book talk

In August 2017, over a thousand neo-Nazis, fascists, Klan members, and neo-Confederates descended on a small southern city to protest the pending removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee. Within an hour of their arrival, the city's historic downtown was a scene of bedlam as armored far right cadres battled activists in the streets. […]

To many, the term "Black Capitalists" is oxymoronic. Black people were the labor force that built the infrastructure of American capitalism through the violent enforcement of legalized slavery, so they cannot, and should not, aspire to be the beneficiaries of it. But Wall Street professional and Yale-educated anthropologist Dr. Rachel Laryea poses a provocative question: […]

Lucille "Mama Ceal" Hatch Eldridge wrote to her grandson Walter Pryor weekly for nearly 30 years, from his boyhood until she died at 80. Most extraordinarily, Mama Ceal was not a well-educated person, having completed only the eighth grade. As a live-in maid, raising other people's children, she had little leisure time to write. Yet, […]

1861: The Lost Peace is the story of President Lincoln's far-reaching, difficult, and most courageous decision, a time when the country wrestled with deep moral and political questions of epic proportions. Through Jay Winik's singular storytelling, readers will learn about the extraordinary Washington Peace Conference at the Willard Hotel to avert cataclysmic war. They will observe […]

Stefan M. Bradley was a young professor in Saint Louis University when Black teenager Michael Brown was shot and killed in Ferguson, Missouri, by a local white police officer. Bradley quickly became a key media activist during the protests that ensued, giving on-the-ground interviews to Chris Hayes, CNN, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and others. In If […]

As Michigan's Secretary of State and chief election official, Jocelyn Benson has overseen several of the highest turnout, most secure elections in the state's history. But her life changed one snowy evening in December 2020 when armed protesters descended onto her doorstep, threatening her family. Her only crime: certifying a fair and accurate Presidential election […]

Get on the Job and Organize is a compelling, inspirational narrative of the Starbucks and Tesla unionization efforts, telling the broader story of the new, nationwide labor movement unfolding in our era of political and social unrest. As one of the exciting new faces of the American Labor Movement, Jaz Brisack argues that while workers often […]

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a third-generation Alaskan serving as the state’s senior senator, has repeatedly stood at the center of our country’s most challenging issues, serving as a swing vote and a voice of reason willing to challenge the president, regardless of who holds the office. In Far From Home: An Alaskan Senator Faces the Extreme Climate […]

Years after her successful and impactful career at the CIA, Christina Hillsberg became enthralled with the stories of the trailblazing women who forged new paths within the Agency long before she began her career there in the aughts. These were women who sacrificed their personal lives, risked their safety, defied expectations, and boldly navigated the […]

In this definitive, eye-opening history, award-winning author Rebecca Grant charts the reproductive freedom movement from the days before Roe through the seismic impact of Dobbs. The stories in Access span four continents, tracing strategies across generations and borders. Grant centers those activists who have been engaged in direct action to help people get the abortions they need. Their efforts involve […]

Born in Jim Crow-era Monroe, North Carolina, Robert F. Williams and Mabel Williams were the state's most legendary African American freedom fighters. Robert organized an armed paramilitary group to protect his community from the violent attacks of the Ku Klux Klan. The Williamses' leadership in Monroe was just the beginning of their lifelong pursuit of […]