In The Meaning of Soul, Emily J. Lordi proposes a new understanding of this famously elusive concept. In the 1960s, Lordi argues, soul came to signify a cultural belief in black resilience, which was enacted through musical practices—inventive cover versions, falsetto vocals, ad-libs, and false endings. Through these soul techniques, artists such as Aretha Franklin, Donny Hathaway, Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye, Isaac Hayes, and Minnie Riperton performed virtuosic survivorship and thus helped to galvanize black communities in an era of peril and promise. Their soul legacies were later reanimated by such stars as Prince, Solange Knowles, and Flying Lotus. Breaking with prior understandings of soul as a vague masculinist political formation tethered to the Black Power movement, Lordi offers a vision of soul that foregrounds the intricacies of musical craft, the complex personal and social meanings of the music, the dynamic movement of soul across time, and the leading role played by black women in this musical-intellectual tradition.

Farming While Black is the first comprehensive "how to" guide for aspiring African-heritage growers to reclaim their dignity as agriculturists and for all farmers to understand the distinct, technical contributions of African-heritage people to sustainable agriculture. At Soul Fire Farm, author Leah Penniman co-created the Black and Latino Farmers Immersion (BLFI) program as a container for new farmers to share growing skills in a culturally relevant and supportive environment led by people of color. Farming While Black organizes and expands upon the curriculum of the BLFI to provide readers with a concise guide to all aspects of small-scale farming, from business planning to preserving the harvest. Throughout the chapters Penniman uplifts the wisdom of the African diasporic farmers and activists whose work informs the techniques described--from whole farm planning, soil fertility, seed selection, and agroecology, to using whole foods in culturally appropriate recipes, sharing stories of ancestors, and tools for healing from the trauma associated with slavery and economic exploitation on the land. Woven throughout the book is the story of Soul Fire Farm, a national leader in the food justice movement.--AMAZON.

An impassioned examination of the role self-esteem plays in the lives of African Americans contends that American culture fails to promote healthy self-esteem, documents the failures of historical movements, and discusses the benefits of preventative mental health care. Reprint.

My entire world has been flipped upside down.I've gone from living a semi-normal teenage life to a life full of vampires and werewolves who all expect me to deliver them from the control of an evil dictator.I am the last of my kind, an elite supernatural known as a Sun Warrior. Now, I've left the safety of Two Rivers and gone in search of my mother. Kayden is by my side, and will do anything to protect me. But by going on my quest, I've left behind my sister-the one person I was always told to protect.Secrets will come out, relationships will break, and danger lies just ahead. Will I be able to face it all and come out alive? And how will I protect my sister from danger when she is so far away?

Examines firsthand the lives of legendary Black writers who made a way out of no way to illuminate a road map for budding creators desiring to follow in their footsteps Acclaimed Cave Canem poet and essayist Remica Bingham-Risher interweaves personal essays and interviews she conducted over a decade with 10 distinguished Black poets, such as Lucille Clifton, Sonia Sanchez, and Patricia Smith, to explore the impact of identity, joy, love, and history on the artistic process. Each essay is thematically inspired, centered on one of her interviews, and uses quotes drawn from her talks to showcase their philosophies. Each essay also delves into how her own life and work are influenced by these elders. Essays included are these: · “blk/wooomen revolution” · “Girls Loving Beyoncé and Their Names” · “The Terror of Being Destroyed” · “Standing in the Shadows of Love” · “Revision as Labyrinth” Noting the frustrating tendency for Black artists to be pigeonholed into the confines of various frameworks and ideologies—Black studies, women’s studies, LGBTQIA+ studies, and so on—Bingham-Risher reveals the multitudes contained within Black poets, both past and present. By capturing the radical love ethic of Blackness amid incessant fear, she has amassed not only a wealth of knowledge about contemporary Black poetry and poetry movements but also brings to life the historical record of Black poetry from the latter half of the 20th century to the early decades of the 21st. Examining cultural traditions, myths, and music from the Four Tops to Beyoncé, Bingham-Risher reflects on the enduring gifts of art and community. If you’ve ever felt alone on your journey into the writing world, the words of these poets are for you.

The baddest of the bad boys... Gabriel is a five hundred year old vampire with the soul of a Killer. He has defeated his mother in a battle for the territory of Baltimore, and vowed to take vengeance upon his father, the Master of Philadelphia, for a centuries-old betrayal. Jezebel, Gabriel's new fledgling, is a soul as scarred as his own, yet Gabriel finds that the ice around his heart slowly melts when she is near. But one of Gabriel's ancient enemies has targeted her--and if Gabriel wants to save her, he will have to abandon his plans for revenge and join forces with his father. The question is not whether or not Gabriel can redeem himself from his past, but whether he can ever forgive himself... At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.