Staff Picks
#BlackGirlMagic
- Morgan R.
- Monday, March 09, 2020
Collection
The #BlackGirlMagic movement took off in 2013 and has since "become a rallying cry and affirmation for black women all over", says originator CaShawn Thompson. Check out these out to keep the magic alive. It's just a tiny sampling of what Richland Library has to offer!
A Ballerina's Tale
Published in 2016
Iconic ballerina Misty Copeland made history when she became the first African-American woman to be named principal dancer of the legendary American Ballet Theater. Get the incredible, behind-the-scenes story of how she overcame outmoded ballet culture stereotypes and near career-ending injuries to become one of the most revered dancers of her generation.
Game Changers
The Story of Venus and Serena Williams
Published in 2018
Shares the story of the sisters and tennis stars, including their special relationship as sisters and best friends, their constant training as children, and their incredible success in professional tennis.
Eloquent Rage
A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower
Published in 2018
"So what if it's true that Black women are mad as hell? They have the right to be. In the Black feminist tradition of Audre Lorde, Brittney Cooper reminds us [in this memoir] that anger is a powerful source of energy that can give us the strength to keep on fighting"--Dust jacket flap.
Little Leaders
Bold Women in Black History
Published in 2017
Based on her popular Instagram posts, debut author/illustrator Vashti Harrison shares the stories of 40 bold African American women who shaped history.
The Face That Changed It All
Published in 2015
In her revelatory and redemptive memoir, Beverly Johnson, the first African American supermodel to grace the cover of Vogue, recounts her career in her own passionate and deeply honest voice. She chronicles her childhood as a studious, and sometimes bullied, bookworm during the sixties. She left college to pursue modeling and a successful three-decade career followed. Amid glamorous tales of the hard partying of the 1970s and Hollywood during the eighties, she details her many encounters and friendships with the likes of Jackie Kennedy, Halston, Calvin Klein, Andy Warhol, Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Jackson, Eddie Murphy, Jack Nicholson, Keith Richards, and Warren Beatty. But she also reveals the demons she wrestled with--her struggles with racism, drug addiction, and an abusive marriage followed by divorce proceedings which tested her fortitude and sanity. She shares for the first time intimate details surrounding her love affair with the late tennis icon Arthur Ashe, and pays homage to her mentor, the late Naomi Sims, while lifting the veil off the complicated and often tense relationships among models. Familiar names from the catwalk, such as Pat Cleveland and Iman, illustrate how each had to fight not just the system, but each other, in order to survive. More than five hundred magazine covers later, Johnson is now a successful businesswoman, actress, women's advocate, and philanthropist. This no-holds-barred look at the lives of the rich, fabulous, and famous is also a story of failure and success in the upper echelons of the fashion world, and how Beverly Johnson emerged from her struggles smarter, happier, and stronger than ever.--Adapted from book jacket.
Assata
An Autobiography
Published in 1987
"On May 2, 1973, Black Panther Assata Shakur (aka JoAnne Chesimard) lay in a hospital, close to death, handcuffed to her bed, while local, state, and federal police attempted to question her about the shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike that had claimed the life of a white state trooper. Long a target of J. Edgar Hoover's campaign to defame, infiltrate, and criminalize Black nationalist organizations and their leaders, Shakur was incarcerated for four years prior to her conviction on flimsy evidence in 1977 as an accomplice to murder. This intensely personal and political autobiography belies the fearsome image of JoAnne Chesimard long projected by the media and the state. With wit and candor, Assata Shakur recounts the experiences that led her to a life of activism and portrays the strengths, weaknesses, and eventual demise of Black and White revolutionary groups at the hand of government officials. The result is a signal contribution to the literature about growing up Black in America that has already taken its place alongside The Autobiography of Malcolm X and the works of Maya Angelou. Two years after her conviction, Assata Shakur escaped from prison. She was given political asylum by Cuba, where she now resides." -- Publisher's description
On the Come Up
Published in 2019
When sixteen-year-old Bri, an aspiring rapper, pours her anger and frustration into her first song, she finds herself at the center of a controversy.
Beyoncé in Formation
Remixing Black Feminism
Published in 2018
Making headlines when it was launched in 2015, Omise'eke Natasha Tinsley's undergraduate course "Beyonce Feminism, Rihanna Womanism" has inspired students from all walks of life. In Beyonce in Formation, Tinsley now takes her rich observations beyond the classroom, using the blockbuster album and video Lemonade as a soundtrack for vital next-millennium narratives. Woven with candid observations about her life as a feminist scholar of African studies and a cisgender femme married to a trans spouse, Tinsley's "Femme-onade" mixtape explores myriad facets of black women's sexuality and gender. Turning to Beyonce's "Don't Hurt Yourself," Tinsley assesses black feminist critiques of marriage and then considers the models of motherhood offered in "Daddy Lessons," interspersing these passages with memories from Tinsley's multiracial family history. Her chapters on nontraditional bonds culminate in a discussion of contemporary LGBT politics through the lens of the internet-breaking video "Formation," underscoring why Beyonce's black femme-inism isn't only for ciswomen. From pleasure politics and the struggle for black women's reproductive justice to the subtext of blues and country music traditions, the landscape in this tour is populated by activists and artists (including Loretta Lynn) and infused with vibrant interpretations of Queen Bey's provocative, peerless imagery and lyrics. In the tradition of Roxanne Gay's Bad Feminist and Jill Lepore's bestselling cultural histories, Beyonce in Formation is the work of a daring intellectual who is poised to spark a new conversation about freedom and identity in America.
Brown Girl Dreaming
Published in 2014
Stories of the author's childhood from the '60s and '70s told in prose.
Woman of Color
Published in 2019
"LaTonya Yvette, the blogger and stylist behind the eponymous site, is unapologetically candid about life's trials, including motherhood, love, death, and racism. Her first book, Woman of Color, is part memoir, part lifestyle guide--packed with moving essays, gorgeous original and archival photographs, and practical style and beauty advice. At the very heart, though, it's about LaTonya's experience growing up as a woman of color in Brooklyn. Each beautifully designed chapter covers a different topic--the meaning behind her name, how vitiligo has shaped her definition of beauty, her childhood hairstyles, raising her children as a 20-something mom--and ends with thoughtful advice and lifestyle takeaways like how to tie a headwrap or incorporate new, bold colors into your wardrobe. Woman of Color is real life, real style for women from all walks of life. In it, LaTonya has written a love letter to women, filling this book with vulnerable, imperfect truths from a black woman blogger, a voice not often seen on bookstore shelves."--Amazon.com.