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Last summer on State Street : a novel / by Wolfe, Toya,author.;
"For fans of Jacqueline Woodson and Brit Bennett, a striking coming-of-age debut about friendship, community, and resilience, set in the housing projects of Chicago during one life-changing summer. Felicia "Fe Fe" Stevens is living with her vigilantly loving mother and older teenaged brother, whom she adores, in building 4950 of Chicago's Robert Taylor Homes. It's the summer of 1999, and her high-rise is next in line to be torn down by the Chicago Housing Authority. She, with the devout Precious Brown and Stacia Buchanan, daughter of a Gangster Disciple Queen-Pin, form a tentative trio and, for a brief moment, carve out for themselves a simple life of Double Dutch and innocence. But when Fe Fe welcomes a mysterious new friend, Tonya, into their fold, the dynamics shift, upending the lives of all four girls. As their beloved neighborhood falls down around them, so too do their friendships and the structures of the four girls' families. Fe Fe must make the painful decision of whom she can trust and whom she must let go. Decades later, as she remembers that fateful summer--just before her home was demolished, her life uprooted, and community forever changed--Fe Fe tries to make sense of the grief and fraught bonds that still haunt her and attempts to reclaim the love that never left. Profound, reverent, and uplifting, Last Summer on State Street explores the risk of connection against the backdrop of racist institutions, the restorative power of knowing and claiming one's own past, and those defining relationships which form the heartbeat of our lives. Interweaving moments of reckoning and sustaining grace, debut author Toya Wolfe has crafted an era-defining story of finding a home--both in one's history and in one's self."--
Subjects: Bildungsromans.; Historical fiction.; Novels.; Robert Taylor Homes; Robert Taylor Homes; African American families; African American teenagers; African American women; African Americans; Apartment houses; Families; Female friendship; Home; Racism;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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They dream in gold : a novel / by Sennaar, Mai,author.;
"When Bonnie and Mansour meet in New York in 1968--his piercing gaze in a downtown jazz club threatening to carry her away--their connection is undeniable. Both from fractured homes, with childhoods spent crossing the Atlantic, they quickly find peace with each other. And as Mansour's soaring Senegalese melodies continue to break new ground, keeping time with the sound of revolution and taking him and Bonnie from Paris to Rio and Switzerland, it seems as though happiness might finally be around the corner for them both. Then Mansour goes missing. His Spanish tour was only meant to last three weeks, but three months later, he and his band have not returned. In his absence, Bonnie reckons with her memories of him, and comes to understand that the hopes of so many women--her mother and grandmother; his mother, aunt, childhood friend--rest on her perseverance. Stirred by the life growing inside her, Bonnie puts a plan in action to find him"--Dust jacket flap.
Subjects: Bildungsromans.; Novels.; African American women; African diaspora; Concert tours; Man-woman relationships; Musicians; Musicians; Pregnant women; Senegalese; Spouses;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Our dream Christmas [videorecording] / by Akakpo, Jasmine,actor.; Brown, Olivia,1960-actor.; Butler, Aujene,actor.; Edwards, Honesty,film director.; Cinedigm (Firm),film distributor.; New Kingdom Pictures,publisher.;
Jasmine Akakpo, Olivia Brown, Aujene Butler.It's Christmas Eve in Los Angeles, and hardworking Gabby, her husband and their two kids, Amber and TJ, are fresh from Mississippi to spend Christmas with her mother and brother. With her mother dying, the family wanted to spend one last Christmas together. Over the course of two days, Gabby uncovers the truth about her wayward husband, defends herself against her sick, judgmental mom, widens the gap between her pre-teen daughter and herself, and faces a potential job loss.PG.DVD-R ; widescreen presentation ; Dolby digital stereo.
Subjects: Christmas films.; Feature films.; Fiction films.; Video recordings for the hearing impaired.; African American families; Christmas; Dysfunctional families;
For private home use only.
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The vanishing half / by Bennett, Brit,author.;
"The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Ten years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' storylines intersect? Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins. As with her New York Times-bestselling debut The Mothers, Brit Bennett offers an engrossing page-turner about family and relationships that is immersive and provocative, compassionate and wise"--
Subjects: Bildungsromans.; Psychological fiction.; Twin sisters; African American women; African American families; African Americans; Passing (Identity); Race discrimination;
Available copies: 2 / Total copies: 2
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Bits and pieces : my mother, my brother, and me / by Goldberg, Whoopi,1955-author.;
If it weren't for Emma Johnson, Caryn Johnson would have never become Whoopi Goldberg. Emma gave her children the loving care and wisdom they needed to succeed in life, always encouraging them to be true to themselves. When Whoopi lost her mother in 2010 -- and then her older brother, Clyde, five years later -- she felt deeply alone; the only people who truly knew her were gone. Emma raised her children not just to survive, but to thrive. In this intimate and heartfelt memoir, Whoopi shares many of the deeply personal stories of their lives together for the first time. Growing up in the projects in New York City, there were trips to Coney Island, the Ice Capades, and museums, and every Christmas was a magical experience. To this day, she doesn't know how her mother was able to give them such an enriching childhood, despite the struggles they faced -- and it wasn't until she was well into adulthood that Whoopi learned just how traumatic some of those struggles were. Fans of personal memoirs such as Finding Me by Viola Davis and In Pieces by Sally Field will be touched by Bits and Pieces: a moving tribute from a daughter to her mother, and a beautiful portrait of three people who loved each other deeply. Whoopi writes, "Not everybody gets to walk this earth with folks who let you be exactly who you are and who give you the confidence to become exactly who you want to be. So, I thought I'd share mine with you."
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Goldberg, Whoopi, 1955-; Goldberg, Whoopi, 1955-; Goldberg, Whoopi, 1955-; Johnson, Clyde, 1949-2015.; Johnson, Emma, 1931-2010.; African American actors; African American entertainers;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The rape of Recy Taylor [videorecording] / by Buirski, Nancy,screenwriter,film director,film producer.; Hubbard, Beth,film producer.; Miller, Rex(Cinematographer),director of photography.; Ripoli, Anthony,editor of moving image work.; Augusta Films,production company.; Transform Films,production company.; Artemis Rising (Firm),contributor.; Matador Content (Firm),contributor.; Orchard (Firm),publisher.;
Director of photography, Rex Miller ; editor, Anthony Ripoli."Recy Taylor, a 24-year-old black mother and sharecropper, was gang raped by six white boys in 1944 Alabama. A common occurrence in the Jim Crow South, few women spoke up in fear for their lives. Not Recy Taylor, who bravely identified her rapists. The NAACP sent its chief rape investigator Rosa Parks to Alabama, who rallied support and triggered an unprecedented outcry for justice."--Container.E.DVD ; widescreen presentation ; Dolby Digital 5.1, 2.0.
Subjects: Documentary films.; Biographical films.; Nonfiction films.; Feature films.; Video recordings for the hearing impaired.; Taylor, Recy, 1919-2017.; Parks, Rosa, 1913-2005.; African American women; Rape; African American women; Civil rights movements;
For private home use only.
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Atlanta. [videorecording] / by Beetz, Zazie,actor.; Glover, Donald,1983-screenwriter,television director,television producer,actor.; Henry, Brian Tyree,actor.; Murai, Hiro,television director.; Stanfield, Lakeith,1991-actor.; Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation,publisher.;
Donald Glover, Brian Tyree Henry, Lakeith Stanfield, Zazie Beetz.Two cousins work through the Atlanta music scene to better their lives and the lives of their families. Earn Marks is a young manager trying to get his cousin's career off the ground. Alfred is a new hot rapper trying to understand the line between real life and street life. Darius is Alfred's right-hand man and visionary. Van is Earns best friend and the mother of Earn's daughter.14A.DVD ; widescreen presentation ; Dolby Digital 5.1.
Subjects: Television comedies.; Television programs.; Video recordings for the hearing impaired.; African Americans; African American families; Cousins; Rap musicians;
For private home use only.
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The violin conspiracy / by Slocumb, Brendan,author.;
"Ray McMillian loves playing the violin more than anything, and nothing will stop him from pursuing his dream of becoming a professional musician. Not his mother, who thinks he should get a real job, not the fact that he can't afford a high-caliber violin, not the racism inherent in the classical music world. And when he makes the startling discovery that his great-grandfather's fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius, his star begins to rise. Then with the international Tchaikovsky Competition-the Olympics of classical music-fast approaching, his prized family heirloom is stolen. Ray is determined to get it back. But now his family and the descendants of the man who once enslaved Ray's great-grandfather are each claiming that the violin belongs to them. With the odds stacked against him and the pressure mounting, will Ray ever see his beloved violin again?"--
Subjects: Bildungsromans.; Psychological fiction.; African American men; Stradivarius violin; Theft; Violinists;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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How do I draw these memories? [graphic novel] / by Joshua, Jonell,author,illustrator.;
"Jonell Joshua spent her childhood shuttling back and forth between Savannah and New Jersey-living in grandparents' homes during the times her mother, struggling with mental illness, could not take care of her and her brothers. Together the family found a way to keep going even in the darkest of times. How Do I Draw These Memories? is a graphic novel memoir about nostalgia, faith, the preciousness of life, and unconditional love. From Jonell's devastatingly brilliant pen as a writer and an artist, it plumbs the depths of what family can be, and how joy and hope can be found in the most ordinary and extraordinary moments"--
Subjects: Biographical comics.; Nonfiction comics.; Autobiographical comics.; Graphic novels.; Personal narratives.; Joshua, Jonell; Joshua, Jonell; African American families; Cartoonists; Families; Families; Illustrators;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The house of hidden meanings : a memoir / by RuPaul,1960-author.;
"Central to RuPaul's success has been his chameleonic adaptability. From drag icon to powerhouse producer of one of the world's largest television franchises, RuPaul's ever-shifting nature has always been part of his brand as both supermodel and supermogul. Yet that adaptability has made him enigmatic to the public. In this memoir, his most intimate and detailed book yet, RuPaul makes himself truly known. In The House of Hidden Meanings, RuPaul strips away all artifice and recounts the story of his life with breathtaking clarity and tenderness, bringing his signature wisdom and wit to his own biography. From his early years growing up as a queer Black kid in San Diego navigating complex relationships with his absent father and temperamental mother, to forging an identity in the punk and drag scenes of Atlanta and New York, to finding enduring love with his husband Georges LeBar and self-acceptance in sobriety, RuPaul excavates his own biography life-story, uncovering new truths and insights in his personal history. Here in RuPaul's singular and extraordinary story is a manual for living-a personal philosophy that testifies to the value of chosen family, the importance of harnessing what makes you different, and the transformational power of facing yourself fearlessly. A[n] ... introspection of his life, relationships, and identity, The House of Hidden Meanings is a self-portrait of the legendary icon on the road to global fame and changing the way the world thinks about drag."--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; RuPaul, 1960-; African American businesspeople; African American television personalities; Cross-dressers; Drag queens; Gay men; Sexual minorities;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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