Books in the Black Studies series

What was the cultural legacy of enslaved Africans in the American South, and how has that legacy been handed through generations?For author Deirdre Foreman, this question is a very personal one: in this book, she explores the cultural legacy of enslaved Africans in the American South through an ethno-autobiographical reflection on her own African-American identity and family heritage. Through storytelling and personal narratives, the author describes her family's cultural practices and how they are directly rooted in those of the enslaved Africans on the southern plantations. Known as "cultural survivors," enslaved Africans established cultural customs and norms out of resistance to the control of white slaveholders to maintain their independence and pride.Ideal reading for students of Black studies, African American studies, Africana studies, and related courses, this autoethnography humanizes and personalizes concepts that are crucial to the understanding of Black culture and Black history.

Join writer Steve Majors as he recounts his search for identity through race, family, generational trauma, queerness, and parenthood in this moving memoir.The white-passing youngest son of a Black American family, journalist and author Steve Majors reflects on his life and experiences as a multi-racial queer man. A poignant narrative of identity formation, rejection, and re-formation, this moving memoir covers themes of generational trauma, abuse, race, sexuality, and family relationships.Adapted for course reading from the original memoir High Yella, this book is ideal reading for higher education students of Black Studies, African American Studies, American Studies, Queer and LGBT+ Studies, Family Studies, and related courses in the social sciences.

How does the concept of love fit with Black identity?When Black Lives Matter activist Marissa Johnson was pressed to address why she "hates white people", she responded with this question: do you love Black people? This book is an exploration of the issues raised by this radical question - a refusal to centre Black identity on whiteness, a question of how love, and self-love, fit with Black identity, and a queering of how Black identity is understood.Told through autobiographical reflection, this book contains the story of one Black woman's process of iterative identity formation, grappling with the intersections of sexuality, gender, self-image, and love. Focusing on lived experience, the book places theories in context, exploring what ideas look like when applied to real life, making it invaluable reading for Black Studies and related courses.

Emotional courage is an underestimated characteristic of successful Black life in the segregated, unjust US south. Author Greg Freeland reflects on how music reflected, impacted, and influenced Black life in 1950s and 1960s North Carolina.The celebratory aspect of the Black rhythm and blues, jazz, and gospel music of Freeland's life is one of his clearest memories of the time. In this book, he recalls and reflects upon how music was integral to the solidary and resilience of his Black community in an unequal and unjust society. Through examples of music in the household, church, clubs, parties, and schools, this book explores how music worked in a manner that facilitated the development, mobilization, and realization of Black life.