African Art

Learning from Black voices means listening to more than snippets. It means attending to Black stories. Reading Black Books helps Christians hear and learn from enduring Black voices and stories as captured in classic African American literature.

We've heard the name "Condoleezza Rice" over and over again as the spokesperson for President George W. Bush in matters of national security and foreign affairs. She presented a balanced, firm, unafraid presence to the country after the terrible events of September 11, 2001, as she spoke to the media and the public on behalf of the President. And, when the President has something to say about our friends and foes overseas, "Condi," as she is known to her friends, is usually standing in the background.

Former Washington Post columnist Donna Britt’s memoir presents an honest and thoughtful look at a life spent giving to others. In 1977, Britt lost one of her brothers in a senseless police shooting. Plagued by her grief, she spent the next three decades putting her own needs aside to care for the men in her life.

In We Can’t Breathe, Jabari Asim disrupts what Toni Morrison has exposed as the “Master Narrative” and replaces it with a story of black survival and persistence through art and community in the face of centuries of racism. In eight wide-ranging and penetrating essays, he explores such topics as the twisted legacy of jokes and falsehoods in black life; the importance of black fathers and community; the significance of black writers and stories; and the beauty and pain of the black body.

The First 60 Years: The History of Afro-American Musical Theater and Entertainment chronicles the contributions made by Black Americans to the entertainment industry in America from 1871 through 1930. This book describes, among other subjects, the types of traveling circuses performers worked on and the types of material performed there. This book also chronicles the history and the beginnings of Black Vaudeville in America, the creation of the blues, and the beginnings of Black theatrical entrepreneurship that took place in America during its most racist times.

Within a few years of its first issue in 1951, Jet, a pocket-sized magazine, became the "bible" for news of the civil rights movement. It was said, only half-jokingly, "If it wasn't in Jet, it didn't happen." Writing for the magazine and its glossy, big sister Ebony, for 53 years, longer than any other journalist, Washington bureau chief Simeon Booker was on the front lines of virtually every major event of the revolution that transformed America.

When a new kid comes to Queen's school, riding a broken bike and wearing run-over shoes, he immediately becomes the butt of everyone's jokes. Queen's parents insist she be nice to Leroy, but Queen doesn't see why she should. Leroy isn't just smelly; Queen thinks that he tells fibs - whoppers, in fact. And when he says he's an African prince from Senegal, sparks begin to fly. Queen is determined to prove that Leroy is an impostor.

Actress, activist, and now Dancing with the Stars competitor Skai Jackson is a star! Her rise to fame started on the popular Disney Channel shows Bunk'd and Jessie. Her cool sense of style led her to create her own fashion line. And her success has made her a major influencer, with millions of followers on Instagram, who isn't afraid to stand up for what she believes in.

Listen to the sound of survival, courage, and democracy—the soundtrack of America. Hear Billie Holiday's raspy, mournful voice, and tap your foot to Louis Armstrong's trumpet. Scream with James Brown and bop your head to Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Can you spot the 80+ references to artists like Robert Johnson, Ella Fitzgerald, Jimi Hendrix, Whitney Houston, Lauryn Hill, and Beyonce?

If you want to understand the Black experience in the US, you must understand hip-hop, and Psalms of My People is your guide. Treating hip-hop like sacred scripture, lenny duncan traces its history—the artists, their lyrics, and the cultural context—to reveal its role as a conduit to tell the modern story of Black liberation in this country, following the bloody trail from the end of the Civil Rights Era through the day George Floyd was sacrificed on the streets of america.

When photographer Adraint Bereal graduated from the University of Texas, he self-published an impressive volume of portraits, personal statements, and interviews that explored UT's campus culture and offered an intimate look at the lives of Black students matriculating within a majority white space. Bereal's work was inspired by his first photo exhibition at the George Washington Carver Museum in Austin, entitled 1.7, that unearthed the experiences of the 925 Black men that made up just 1.7% of UT's total 52,000 student body.

Jerry Pinkney drew everywhere, all the time. It was how he made sense of the world—how he coped with the stress of being a sensitive child growing up in crowded spaces, struggling with a learning disability, in a time when the segregation of Black Americans was the norm. Only drawing could offer him a sense of calm, control, and confidence. When friends and siblings teased him about having the nickname “Jerry” as his only name, his mother always said, “Just ‘Jerry’ is enough.

Sassy is the new hire on the call center floor. A sexy, young tender with a curvy shape to match her style, Sassy quickly becomes a mouthwatering temptation for all who look her way. She seemingly has the perfect distraction with her boyfriend, John, working on the same floor. But as John tries to fan off anyone who dares stare too long, Sassy appears to have different motives in mind with the mysteriously intriguing HoLLyRod...who just so happens to be a master in the art of cheating.

Maya Angelou: A Glorious Celebration offers an unusual and irresistible look at her life and her myriad interests and accomplishments. Created by the people who know her best - her longtime friends Marcia Ann Gillespie and Richard A. Long, and her niece, Rosa Johnson Butler - it captures Angelou at home, at work, and in the public eye.

A careful snip, a delicate fold. Fabric the color of new petals. Skirts that flare like upside-down blossoms. A garden bursts into bloom! There is no "good enough." For Ann, only the best will do. Award-winning author Kate Messner and costume historian Margaret E. Powell tell the powerful story of the ground-breaking Ann Lowe, who grew up in a small Alabama dress shop and became the first nationally known African American fashion designer.

A tale from the best-selling African Fable series, a handsome creature named Rhino, with tightly fitting, glossy skin and perfectly symmetrical horns on the sides of his head, takes pleasure in making fun of all the other African animals. His never-ending hurtful remarks finally get the better of the other creatures, who decide to teach him a lesson. What happens next leaves Rhino very sorry for being so rude and vain.

A tale from the best-selling African Fable Series, a young Hippo greedily guzzles all the food she can find on the land, leaving the other African animals very hungry. Getting fatter and fatter, and uncomfortable in the heat, Hippo finds a new source of food in the water. But the Crocodile and the Eagle are not at all happy with her eating their fish.

Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., won the world heavyweight championship at the age of 22, the same year he joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali. He would go on to become the first and only three-time (in succession) world heavyweight champion. Nicknamed "The Greatest", Ali was as well known for his unique boxing style, consisting of the Ali Shuffle and the rope-a-dope, as he was for the catchphrase "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee".

The short-nosed elephants go down to the river to get a drink. But lurking in the depths is a crafty crocodile, who would love to eat one of these big animals. He chooses a young elephant and grabs a hold of his stubby nose. A lengthy struggle ensues. Eventually the young elephant breaks free, but his nose has taken on a long winding shape.

A beautiful water creature with silky golden skin is the envy of all the animals. The admiration and compliments from all who see him go to his head, and the vain crocodile spends far too much time out of the protection of the water, just so he can get more admiring glances. What happens next changes the crocodile’s looks forever.