love--even where they are not supposed to.

An intimate look at black cowboys as they gather for a rodeo and dance on the 40 acre Circle 6 Ranch in Raywood, Texas. A dirt road leads onto the ranch, where all of the structures, including a frame house, rodeo arena, and barn, are hand-wrought. A.J. Walker, his wife Pam, and his son, Anthony, are preparing for the monthly rodeo. This rodeo, which draws from the surrounding communities, is very much a family operation. Black cowboys drive their...

The lives of Dan Cooley, a legendary L.A. trainer, and Chicky Garcia, a young man battling to make a name for himself on the San Antonio boxing circuit, intertwine as both men struggle to cope with the pain of the past and their individual demons.

Children taking a shortcut by walking along a railroad track find excitement and danger when a train approaches.

As an African American toddler keeps getting into mischief throughout the day, the reader is invited to discover what the trouble is with each page-turn and to say "uh-oh."