History

We firmly believe that our children are the stewards of our liberation. When we prioritize our children, we are also prioritizing a world shaped by peace, safety, love and justice. When we protect our children, we are also protecting our most beautiful legacies and coveted traditions. When we invest in our children, we are also investing in our most audacious freedom dreams and our most impossible future worlds. The children of Gaza, and indeed all of Palestine, are no different. Driven by this commitment, we have decided to assemble an anthology that prioritizes children. We hope to contribute to the present moment of radical resistance and revolutionary possibility by placing the lives, experiences, conditions, feelings, perspectives, and stories of the region’s children at the center of our social, cultural, moral, legal, and political analysis. For this anthology, we have chosen to exclusively spotlight the voices of progressive Black and Jewish American writers. In foregrounding Black and Jewish identities, including those writers who identify as both Black and Jewish, we hope to refute several dangerous myths about Black and Jewish Americans on the question of Israel/Palestine.

"Towards the Pan Black College & University" by Joseph L. Jones is a compelling exploration of the historical and contemporary challenges faced by Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). ​ Jones, a seasoned political scientist and former HBCU president, delves into the systemic issues of leadership, miseducation, culture, sustainability, respect, and social justice within these institutions. ​ Drawing on his extensive experience and the writings of W.E.B. Du Bois, Jones advocates for a transformative vision he calls the Pan Black College and University (PBCU). ​ This vision emphasizes leadership that fosters justice, a curriculum centered on the Black experience, a healthy organizational culture, financial independence, and a commitment to social justice and Pan-Africanism. ​ Through personal anecdotes, scholarly analysis, and a call to action, Jones challenges readers to rethink and reimagine the future of Black colleges as vital incubators for change in Black communities and beyond.”

The author, one of the foremost scholars on Africa, fought to legitimize African history for more than 60 years. This book finally uncovers the tumultuous life of this great figure. Through a series of autobiographical essays, Clarke looks back on his lifelong struggle to restore African history to its proper place in the context of world history.

Testifying that the foundation of modern Western thought, theory, and practice can be traced back to ancient African thought, theory, and practice, this book exposes the African influence on Greek and Roman thought and its influence on the development of modern Western society. It then establishes the urgency to defend and honor the role of Ancient African civilizations on this major event. Exposing fallacies and reestablishing new and undistorted ways of viewing the formation of Western society, the book shows how classic literature shaped the contemporary world in intricate and sometimes startlingly and brutally honest detail. Not satisfied with simply challenging the reader to think about things differently, the volume goes further, citing specific examples and offering instruction on how to begin to retrain oneself to think about the origins of modern society in other terms. The book is also separated from other such critical efforts by expanding the text with instruction for implementing new ways of looking at the educational curriculum--to ensure that the task of improving education can be taken up by future generations.

The Destruction of Black Civilization took Chancellor Williams sixteen years of research and field study to compile. The book, which was to serve as a reinterpretation of the history of the African race, was intended to be ""a general rebellion against the subtle message from even the most 'liberal' white authors (and their Negro disciples): 'You belong to a race of nobodies. You have no worthwhile history to point to with pride.'"" The book was written at a time when many black students, educators, and scholars were starting to piece together the connection between the way their history was taught and the way they were perceived by others and by themselves. They began to question assumptions made about their history and took it upon themselves to create a new body of historical research. The book is premised on the question: ""If the Blacks were among the very first builders of civilization and their land the birthplace of civilization, what has happened to them that has left them since then, at the bottom of world society, precisely what happened? The Caucasian answer is simple and well-known: The Blacks have always been at the bottom."" Williams instead contends that many elements—nature, imperialism, and stolen legacies— have aided in the destruction of the black civilization. The Destruction of Black Civilization is revelatory and revolutionary because it offers a new approach to the research, teaching, and study of African history by shifting the main focus from the history of Arabs and Europeans in Africa to the Africans themselves, offering instead ""a history of blacks that is a history of blacks. Because only from history can we learn what our strengths were and, especially, in what particular aspect we are weak and vulnerable. Our history can then become at once the foundation and guiding light for united efforts in serious[ly] planning what we should be about now."" It was part of the evolution of the black revolution that took place in the 1970s, as the focus shifted from politics to matters of the mind.

This monograph explains the role of religion in the colonies of Africa and among the people of African descent in the United States.

Book about Kemet and Other ancient African Civilizations.

Amidst the current debates concerning multiculturalism and political correctness, this publication moves the discussion beyond the vagueness of ethnicity to the reality of African empowerment.

More than forty stunning etchings depict scenes from the Bible from an African perspective in this collection of inspiring passages from the Old and New Testaments. The drawings by late Italian American print-maker Letterio Calapai illustrate favorite Bible stories such as David and Goliath, Noah and the flood, Daniel and the lions, and the battle of Jericho, and depict favorite heroes such as Moses, Job, Sampson, and King Solomon as Africans. Each drawing is accompanied by powerful passages from the scriptures. With a Foreword by Dr. Jeremiah Wright and an Afterword by Dr. Frank M. Reid, two of today’s most well known Black theologians, In His Image is a gift quality book to treasure for decades to come.

A candid memoir of an African American's journey to a continent which bears the scars of centuries of oppression, this volume looks at Africa head-on, full of honesty and devoid of romanticism.

**PRE-ORDER NOW, Available August 2025 ** Malcolm X and the Arts: Ten Centennial Reflections is a landmark collection of essays that examines the influence of Malcolm X on artistic movements and creative works. This volume brings together scholars, artists, and writers to analyze Malcolm X’s impact on Black cultural production from the 1960s to the contemporary moment.

The daughter of Oliver Golden, an African American expatriate and agrarian activist of the early 1900's, and Bertha Bialek, youngest daughter of Polish American emigres of Jewish descent, Lily Golden has a special place in history. In this account of her experience, Golden provides a connection between the contemporary and historical relationships of America to Russia. Golden offers a distinctly different and refreshing point of view of the lives and experiences of Russia in her often alluring and romantic, sometimes bitterly painful, yet always vivid and intimate details of her life as a dark-skinned Russian surviving in and struggling against turbulent changes. She brings her tale of a sometimes charmed sometimes challenged existence full circle in her descriptions of her ultimate contact with distant relatives in the United States. Lily Golden allows the reader access into her lifelong revelation that family and community ties are boundless by time and geography.

The Art and Activism of Marion Perkins: “To see reality in a new light” edited by Julia Perkins, Michael Flug and David Lusenhof preserves the art of Marion Perkins (1908-1961), a self-taught sculpture who became one of the most important visual artists in the Chicago Renaissance. Now fifty years after his death, Perkins work has inspired a new audience of artists, art enthusiast and art historians to study the rich cultural history of Chicago’s black artists and writers. This book includes commentary, photography and documents from the 2009 year-long exhibit held at the Chicago Public Library’s Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Third World Press was pleased to partner with the Harsh Society on the production of this book, which will serve as the official archival record of the exhibit.On preserving the art and legacy of Marion Perkins“Through his art, Marion Perkins imparted social and political commentary on the injustices and challenges faced by African Americans during the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. This catalogue is a tribute to the man and the exhibition “‘to see reality in a new light’:the Art & Activism of Marion Perkins,” which marked the first comprehensive survey of his legacy and contribution to the landscape of American art.” —Julia Perkins

Rise of the Phoenix ""is a collection of personal narratives that articulate the political, social, religious, and cultural experiences of many who participated in Chicago's black struggle for self-determination, self-reliance, and equality during the civil rights and Black Power movements. Contributors include Timuel Black, Carol Adams, John R. Porter, and Ellis Cose with a preface by Julieanna Richardson, director of The HistoryMakers.

This play is about the parents in South Carolina who risked their lives to file the first legal challenge to segregation in public schools. Their case led to Brown v. Board of Education and the historic 1954 Supreme Court decision outlawing segregation. The book includes biographical information on Ossie Davis; photographs; accounts of the civil rights struggle; and essays, based on the philosophy Aesthetic Realism, which explain the cause of and answer to racism.

White supremacy and its troubling endurance in American life is debated in these personal essays by two veteran political activists. Arguing that white supremacy has been the dominant political system in the United States since its earliest days--and that it is still very much with us--the discussion points to unexamined bigotry in the criminal justice system, election processes, war policy, and education. The book draws upon the authors' own confrontations with authorities during the Vietnam era, reasserts their belief that racism and war are interwoven issues, and offers personal stories about their lives today as parents, teachers, and reformers.

Thomas Strickland Turner Sr. was born May 16, 1925 to Edward Daniel Turner and Maude Butler Turner. His struggles against racial discrimination and segregation began when he was a child. He and four of his eight siblings, Constance, Barbara, Leroy and Francis were among the African American students who were barred from attending the New Easttown Elementary School in Pennsylvania during 1932 because of their color. The discriminatory practices to institute segregation erupted into a fight for equal education for all students. Those involved in the struggle against segregation included local African American parents, the NAACP and Philadelphia lawyer, Raymond Pace Alexander. At that time, Mr. Turner’s uncle Oscar Burwell Cobb was the president of the Main Line branch of the NAACP. They won the battle and Black children were granted the right to enter and attend the new Easttown School.

White supremacy and its troubling endurance in American life is debated in these personal essays by two veteran political activists. Arguing that white supremacy has been the dominant political system in the United States since its earliest days--and that it is still very much with us--the discussion points to unexamined bigotry in the criminal justice system, election processes, war policy, and education. The book draws upon the authors' own confrontations with authorities during the Vietnam era, reasserts their belief that racism and war are interwoven issues, and offers personal stories about their lives today as parents, teachers, and reformers.