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Sterling Plumpp contrasts the rituals of Africa with African American rituals that have emerged in the twentieth century.

Featuring poetry, short plays, and short stories, this collection contains content written by young people as part of Chicago's Gallery 37 Project, an art education program for youths aged 14–21. The illustrations are also done by the participants in the 1998 Gallery 37 program.

Black Panther earns three Oscars. Since its inception Marvel Studios’ Black Panther has provoked and stoked a wide range of interest, and now that the blockbuster film is the recipient of three Oscars the film’s acclaim extends beyond the box office. No, it didn’t get the top prize, but it was a barrier breaker as Ruth Carter was the first black woman to ever win in the Costume Design category; and another first for a black artist when Hannah Beachler took the trophy, which she shared with Set Decorator Jay Hart, in Production Design. Additional spice arrived when Ludwig Goransson earned an Oscar for the Best Score in a Motion Picture. These awards and other nominations for Black Panther augurs well for populist cinema that is traditionally scorned when it comes to taking home the coveted awards, particularly an Oscar, which is Marvel’s first. It’s a good bet the honors to Black Panther will not only boost the appreciation for populist cinema, it should also enhance the appeal of a number of products and projects such as Black Panther: A Paradigm Shift or Not? the forthcoming anthology at Third World Press, edited by Haki Madhubuti and Herb Boyd. “All of the celebration and awards for the film is nothing to thumb your nose at and we at Third World Press extend all our good wishes and hope we can do as well with our publication,” said Madhubuti, the press’s publisher and founder. The anthology, which includes more than forty writers, film critics, scholars, and activists, has a timely appearance and should be able to reap some of the renewed media attention the film has sparked. Among the contributors are Nicole Mitchell Gantt, Jelani Cobb, Brent Staples, Abdul Alkalimat, Bobby Seale, Robyn Spencer, Diane Turner, Greg Tate, Maulana Karenga, Marita Golden, and Molefi Keta Asante, et al. As may be discerned from the contributors the anthology is a compilation of mixed views and opinions—with both praise and a critique of the film. “The film has aroused a variety of conclusions, a wellspring of differences that we felt compelled to give them a forum,” said Boyd. “Like the film, the views expressed in the book are often very provocative.”

A compilation of essays presenting the conditions and promises of the university for African American faculty and students that is enhanced by the development of Black culture centers in the university community.

""Black Authenticity"" exposes fundamental differences in the psychologies of people of African and European descent. These differences, which are manifested in the oppressive behavior of Europeans, must be revealed before Africans can recreate an authentic Black psychology. Marcia Sutherland analyzes the various problems which plague the African world and outlines a liberated psychology which must be adopted if people of African descent are to become an independent people.

""Ballers of the New School"" uses American sports culture to challenge and explore notions of race in America. Dr. Lewis pushes back against topics such as anti-intellectualism, jingoism, and exploitation in collegiate athletics, as well as the role of sports culture in cultivating notions of masculinity. The book fearlessly critiques and challenges the notion that sports culture has altruistically functioned as a progressive pioneer of social and racial progress and offers a reexamination of the narrative of American sport as a leading contributor to racial progress by pointing to glass ceilings in areas of leadership on and off fields of play. The reconstructions as well as challenges to modern athletes that ""Ballers of the New School"" offers makes it a usable book of sometimes uncomfortable, but necessary truths.

Best of friends since college, Chance and Roberta Williams and Michael and Lauren Hubbs have perfect relationships, perfect careers, and perfect lives. Or do they? A freak accident takes Roberta's life, leaving the three remaining friends with a shattered reality: their perfect existence is nothing more than an illusion masked by secrets, deception, and jealousy. The loss of his wife and unborn child being too much to bear, Chance gives in to grief. Quickly evolving into a psychotic killer, he creates for his remaining friends a world that is something short of a nightmare. ""Asunder"" is a thriller that will leave readers on the edge of the seat.

Best known for his anthologies on Black literature and his scholarship on Black life and culture, Richard A. Long’s own creative writing would have remained obscure and under represented had it not been for Eleanor Traylor, Sterling Brown Professor and Graduate Professor of English at Howard University, who asked Third World Press to produce a commemorative edition of Ascending and Other Poems. As a tribute to Long and to his legacy, this slim volume of verse introduces this poet to an entirely new audience. Ascending and Other Poems originally produced through the DuSable Museum of African American History under the guidance of Margaret Burroughs engaged his followers in the mid 1970s. Today almost thirty years later, it still engages and challenges readers with profound revelations and alluring language.

Derrick Bell is perhaps best known for the principled stand he took at Harvard in 1990 when he quit his tenured position on the law-school faculty to protest the school's failure to grant tenure to a black woman. Now a visiting professor at New York Law School, Bell is still deeply interested in issues of race relations and has chosen to explore the subject fictionally in ""Afrolantica Legacies."" In a nutshell, the story goes like this: a mysterious land mass suddenly appears in the Atlantic Ocean, a fabulous island on which only black people can survive. American blacks set sail to the island to begin a new life, only to see it sink again before they can reach the shore. On the return trip to America, the passengers draw up a list of principles called the Afrolantica Legacies, defining how they want to reposition themselves in American society. The book uses a fictional setting to outline some remedies for the problem of race relations between African Americans and white people in our society.

To give voice to the historic election of President Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States, this anthology of essays, poetry, and creative non-fiction documents the conversation on President Obama's campaign within the African American community, and the dialogue after his election and since he has taken the Oath of Office. Included are perspectives on the historical moments during President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, the finale of the 2008 general election, and Obama's new plans and policies since he took office in January 20, 2009. Editors Lita Hooper, Michael Simanga, and Sonia Sanchez have assembled an impressive list of forty-four contributors to capture the energy and excitement, the expectation and hope. Featured are works from Lita Hooper, Michael Sigmanga, Sonia Sanchez, Amiri Baraka, Haki Madhubuti, Askia Toure, Quincy Troupe, Chuck D, Pearl Cleage, Natasha Trethewey, Tony Medina, Jessica Care Moore, Nathan McCall, Jasmine Guy, Farai Chideya, Keith Gilyard, Opal Moore, Sharan Strange, and Tina McElroy Ansa.