Twelve-year-old Sarny's brutal life as a slave becomes even more dangerous when a newly arrived slave offers to teach her how to read.

A fascinating and original portrait of the escaped-slave refugee camps and how they shaped the course of emancipation and black citizenship. By the end of the Civil War, nearly half a million slaves had taken refuge behind Union lines in what became known as 'contraband camps.' These were crowded, dangerous places, yet some 12-15 percent of the Confederacy's slave population took almost unimaginable risks to reach them, and they became the first places...

"A newly sober, orphaned son of Iranian immigrants, guided by the voices of artists, poets, and kings, embarks on a search that leads him to a terminally ill painter living out her final days in the Brooklyn Museum"-- Cyrus Shams is a young man grappling with an inheritance of violence and loss: his mother's plane was shot down over the skies of the Persian Gulf in a senseless accident; and his father's life in America was circumscribed by his work...

Martin Luna's entire life changes as he tries to deal with the shooting death of his little brother and those who will stop at nothing to ensure his silence.

Hakeem Randall, already upset by his father's illness, and his family's move to Detroit, finds his anger reaching a boiling point when he is forced to share a bedroom with his moody and secretive cousin Savon, a childhood friend who soon becomes an enemy.

The words in this book are based on the Thanksgiving Address, an ancient message of peace and appreciation of Mother Earth and all her inhabitants.

Based on the true story of Solomon Northup. It is 1841, and Northup, an accomplished, free citizen of New York, is kidnapped and sold into slavery. Stripped of his identity and deprived of all dignity, Northup is ultimately purchased by ruthless plantation owner Edwin Epps and must find the strength within to survive. Filled with powerful performances by an astonishing cast, 12 Years a Slave is both an unflinching account of slavery in American history...

The history of slavery is central to understanding the history of the United States. Slavery and the Making of America offers a richly illustrated, vividly written history that illuminates the human side of this inhumane institution, presenting it largely through stories of the slaves themselves. Readers will discover a wide ranging and sharply nuanced look at American slavery, from the first Africans brought to British colonies in the early seventeenth...

Cindy Gibson, an African-American teenager struggling with her mother's neglect and her mother's boyfriend's emotional abuse, must find strength she did not know she had when the boy she thought would be her savior begins beating her.

A unique compilation of stories, richly reported essays, and photographs providing a window into America during a tumultuous era. This powerful book offers an honest, if sometimes uncomfortable, conversation about race and identity, permitting us to eavesdrop on deep-seated thoughts, private discussions, and long submerged memories.