The Skin Between Us: A Memoir of Race, Beauty, and Belonging


Kym Ragusa - 2006
    Ragusa's working-class white father, who grew up only a few streets (and an entire world) away in Italian East Harlem, had never seen anyone like her. At home their families despaired at the match, while in the streets the couple faced taunting threats from a city still racially divided—but they were mesmerized by the differences between them. From their volatile, short-lived pairing came a sensitive child with a filmmaker's observant eye. Her two powerful grandmothers gave her the love and stability to grow into her own skin. Eventually, their shared care for their granddaughter forced them to overcome their prejudices. Rent parties and religious feste, baked yams and baked ziti—Ragusa's sensuous memories are a reader's delight, as they bring to life the joy, pain, and inexhaustible richness of a racially and culturally mixed heritage.

Stop Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain: What Every Woman and Her Doctor Need to Know


Andrew S. Cook - 2012
    Dr. Cook explains why so many patients are misunderstood and misdiagnosed, why most endometriosis surgery is done so poorly, the principles and correct techniques for effective endometriosis surgery, and how to find the best doctors and healthcare providers. This book embraces a women's perspective and provides much-needed support for women who have suffered from the pain of endometriosis. He also explains his comprehensive and successful program for treating endometriosis.

Black Identities: West Indian Immigrant Dreams and American Realities


Mary C. Waters - 2000
    Many of these adoptive citizens have prospered, including General Colin Powell. But Mary Waters tells a very different story about immigrants from the West Indies, especially their children.She finds that when the immigrants first arrive, their knowledge of English, their skills and contacts, their self-respect, and their optimistic assessment of American race relations facilitate their integration into the American economic structure. Over time, however, the realities of American race relations begin to swamp their positive cultural values. Persistent, blatant racial discrimination soon undermines the openness to whites the immigrants have when they first arrive. Discrimination in housing channels them into neighborhoods with inadequate city services and high crime rates. Inferior public schools undermine their hopes for their children's future. Low wages and poor working conditions are no longer attractive for their children, who use American and not Caribbean standards to measure success.Ultimately, the values that gained these first-generation immigrants initial success--a willingness to work hard, a lack of attention to racism, a desire for education, an incentive to save--are undermined by the realities of life in the United States. In many families, the hard-won relative success of the parents is followed by the downward slide of their children. Contrary to long-held beliefs, Waters finds, those who resist Americanization are most likely to succeed economically, especially in the second generation.

Sisters in Hate: American Women on the Front Lines of White Nationalism


Seyward Darby - 2020
    Trump, journalist Seyward Darby went looking for the women of the so-called alt-right--really just white nationalism with a new label. The mainstream media depicted the alt-right as a bastion of angry white men, but was it? As women headlined resistance to the Trump administration's bigotry and sexism, most notably at the women's marches, Darby wanted to know why others were joining a movement espousing racism and anti-feminism. Who were these women, and what did their activism reveal about America's past, present, and future? Darby researched dozens of women across the country before settling on three: Corinna Olsen, Ayla Stewart, and Lana Lokteff. Each was born in 1979 and became a white nationalist in the post-9/11 era. Their respective stories of radicalization upend much of what we assume about women, politics, and political extremism.

A Welcome Misfortune (Sworn Sisters #1)


Kay BrattKay Bratt - 2020
    In 1867 an infant girl called Luli is born into a middle-class Chinese family on the mainland. Her fate is altered when instead of being put to the breast of her mother, her father declares her a misfortune and she is left at the famous Chaozhou wall where many parents and grandparents abandon their unwanted girls. But the child’s mother is desperate to save her and beseeches one of her sons to step in and deliver the baby to safety.At the same time in the affluent house of a scholar on the island of Hong Kong, house slaves Sun Ling and Jingwei are sworn sisters, bound by their shared struggles. When the hardship and abuse become too much too bear, the girls escape and make a run for freedom, then find themselves on a ship bound for the western coast of the Americas. When the paths of these three forgotten girls of China meet, the ocean journey is treacherous and not for the faint-hearted. In the midst of monumental difficulties, their lives converge, and they traverse many obstacles, but will do anything for one another in their oath to stay together and fulfill their hope for a better future in Chinatown, on the shores of San Francisco.

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot


Mikki Kendall - 2020
    Mainstream feminists rarely talk about meeting basic needs as a feminist issue, argues Mikki Kendall, but food insecurity, access to quality education, safe neighborhoods, a living wage, and medical care are all feminist issues. All too often, however, the focus is not on basic survival for the many, but on increasing privilege for the few. That feminists refuse to prioritize these issues has only exacerbated the age-old problem of both internecine discord and women who rebuff at carrying the title. Moreover, prominent white feminists broadly suffer from their own myopia with regard to how things like race, class, sexual orientation, and ability intersect with gender. How can we stand in solidarity as a movement, Kendall asks, when there is the distinct likelihood that some women are oppressing others?

Choyce and Zenia: Finding Love by Mistake


Hydiea - 2018
    She didn’t know that an argument about dishes would lead to her never seeing him again. Choyce is a 31-year-old Police Officer that is married, yet unhappy. He has a beautiful nine-year-old son, and a pregnant wife. Zenia & Choyce have many things in common, one of them being the people they took vows with didn’t deserve them. Did Choyce have a hidden agenda with Zenia? Did he play a part with her brother getting murdered? Was he covering for someone? Did he mean it when he said he loved her? Zenia wants answers, and she’s determined to get them. Find out how spicy things get in New Orleans with this amazing two-part BWWM series.

Sober Positive: Happily quit drinking and discover the unlimited possibilities waiting for you beyond alcohol


Julia Carson - 2019
    Sober Positive is both the story of her journey over the last two years and a detailed road map for anyone else looking for their own way out of the alcohol maze.You may not believe this now, but it is entirely possible to stop drinking and be completely happy. To achieve true freedom from alcohol. To be sober positive. In this book you will learn how to change your mindset about alcohol, how to assemble your own personal sobriety toolbox and how to cope with sober firsts like social events, holidays and Christmas. You will gain insight into why you might be struggling with alcohol and how you can address other compulsive behaviours which may arise in early sobriety. You will develop detailed strategies for self-care and be guided though the deeper work needed to support your physical and mental wellbeing and truly thrive as a non-drinker. You will be helped to navigate changing relationships with partners, children and friends and learn some surprising truths about our best friend booze.So, if you're drinking too much and it's making you miserable, why not take a chance on being sober and happy?You might just find your best life along the way. Julia did and this book contains everything she has learned in the past two years that helped her get there.

Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation


Kristin Kobes Du Mez - 2020
    Challenging the commonly held assumption that the “moral majority” backed Donald Trump for purely pragmatic reasons, Du Mez reveals that Donald Trump in fact represents the fulfillment, rather than the betrayal, of white evangelicals’ most deeply held values.Jesus and John Wayne is a sweeping account of the last seventy-five years of white evangelicalism, showing how American evangelicals have worked for decades to replace the Jesus of the Gospels with an idol of rugged masculinity and Christian nationalism, or in the words of one modern chaplain, with “a spiritual badass.” As Du Mez explains, the key to understanding this transformation is to recognize the role of culture in modern American evangelicalism. Many of today’s evangelicals may not be theologically astute, but they know their VeggieTales, they’ve read John Eldredge’s Wild at Heart, and they learned about purity before they learned about sex—and they have a silver ring to prove it. Evangelical books, films, music, clothing, and merchandise shape the beliefs of millions. And evangelical popular culture is teeming with muscular heroes—mythical warriors and rugged soldiers, men like Oliver North, Ronald Reagan, Mel Gibson, and the Duck Dynasty clan, who assert white masculine power in defense of “Christian America.” Chief among these evangelical legends is John Wayne, an icon of a lost time when men were uncowed by political correctness, unafraid to tell it like it was, and did what needed to be done.Trump, in other words, is hardly the first flashy celebrity to capture evangelicals’ hearts and minds, nor is he the first strongman to promise evangelicals protection and power. Indeed, the values and viewpoints at the heart of white evangelicalism today—patriarchy, authoritarian rule, aggressive foreign policy, fear of Islam, ambivalence toward #MeToo, and opposition to Black Lives Matter and the LGBTQ community—are likely to persist long after Trump leaves office.A much-needed reexamination, Jesus and John Wayne explains why evangelicals have rallied behind the least-Christian president in American history and how they have transformed their faith in the process, with enduring consequences for all of us.

The BAP Handbook: The Official Guide to the Black American Princess


Kalyn Johnson - 2001
    Lynn Harris, author of Not a Day Goes ByIn the bestselling tradition of The Official Preppy Handbook, here is a must-have manual for the BAP and those who love her.Black American Princess: 1 : a pampered female of African American descent, born to an upper-middle or upper-class family 2 : an African American female whose life experiences give her a sense of royalty and entitlement 3 : BAP (acronym) : colloquial expression 4 : an African American female accustomed to the best and nothing less.Drawn from hours of interviews, archival research, and frequent visits to Prada, The Black American Princess Handbook offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at this exclusive lifestyle. Your total guide to BAP speak, BAP style, and BAP history, this one-of-a-kind book explains everything you ever wanted know about living the BAP life–from breaking in a shop-a-phobic dad to planning a magical BAP debutante ball.In addition, you'll learn why a true BAP cleans her house before the housekeeper arrives, what to do if your Baby BAP wants to play sports, and whether it's OK for a relative to sing "I Believe I Can Fly" at a BAP wedding. Also featuring spot-the-BAP checklists, suggestions for top BAP colleges, a Who's Who of famous BAPs, a glossary (including essential French phrases), actual diary entries and e-mails from BAPS of all ages, and crucial chapters such as "It's High Noon-Do You Know Where Your Groove Is?"The Black American Princess Handbook is destined to become a coveted treasure for BAPs worldwide. And, published just in time for graduation, it's sure to be at the top of every BAP's shopping list.

One of a Kind


A.N. Boyden - 2022
    The town's testing scores are dismal. In fact, Bluebonnet is ranked the worst in the state of Texas. Tatyana's immediate response was to turn down the position; however, her success could place her as the front runner to be the youngest school superintendent in Texas history.Tatyana accepts the challenge and has one year to drastically improve the school's testing scores and overall academic marks to avoid shutting down the public school. Tatyana is not thrilled to leave the comforts of the big city for the little Podunk town with a population of less than one thousand and prays the rumors she has heard are not true.Keith Bailey is the well-loved and admired sheriff of Bluebonnet. His family established the town of Bluebonnet over one hundred years ago and has always been the governing law of the dilapidated city. The citizens of Bluebonnet, including Keith's family, turn their backs on him as soon as Tatyana Lee brazenly rolls into town with her No Trespassing signs and her double pistols on her hips.Keith is instantly attracted to the dark-skinned woman with the sultry tongue and ego the size of Texas. He is befuddled by the woman's insistence in staying in a town where she truly did not belong and finds himself spending more time protecting Tatyana from the less-than-welcoming town folk and cleaning up after their vandalism.How will Tatyana achieve her goals and deal with being the only Black resident in a predominantly racist town? Join Tatyana and Sheriff Bailey as the pair engage in the spiciest love affair that Bluebonnet has ever witnessed.This novel is a BWWM Interracial story brimming with erotic scenes, derogatory language, and slurs. This book is meant for mature readers.

Citizen: An American Lyric


Claudia Rankine - 2014
    Some of these encounters are slights, seeming slips of the tongue, and some are intentional offensives in the classroom, at the supermarket, at home, on the tennis court with Serena Williams and the soccer field with Zinedine Zidane, online, on TV-everywhere, all the time. The accumulative stresses come to bear on a person's ability to speak, perform, and stay alive. Our addressability is tied to the state of our belonging, Rankine argues, as are our assumptions and expectations of citizenship. In essay, image, and poetry, Citizen is a powerful testament to the individual and collective effects of racism in our contemporary, often named "post-race" society.

Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging


Afua Hirsch - 2018
    Her parents are British. She was raised, educated and socialised in Britain. Her partner, daughter, sister and the vast majority of her friends are British. So why is her identity and sense of belonging a subject of debate? The reason is simply because of the colour of her skin.Blending history, memoir and individual experiences, Afua Hirsch reveals the identity crisis at the heart of Britain today. Far from affecting only minority people, Britain is a nation in denial about its past and its present. We believe we are the nation of abolition, but forget we are the nation of slavery. We sit proudly at the apex of the Commonwealth, but we flinch from the legacy of the Empire. We are convinced that fairness is one of our values, but that immigration is one of our problems.Brit(ish) is the story of how and why this came to be, and an urgent call for change.

Against White Feminism: Notes on Disruption


Rafia Zakaria - 2021
    They have presided over multinational feminist organizations and written much of what we consider the feminist canon, espousing sexual liberation and satisfaction, LGBTQ inclusion, and racial solidarity, all while branding the language of the movement itself in whiteness and speaking over Black and Brown women in an effort to uphold privilege and perceived cultural superiority. An American Muslim woman, attorney, and political philosopher, Rafia Zakaria champions a reconstruction of feminism in Against White Feminism, centering women of color in this transformative overview and counter-manifesto to white feminism’s global, long-standing affinity with colonial, patriarchal, and white supremacist ideals.Covering such ground as the legacy of the British feminist imperialist savior complex and “the colonial thesis that all reform comes from the West” to the condescension of the white feminist–led “aid industrial complex” and the conflation of sexual liberation as the “sum total of empowerment,” Zakaria follows in the tradition of intersectional feminist forebears Kimberlé Crenshaw, Adrienne Rich, and Audre Lorde. Zakaria ultimately refutes and reimagines the apolitical aspirations of white feminist empowerment in this staggering, radical critique, with Black and Brown feminist thought at the forefront.

Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston


Howard Bryant - 2002
    With a new introduction by celebrated baseball writer Roger Kahn and a new afterword by the author, updating John Henry's first year of ownership after nearly six decades of the Yawkey dynasty, the legacy of the late Will McDonough, and the author's return to his native Boston after a seventeen-year absence, Shut Out has reopened the discussion of baseball, race, and Boston with a new candor.