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African Americans in Arts & Entertainment
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Fired Up! Ready to Go!: Finding Beauty, Demanding Equity: An African American Life in Art: The Collections of Peggy Cooper Cafritz
by Peggy Cooper Cafritz
Non-Fiction, 704.0396. After decades of art collecting, prominent Washington D.C.–based activist, philanthropist, and founder of the august Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Peggy Cooper Cafritz had amassed one of the most important collections of work by artists of color in the country. But in 2009, the more than three hundred works that comprised this extraordinary collection were destroyed in the largest residential fire in Washington, D.C. history. This beautifully illustrated volume features 200 of the works that were lost, along with works that she has collected since the fire, as well as important contributions by preeminent curators and artists.
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Miles Davis: The Collected Artwork
by Scott Gutterman
Non-Fiction, 759.13. One of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century, Miles Davis was a man of many talents. Throughout the 1980s, Davis studied regularly with New York painter Jo Gelbard, developing a distinct graphic style. Incorporating bright colors and geometric shapes, his art is reminiscent of work by Pablo Picasso as well as African tribal art, the historical influences he cited during occasional interviews on the subject. Author Scott Gutterman sat down with Miles Davis himself before he died in 1991 and the artist’s own commentary accompanies this remarkable showcase of his work.
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Collecting African American Art: Works on Paper and Canvas
by Halima Taha
Non-Fiction, 760.8996. Enhanced by full-color reproductions of works by both renowned and emerging artists, a complete guide to collecting African-American art offers a historical overview and advice on galleries, auctions, dealers, and more.
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Basquiat: Rage to Riches
Non-Fiction DVDs, B BASQUIAT. Jean-Michel Basquiat was a rock star of the early 80s art scene: he lived fast, died young and created thousands of drawings and paintings. It took less than a decade to go from anonymous graffiti writer to an epoch-defining art star. He has emerged as one of the most important artists of his generation and now exhibits in museums all over the world.
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Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
by Javaka Steptoe
Picture Books, STEPTOE. Presents the life of the artist, who was inspired as a child by a book of anatomy given to him by his mother after being injured in a car crash and who went on to become a celebrity in the art world before his early death at twenty-eight.
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Draw What You See: The Life and Art of Benny Andrews
by Kathleen Benson
Picture Books, BENSON. Sumptuously illustrated with the artist's own work, a tribute to the life and achievements of Benny Andrews details his rise from the poverty and social injustices of his family's sharecropper origins to become a groundbreaking artist, activist and teacher.
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The Chitlin' Circuit: And the Road to Rock 'n' Roll
by Preston Lauterbach
Non-Fiction, 781.65. From the late 1930s to the early 1940s, something called the "chitlin' circuit" was developing in the back rooms of clubs and juke joints across the southern U.S. Catering to black audiences, these were places where Little Richard and James Brown got their start, along with countless others -- some of whom crossed over into mainstream rock 'n' roll, and plenty who didn't. Combining firsthand reporting with historical research, music journalist Preston Lauterbach provides insight into the history of the circuit and the birth of rock 'n' roll, and into the promoters, club owners, and musicians who made it happen. "A rocking read," says Publishers Weekly.
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The Most Beautiful: My Life with Prince
by Mayte Garcia
Non-Fiction, 782.42164. A candid assessment of the iconic musician's personal and professional life by his first wife traces their long-distance courtship, marriage, and creative partnership as well as the challenges that compromised their romance.
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Ledisi: Better Than Alright: Finding Peace, Love & Power
by Ledisi
Non-Fiction, 782.421644. The editors of the premiere lifestyle and fashion magazine for African-American women present this collection of inspiring thoughts, quotes and stories from the Grammy-nominated musician to provide empowerment and motivation to readers everywhere.
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Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Troubled Lives and Enduring Soul of the Temptations
by Mark Ribowsky
Non-Fiction, 782.421644. The Temptations are an incomparable soul group, with dozens of chart-topping hits such as My Girl and Papa Was a Rollin Stone. From the sharp suits, stylish choreography, and distinctive vocals that epitomized their onstage triumphs to the personal failings and psycho-dramas that played out behind the scenes, Ain't Too Proud to Beg tells the complete story of this most popular—and tragic—of all Motown super groups. Based on in-depth research and interviews with founding Temptations member Otis Williams and many others, the book reveals the highly individual, even mutually antagonistic, nature of the group's members. Venturing beyond the money and the fame, it shares the compelling tale of these sometime allies, sometime rivals and reveals the unique dynamic of push and pull and give and take that resulted in musical genius.
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Soul Train: The Music, Dance, and Style of a Generation
by Questlove
Non-Fiction, 791.456578. With its smooth, soulful tunes and groovy dance moves, Soul Train launched the careers of countless African American artists and set lasting trends in music, dance, and fashion for more than three decades. Questlove reveals the remarkable story of the captivating program, and his text is paired with more than 350 photographs of the show's most memorable episodes and the larger-than-life characters who defined it: the great host Don Cornelius, the extraordinary musicians, and the people who lived the phenomenon from dance floor. Gladys Knight contributed a foreword to this incredible volume. Nick Cannon contributed the preface.
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The Life of James Brown
by Geoff Brown
Biography, BROWN. A biography of James Brown that shows how he came to represent, in music and personal power, the post-war emancipation of black America. It is illustrated with photographs and includes a discography.
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The Book of Luke: My Fight for Truth, Justice, and Liberty City
by Luther Campbell
Biography, CAMPBELL The leader of 2 Live Crew, a record label owner and rap artist who invented Southern Hip-Hop, saved the First Amendment and became a role model for his disenfranchised Miami neighborhood presents a no-holds-barred account of how one person can make a difference in the world.
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Music is My Mistress
by Duke Ellington
Biography, ELLINGTON. The celebrated musician and entertainer discusses his life and travels and presents profiles of personalities he has come to know as friends
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Marvin Gaye, My Brother
by Frankie Gaye
Biography, GAYE. The brother of the Motown legend shares his account of life with Marvin Gaye in this revealing, loving portrait of a music legend, his professional success, his turbulent personal life, and his tragic death.
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Soul Survivor: A Biography of Al Green
by Jimmy McDonough
Biography, GREEN. A biography of the legendary soul singer best known for “Tired of Being Alone” traces his career from gospel to secular music, from combined sales of more than 20 million records to his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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Sing For Your Life: A Story of Race, Music, and Family
by Daniel Bergner
Biography, GREEN. A chronicle of a young black man's journey from violence to the world's elite opera circles describes Ryan Speedo Green's abuse-marked upbringing and struggles with racism and imprisonment before winning a New York Metropolitan Opera competition.
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Herbie Hancock: Possibilities
by Herbie Hancock
Biography, HANCOCK. The legendary jazz musician and composer reflects on his seven decades in music, tracing his early years as a musical prodigy and work in Miles Davis' second quintet to his multigenre explorations and collaborations with fellow artists.
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Raw: My Journey into the Wu-Tang
by U-God
New Biography, HAWKINS. An unforgettable first-person account of Hawkin's journey - from the streets of Brooklyn to some of the biggest stages around the world - is not only thoroughly affecting, unfiltered, and explosive, but paints, in vivid detail, the making of one of the greatest acts in American music history. It is an explosive, never-before-told story behind the historic rise of the Wu-Tang Clan, as told by one of its founding members, Lamont "U-God" Hawkins.
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Roland Hayes: The Legacy of an American Tenor
by Christopher Antonio Brooks
Biography, HAYES. Performing in a country rife with racism and segregation, the tenor Roland Hayes was the first African American man to reach international fame as a concert performer and one of the few artists who could sell out Town Hall, Carnegie Hall, Symphony Hall, and Covent Garden. His trailblazing career carved the way for a host of African American artists, including Marian Anderson and Paul Robeson. Performing the African American spirituals he was raised on, Hayes's voice was marked with a unique sonority which easily navigated French, German, and Italian art songs. This engaging biography spans the history of Hayes's life and career and the legacy he left behind as a musician and a champion of African American rights.
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Lightnin' Hopkins: His Life and Blues
by Alan B. Govenar
Biography, HOPKINS. By the time of his death in 1982, Sam “Lightnin” Hopkins was likely the most recorded blues artist in history. Born in 1912 to a poor sharecropping family, Hopkins left home when he was only eight years old with a guitar his brother had given him. He made his living however he could, playing the blues and taking odd jobs when money was short. Hopkins didn’t begin recording until 1946, when he was dubbed “Lightnin” during his first session, and he soon joined Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker on the national R & B charts. But by the time he was “rediscovered” by Mack McCormick and Sam Charters in 1959, his popularity had begun to wane. A second career emerged--now Lightnin’ was pitched to white audiences, not black ones, and he became immensely successful, singing about his country roots and injustices that informed the civil rights era with a searing emotive power.
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A Woman Like Me
by Bettye LaVette
Biography, LAVETTE. As a teenager in Detroit, Bettye LaVette had a hit single with “My Man—He’s a Lovin’ Man.” By the time she was twenty, she had faded back into obscurity and was barely surviving in New York City. For the next forty years, despite being associated with legends such as Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, and James Brown, she remained relatively unknown outside a circle of devoted fans. Then, after a lifetime of singing in clubs and lounges, her unforgettable televised performances at the 2008 Kennedy Center Honors and at President Obama’s pre-Inaugural Concert at the Lincoln Memorial in 2009 won her the recognition she had sought for her entire life. In this unflinchingly honest memoir, she boldly recounts her freewheeling childhood, her short-lived conquest of the R&B world in the 1960s, her decline into poverty and despair, and her recent comeback and career revival.
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The Autobiography of Gucci Mane
by Gucci Mane
Biography, MANE. Gucci Mane began writing his memoir in a maximum-security federal prison. Released in 2016, he emerged radically transformed. He was sober, smiling, focused, and positive -- a far cry from the Gucci Mane of years past. Born in rural Bessemer, Alabama, Radric Delantic Davis became Gucci Mane in East Atlanta, where the rap scene is as vibrant as the dope game. His name was made as a drug dealer first, rapper second. His mixtapes and street anthems helped pioneer the sound of trap music. Yet every success was followed by setback. Mane reflects on his career and in the process confronts his dark past.
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Traveling Soul: The Life of Curtis Mayfield
by Todd Mayfield
Biography, MAYFIELD. Curtis Mayfield was one of the seminal vocalists and most talented guitarists of his era. He was also a social critic, and his music had a vital influence on the civil rights movement. Todd Mayfield tells his famously private father's story in riveting detail, from his birth into dire poverty and life in the slums of Chicago to the tragic accident that left him paralyzed, and his long-awaited recognition by the music industry.
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The Art & Science of Respect: A Memoir
by James Prince
Biography, PRINCE. For decades, serial entrepreneur James Prince presided over Rap-A-Lot Records, one of the first and most successful independent rap labels. In his memoir, he explains how he earned his reputation as one of the most respected men in Hip Hop. By staying true to his three principles of heart, loyalty, and commitment, and an unwavering faith in God, he has defeated many adversaries. In recounting his compelling life story, Prince analyzes the art and science of earning respect - and giving respect - and how to apply these principles to your own life.
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Otis Redding: An Unfinished Life
by Jonathan Gould
Biography, REDDING. Otis Redding remains an immortal presence in the canon of American music on the strength of such classic hits as "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay," "I've Been Loving You Too Long," "Try a Little Tenderness," and "Respect," a song he wrote and recorded before Aretha Franklin made it her own. As the architect of the distinctly southern, gospel-inflected style of rhythm & blues associated with Stax Records in Memphis, Redding made music that has long served as the gold standard of 1960s soul. Yet an aura of myth and mystery has always surrounded his life, which was tragically cut short at the height of his career by a plane crash in December 1967.
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Nina Simone: The Biography
by David Brun-Lambert
Biography, SIMONE. Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in North Carolina at the tail-end of the Great Depression, Nina Simone was a precocious child with dreams of becoming the world’s first black classical soloist. After a rejection from an elite New York conservatoire—a rejection she always believed stemmed from the color of her skin—she began performing jazz, blues, and classical songs in a bar to fund her music studies. In 1958 her rendition of the Gershwin standard “I Loves You Porgy” became a Top 40 hit, and her subsequent debut album Little Girl Blue launched what would become an extensive singing and songwriting career. This extraordinary biography follows her sparkling career as well as her passionate belief in racial equality that eventually led her to undergo self-imposed exile from America in 1970.
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Strayhorn: An Illustrated Life
by David Hajdu
Biography, STRAYHORN. Featuring commentary from Lena Horne, Clark Terry, Nancy Wilson, Terell Stafford and more, an array of essays, photos and ephemera celebrates one of the most significant yet under-appreciated contributors to 20th century American music, describing his triumph over adversity, early success and open homosexuality.
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Queen of Bebop: The Musical Lives of Sarah Vaughan
by Elaine M. Hayes
Biography, Vaughn. An account of the life of the influential jazz artist and civil rights advocate shares additional insights into her lesser-known contributions as an African-American woman, drawing on inside sources to discuss her creative process and challenge misperceptions about her character.
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My Life as I See It: An Autobiography
by Dionne Warwick
Biography, WARWICK. The five-time Grammy Award-winning music performer reflects on half a century of show business, tracing her humble origins and partnerships with Burt Bacharach and Hal David through her friendships with fellow artists and appointment to Global Ambassador for the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization.
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In Search of Pharrell Williams
by Paul Lester
Biography, WILLIAMS. A major biography of the 11-time Grammy Award-winning music artist, producer, actor and writer draws on interviews with Williams and his family and friends to offer key insights into his life and influences behind his professional persona.
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Nat King Cole
by Daniel Mark Epstein
Large Print Biography, COLE. Traces the musical career of the jazz singer, from the formation of his jazz trio to his television show, and describes his desire to battle segregation by playing to all audiences.
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Prince: The Man, the Symbol, the Music
by Eric Braun
Axis 360 eBook. Profiles the life and career of the multitalented musician and songwriter, discussing his childhood, rise to fame, and contractual dispute with his record label.
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Bessie
Feature Films, BESSIE. Profiles the life and career of legendary blues singer Bessie Smith.
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Ray
Feature Films, RAY. Ray Charles was born in a poor predominantly black town in central Florida. He went blind at the age of 7. With the staunch support of his determined single mother, he developed a fierce resolve. He had wit and incredible talent, which would eventually enable him to overcome not only Jim Crow racism and the cruel prejudices against the blind, but also discover his own sound. Nonetheless, as Ray's unprecedented fame grew, so did his weakness for drugs and women, until they threatened to strip away the very things he held most dear.
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American Hip-Hop: Rappers, DJs, and Hard Beats
by Nathan Sacks
YA Non-Fiction, 782.421649. Hip-hop music busted out of New York City in the 1970s. Many young African Americans found their voices after stepping up to the mic. In the decades afterward, rappers and DJs took over the airwaves and transformed American music. In the twenty-first century, hip-hop is a global sensation. Learn what inspired hip-hop's earliest rappers to start rhyming over beats, as well as the stories behind hip-hop legends such as Run-D.M.C., 2Pac, Lauryn Hill, and Jay-Z. Follow the creativity and the rivalries that have fueled everything from party raps to songs about social struggles.
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The Jacksons Legacy
by Fred Bronson
Juvenile Non-Fiction, 782.421644. Written by Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael, a first-person visual history of the Jacksons combines exclusive interviews, anecdotes, quotes and previously unseen family archive photos tracing their meteoric rise and history-making tours.
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OutKast
by Greg Roza
Juvenile Non-Fiction, 782.421649. Highlights the lives and careers of the Southern rap artists. Outkast burst upon the national scene with their joyous, giddy, and insanely infectious single ''Hey Ya!'' in 2003. Yet Outkast's duo of Andre 3000 and Big Boi had been recording their unique and inimitable brand of hip-hop, spiced with tantalizing dashes of funk, soul, rock, pop, jazz, blues, and electronic music since 1992.
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Marian Anderson: A Voice Uplifted
by Victoria Garrett Jones
Juvenile Biography, ANDERSON. Loads of information are packed into each title of this series about world inventors and innovative thinkers, including time lines, sidebars, a glossary, maps, rare photographs, and world-class writing that makes these books accessible and dramatic.
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Louis Armstrong: Musician
by Kenneth Partridge
Juvenile Biography, ARMSTRONG. Examines the life and career of Louis Armstrong, covering his boyhood in New Orleans, his innovative early music, and his later years when he became one of the most beloved figures in American music.
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Ella Fitzgerald: First Lady of Jazz
by Megan Schoeneberger
Juvenile Biography, FITZGERALD. Offers a brief introduction to the life of jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, who recorded more than two hundred albums and performed at Carnegie Hall twenty-six times.
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Billie Holiday: Singer
by Forrest Cole
Juvenile Biography, HOLIDAY. Discusses the life and career of Billie Holiday.
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Pharrell Williams
by Marie Morreale
Juvenile Biography, WILLIAMS. Chronicles the life and career of the musician, from his childhood in Virginia to his famous hats.
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Stevie Wonder: Musician
by Jeremy K. Brown
Juvenile Biography, WONDER. A biography of the blind musician discusses his career and how he went from kid soul-pop star to a mature artist whose music helped lay the groundwork for the evolution of hip hop and rap.
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Trombone Shorty
by Troy Andrews
Picture Books, ANDREWS. A visual profile of the musical child prodigy and Grammy-nominated headliner at the legendary New Orleans Jazz Fest relates, through sumptuous artwork and text, the story about his childhood dream of becoming a musician against the odds.
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Little Melba and Her Big Trombone
by Katheryn Russell-Brown
Picture Books, RUSSELL-BROWN. A biography of African American musician Melba Doretta Liston, a virtuoso musician who played the trombone and composed and arranged music for many of the great jazz musicians of the twentieth century.
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The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell: Tales of a 6' 4", African American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmatic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama's Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian
by W. Kamau Bell
Biography, BELL. A memoir and manifesto by the comedian, podcast host, and star of "United Shades of America" shares progressive views on issues ranging from race relations and law enforcement to right-wing politics and parenthood.
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Unsuccessful Thug: One Comedian's Journey from Naptown to Tinseltown
by Mike Epps
New Biography, EPPS. The stand-up comedian and actor best known for his appearances in the "Friday" and "Hangover" films traces his career and celebrity relationships as well as the early brushes with the law and witness to Hollywood racism that shaped his work in comedy.
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Every Day I'm Hustling
by Vivica A. Fox
New Biography, FOX. Inspirational life lessons from the NAACP Image Award-winning actress urge today's businesswomen to take charge of their own luck, sharing stories from her early family life and career, including behind-the-scenes anecdotes from her film work, where she received advice and encouragement from her fellow stars.
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Black and Blue: the Redd Foxx Story
by Michael Starr
Biography, FOXX. Tells the story of Foxx, a veteran comedian and "overnight sensation" at the age of forty-nine whose early life was defined by adversity - and his post-Sanford and Son years by a blur of women, cocaine, endless lawsuits, financial chaos, and a losing battle with the IRS. Foxx's frank, trailblazing style as the "King of the Party Records" opened the door for a generation of African-American comedians including Dick Gregory, Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, and Chris Rock. Foxx took the country by storm in January 1972 as crotchety, bow-legged Watts junk dealer Fred Sanford in Sanford and Son, one of the most beloved sitcoms in television history. Interviews with friends, confidantes, and colleagues provide a unique insight into this generous, brash, vulnerable performer - a man who Norman Lear described as "inherently, innately funny in every part of his being."
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I Can't Make This Up: Life Lessons
by Kevin Hart
Biography, HART. Actor and comedian Kevin Hart grew up in North Philadelphia. His father was a drug addict who was in and out of jail. His brother was a crack dealer and petty thief. And his mother was overwhelmingly strict, beating him with belts, frying pans, and his own toys. In his literary debut, he takes the reader on a journey through what his life was, what it is today, and how he's overcome each challenge to become the man he is today.
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The Mother of Black Hollywood: A Memoir
by Jenifer Lewis
Biography, LEWIS. The "Mega Diva" star of Black-ish traces her personal journey from poverty to fame, sharing provocative insights into her battles with undiagnosed mental illness and sex addiction while citing the support of loving friends and the philosophies about self-acceptance that enabled her successes.
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The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl
by Issa Rae
Biography, RAE. Essays on the challenges of being black and introverted in a world that glorifies "cool" behavior, drawn from the author's award-winning social media series, share self-deprecating perspectives on such topics as cybersexing, weight, and self-acceptance.
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This is Just My Face: Try Not to Stare
by Gabourey Sidibe
Biography, SIDIBE. The Oscar-nominated star of Precious and Empire delivers a much-awaited memoir that shares details about her childhood with a polygamous father in Harlem, her gifted mother who supported them by singing in the subway and her own unconventional rise to fame.
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Stand by Your Truth and Then Run for Your Life
by Rickey Smiley
Biography, SMILEY. The stand-up comedian, radio personality and TV One star shares in-depth essays on the opinions he occasionally voices on the air, from parenting and education to his Baptist upbringing and absolute conviction about being true to oneself.
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We're Going to Need More Wine: Stories That Are Funny, Complicated, and True
by Gabrielle Union
Biography, UNION. A powerful collection of essays on gender, sexuality, race, beauty, Hollywood and the realities of modern women also includes the author's wrenching experiences as a survivor of sexual assault, in a volume that seeks to raise awareness about the needs of victims of sexual violence.
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Rabbit: The Autobiography of Ms. Pat
by Patricia Williams
Biography, WILLIAMS. The popular comedian traces her youth in Atlanta's most troubled neighborhood at the height of the crack epidemic, discussing the experiences with an alcoholic mother, four siblings, petty crime and prostitution that led to her becoming a mother at age 13 before resolving to secure a better life for her children.
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Oprah: A Biography
by Kitty Kelley
Biography, WINFREY. The first comprehensive biography of one of the most influential, powerful and admired public figures of our time is based on three years of research and reporting as well as 850 interviews with sources, many of whom have never before spoken for publication.
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Introducing Dorothy Dandridge
Feature Films, INTRODUCING. Follows the career of Dorothy Dandridge through early days on the club circuit with her sister to her turn in movies, including becoming the first black actress to win a Best Actress nomination in 1954.
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Chadwick Boseman
by Pete DiPrimio
Juvenile Biography, BOSEMAN. Shares the life of the actor who played the superhero Black Panther as well as such real-life American heroes as Jackie Robinson and Thurgood Marshall, including his early years and his work as a playwright and director.
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Jennifer Hudson
by Joanne Mattern
Juvenile Biography, HUDSON. Profiles the life and career of actress and singer Jennifer Hudson.
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Ira's Shakespeare Dream
by Glenda Armand
Picture Books, ARMAND. A biography chronicling the life of Ira Aldridge, an African American actor who is considered to be one of the greatest Shakespearean actors of the nineteenth century.
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The Nutcracker in Harlem
by T. E. McMorrow
Picture Books, MCMORROW. Set in New York City at the height of the Harlem Renaissance, a reimagining of the classic Nutcracker story follows the efforts of a young girl who finds her voice as a musician during an enchanting adventure alongside a toy that comes to life.
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Michigan City Public Library 100 E. 4th Street Michigan City, Indiana 46360 219-873-3044mclib.org/ |
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