U.S.A.

Dapper Dan: Made in Harlem – A Memoir (2019)

Dapper Dan: Made in Harlem – A Memoir (2019)

by Nafeesah Allen June 7, 2020 Memoir is a great genre to re-discover Black histories. This text by Harlem fashion legend "Dapper Dan" (Daniel Day) reviews his Harlem life from tenements as a child to throwing dice in the 1970s to selling iconic fashion designs to...

read more
Black Leadership (1998)

Black Leadership (1998)

by Nafeesah Allen July 5, 2020 Historian Manning Marable's (May 1950 – April 2011) book analyzes different leadership models and uses case studies from 19th and 20th-century Black history to present arguments for and against each. Tackling accommodation (Booker T....

read more
The Call of Bilal (2014)

The Call of Bilal (2014)

Book review written by Marina Davis The purpose of this book is to document Islam in the African diaspora globally and the many ways Islam is expressed by African descendants. The name of the book comes from one of the first converts to Islam, Bilal ibn Rabah, an...

read more
Black Indian Slave Narratives (2004)

Black Indian Slave Narratives (2004)

The common narrative of slavery in America revolves around enslaved Africans being transported via cargo ships from West Africa to the American south and then sold to wealthy white landowners. While this narrative bears some truth, it ignores the variations of slavery...

read more
The Freedom Summer Murders (2014) 

The Freedom Summer Murders (2014) 

Book Review by Marina Davis In the summer of 1964, three men were killed by the Ku Klux Klan in retaliation for their work registering African Americans to vote. Organizing peaceful protests against the violence and mistreatment of African Americans in Mississippi...

read more
A Guide to the History of Slavery in Maryland (2020)

A Guide to the History of Slavery in Maryland (2020)

What do Kunta Kinte, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Tubman have in common? Their geographies truly connect them across the Americas - from the African continent to the shores of Maryland (Annapolis, Talbot County, and Dorchester County, respectively). This brief...

read more
African-American Entertainment in Baltimore (2012)

African-American Entertainment in Baltimore (2012)

This brief photobook was clearly produced by local talent and Baltimore insiders, who are rare gems for history buffs. This is an easy read, mainly because it is so image heavy, but it also sheds light on easier and brighter times for Charm City. It focuses on...

read more