Ax or Ask is a must for teachers, parents, and mentors of African Americans. Used as a text and reference book in 42 school districts, the book explores speech and writing improvement to avoid educational and occupational exclusion. Speech embarrassment and shame can be avoided by reading Ax or Ask? The African American Guide to Better English.

The definitive works of the professor and scholar, Donda West, are included in Donda's Rules. Chapters include her systems theory on composition and rhetoric, a resolution on ebonics, a community-based economic development plan, and her studies on Alexander Pushkin. West implemented a system of teaching composition, created a philosophy as a theoretical base for teaching, and she presents research theories on writing. The book highlights her scholarly genius, besides being the mother of Kanye West.

An authoritative, impassioned celebration of Black English, how it works, and why it matters

Written in a detailed and fascinating manner, this book is ideal for general readers interested in the English language.

"Should I lower my price point? Give my new product away for free online? How do I compete when my goods, services, or business model might be duplicated?" In this candid, 21st-century-savvy guide, Dante Lee illustrates how passion can become profit by addressing the questions that every businessperson needs to ask. Black Business Secrets discusses the entrepreneurial skills that African-American business owners must master in order to compete in a world where most new companies fail within three years.Whether you’re a weekend entrepreneur or a career-changing professional, Lee’s motto—"don’t be a worrier, be a warrior"—applies. From personal branding to best practices, this empowering blueprint offers surefire tips and strategies designed to ensure business survival and success.

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER • A deep and compassionate novel about a young man who returns to 1940s Cajun country to visit a Black youth on death row for a crime he didn't commit. Together they come to understand the heroism of resisting. "An instant classic." —Chicago Tribune A “majestic, moving novel...an instant classic, a book that will be read, discussed and taught beyond the rest of our lives" (Chicago Tribune), from the critically acclaimed author of A Gathering of Old Men and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. "A Lesson Before Dying reconfirms Ernest J. Gaines's position as an important American writer." —Boston Globe "Enormously moving.... Gaines unerringly evokes the place and time about which he writes." —Los Angeles Times “A quietly moving novel [that] takes us back to a place we've been before to impart a lesson for living.” —San Francisco Chronicle

In response to the flood of interest in African American Vernacular English (AAVE) following the recent controversy over "Ebonics," this book brings together sixteen essays on the subject by a leading expert in the field, one who has been researching and writing on it for a quarter of a century.