Too Black, Too Strong

Too Black, Too Strong
Author: Benjamin Zephaniah
Publisher: Bloodaxe Books
Total Pages: 96
Release: 2001
Genre: Poetry
ISBN:

Addresses the problems of Black Britain. This work includes poems written, while the author was working with Michael Mansfield QC on the Stephen Lawrence case and other high profile political trails. It is hard hitting and blackly funny.

Too Heavy a Yoke

Too Heavy a Yoke
Author: Chanequa Walker-Barnes
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2014-06-19
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1630871923

Black women are strong. At least that's what everyone says and how they are constantly depicted. But what, exactly, does this strength entail? And what price do Black women pay for it? In this book, the author, a psychologist and pastoral theologian, examines the burdensome yoke that the ideology of the Strong Black Woman places upon African American women. She demonstrates how the three core features of the ideology--emotional strength, caregiving, and independence--constrain the lives of African American women and predispose them to physical and emotional health problems, including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and anxiety. She traces the historical, social, and theological influences that resulted in the evolution and maintenance of the Strong Black Woman, including the Christian church, R & B and hip-hop artists, and popular television and film. Drawing upon womanist pastoral theology and twelve-step philosophy, she calls upon pastoral caregivers to aid in the healing of African American women's identities and crafts a twelve-step program for Strong Black Women in recovery.

The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah

The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah
Author: Benjamin Zephaniah
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 376
Release: 2018-05-03
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1471168948

*BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week* Benjamin Zephaniah, who has travelled the world for his art and his humanitarianism, now tells the one story that encompasses it all: the story of his life. In the early 1980s when punks and Rastas were on the streets protesting about unemployment, homelessness and the National Front, Benjamin’s poetry could be heard at demonstrations, outside police stations and on the dance floor. His mission was to take poetry everywhere, and to popularise it by reaching people who didn’t read books. His poetry was political, musical, radical and relevant. By the early 1990s, Benjamin had performed on every continent in the world (a feat which he achieved in only one year) and he hasn’t stopped performing and touring since. Nelson Mandela, after hearing Benjamin’s tribute to him while he was in prison, requested an introduction to the poet that grew into a lifelong relationship, inspiring Benjamin’s work with children in South Africa. Benjamin would also go on to be the first artist to record with The Wailers after the death of Bob Marley in a musical tribute to Nelson Mandela. The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah is a truly extraordinary life story which celebrates the power of poetry and the importance of pushing boundaries with the arts.

White Fragility

White Fragility
Author: Dr. Robin DiAngelo
Publisher: Beacon Press
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2018-06-26
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0807047422

The New York Times best-selling book exploring the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged, and how these reactions maintain racial inequality. In this “vital, necessary, and beautiful book” (Michael Eric Dyson), antiracist educator Robin DiAngelo deftly illuminates the phenomenon of white fragility and “allows us to understand racism as a practice not restricted to ‘bad people’ (Claudia Rankine). Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue. In this in-depth exploration, DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively.

For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy

For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy
Author: Ryan Calais Cameron
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 65
Release: 2023-04-08
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 1350419400

Nominated for Best New Play at the 2023 Olivier Awards I found a king in me and now I love you I found a king in you and now I love me Father figures and fashion tips. Lost loves and jollof rice. African empires and illicit sex. Good days and bad days. Six young Black men meet for group therapy, and let their hearts - and imaginations - run wild. Inspired by Ntozake Shange's essential work For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf, For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy is a profound and playful work, co-commissioned by Boundless Theatre, from multi-award-winning company Nouveau Riche and playwright Ryan Calais Cameron. For Black Boys... gained critical acclaim for the world premiere in October 2021 at New Diorama Theatre, before successfully transferring to London's Royal Court Theatre in March 2022. This edition was published to coincide with the West End production at the Apollo Theatre in March 2023.

Propa Propaganda

Propa Propaganda
Author: Benjamin Zephaniah
Publisher:
Total Pages: 92
Release: 1996
Genre: Poetry
ISBN:

Rasta meets Rap in the work of this popular black British poetA master of oral and performance art, Zephaniah has been heard in readings from Palestine to Argentina, in schools, colleges, clubs, prisons, theaters, and music revues. He has released several records, including one with Bob Marley and the Wailers. His plays have been widely performed, and he has presented, appeared in, or been the subject of, numerous TV programs, including the East Enders. His other poetry books include The Dread Affair and City Psalms (Bloodaxe/Dufour).

City Psalms

City Psalms
Author: Benjamin Zephaniah
Publisher:
Total Pages: 72
Release: 1992
Genre: Poetry
ISBN:

City Psalms was Benjamin Zephaniah's first collection from Bloodaxe back in 1992. It includes some of his best-known poems, including 'Dis Poetry', 'Money' and 'Us and Dem'. Best known for his performance poetry with a political edge for adults - and his poetry with attitude for children - Zephaniah has his own rap/reggae band. He has produced numerous recordings, including Dub Ranting (1982), Rasta (1983), Us and Dem (1990), Back to Roots (1995), Belly of de Beast (1996) and Naked (2004). He was the first person to record with the Wailers after the death of Bob Marley, in a musical tribute to Nelson Mandela, which Mandela heard while in prison on Robben Island. Their later meetings led to Zephaniah working with children in South African townships and hosting the President's Two Nations Concert at the Royal Albert Hall in 1996. His first book of poems, Pen Rhythm, was produced in 1980 by a small East London publishing cooperative, Page One Books. His second collection, The Dread Affair, was published by Hutchinson's short-lived Arena imprint in 1985. He has since published three collections with Bloodaxe, City Psalms (1992), Propa Propaganda (1996) and Too Black Too Strong (2001), the latter including poems written while working with Michael Mansfield QC and other Tooks barristers on the Stephen Lawrence case. To Do Wid Me, filmed by Pamela Robertson-Pearce (Bloodaxe Books, 2013), includes a full-length feature film on DVD with all the poems performed on the film included in the book.

A Little Life

A Little Life
Author: Hanya Yanagihara
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 833
Release: 2016-01-26
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0804172706

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A stunning “portrait of the enduring grace of friendship” (NPR) about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. A masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century. NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • MAN BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST • WINNER OF THE KIRKUS PRIZE A Little Life follows four college classmates—broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition—as they move to New York in search of fame and fortune. While their relationships, which are tinged by addiction, success, and pride, deepen over the decades, the men are held together by their devotion to the brilliant, enigmatic Jude, a man scarred by an unspeakable childhood trauma. A hymn to brotherly bonds and a masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century, Hanya Yanagihara’s stunning novel is about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. Look for Hanya Yanagihara’s latest bestselling novel, To Paradise.