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Category: African American Studies

November 27, 2024

Dear Young Master and Friend: How One Letter Turned into a Biography

The following is a guest post from Sydney Nathans, author of Freedom’s Mirage: Virgil Bennehan’s Odyssey from Emancipation to Exile, which traces the exceptional life of Virgil Bennehan, born in bondage in 1808 in Piedmont North Carolina, who rose to become an enslaved doctor on one of the South’s largest plantations and to view himself as a friend to Black… Continue Reading Dear Young Master and Friend: How One Letter Turned into a Biography

Categories African American Studies/Guest Bloggers
November 19, 2024

New This Week: November 19th

Looking for a good read that will both entertain and educate? If so you’ve come to the right place. This week we have a history of the local story behind Brown v. Board and a book challenging one of America’s favorite pastimes: college football. Check out what’s new this week or head to our Hot Off The Press Page to see all… Continue Reading New This Week: November 19th

Categories African American Studies/New Books/Sociology
October 17, 2024

Yale Announces 2024 Frederick Douglass Book Prize Finalists

Congratulations are in order for Marlene L. Daut, Sara E. Johnson, and Emily A. Owens, three of the four finalists—published by the University of North Carolina Press, and by Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture and the University of North Carolina Press—for the 2024 Frederick Douglass Book Prize. Yale University’s Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery,… Continue Reading Yale Announces 2024 Frederick Douglass Book Prize Finalists

Categories African American History/African American Studies
October 15, 2024

New This Week: October 15th

Another week, another batch of new books publishing. Today we have books spanning topics on segregation scholarships in the US south, teen pop culture at the turn of the twenty-first-century, and North Carolina Politics. Find your next favorite read among these new titles or browse our Hot Off The Press page to see everything new this month. A Forgotten Migration: Black Southerners,… Continue Reading New This Week: October 15th

Categories African American Studies/American Studies/New Books/North Carolina/Political Science
September 17, 2024

New This Week: September 17th

Another week, another New Books Tuesday! This week we’re celebrating the release of TANGLED JOURNEYS, an ambitious historical narrative that tells a multigenerational, multiracial story that invites us into the process of American history making itself. Learn more about the book below and browse all of our new books this month here. Tangled Journeys: One Family’s Story and the Making of American History… Continue Reading New This Week: September 17th

Categories African American Studies/Women's Studies
September 4, 2024

New This Month: September 2024

Happy September! With the first day of fall at the end of the month, now is the perfect time to start filling up your shelves for some cozy fall reading. Luckily, we have a great selection of new books publishing this month. Check out our September releases below or browse everything new this season in our Fall/Winter Catalog. Plus, if… Continue Reading New This Month: September 2024

Categories African American Studies/Cultural Studies/Health / Medicine/North Carolina/UNC Press News
August 27, 2024

New This Week: August 27th

It’s Tuesday and you know what that means: new books! Today’s new books include a book that explores the University of Georgia’s long history of racism and the struggle to overcome it and a new book in our envisioning Cuba series. Check them out below and browse all of our new books this month here. Confronting Jim Crow: Race, Memory, and the… Continue Reading New This Week: August 27th

Categories African American Studies/Latin American & Caribbean Studies
August 20, 2024

New This Week: August 20th

It’s New Books Tuesday and we have two new books that are now officially on sale wherever books are sold. Check them out below and browse all of our new books this month here. Searching for Dr. Harris: The Life and Times of a Remarkable African American Physician by by Margaret Humphreys “Humphreys has written a superb biography that makes a… Continue Reading New This Week: August 20th

Categories African American Studies/Appalachian Studies/Sociology/Southern Studies/UNC Press News
August 14, 2024

Black Women’s Humor in the Cultural Marketplace: An Excerpt from “Sass”

Black women comedians are more visible than ever, performing around the world in physical venues like comedy clubs and festivals, along with appearing in films, streaming specials, and online videos. Across these mediums, humor—and particularly sass—functions as a tool for Black women to articulate and redress cultural, social, and political marginalization. The following is an excerpt from Sass: Black Women’s… Continue Reading Black Women’s Humor in the Cultural Marketplace: An Excerpt from “Sass”

Categories African American Studies/Excerpts/Women's Studies
July 24, 2024

A Novel Way of Researching the Family as a Caring Community

The following is a guest post by Lois Benjamin, author of Ascension: The Sociology of an African American Family’s Generational Journey, which is now available wherever books are sold. “Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye.” H. Jackson Brown’s line captures the process of making this groundbreaking, ethnographic case study, Ascension: The Sociology of an African American Family’s… Continue Reading A Novel Way of Researching the Family as a Caring Community

Categories African American Studies/Guest Bloggers/Sociology
June 19, 2024

Juneteenth Reads: Exploring Slavery and Emancipation

Happy Juneteenth! Today we’re celebrating the emancipation of slavery in the US by reflecting on this crucial piece of American history. To help you learn more about the history of slavery and emancipation in the US we’ve compiled a reading list of some must-read titles, but you can also browse our full African American studies list here. Illusions of Emancipation:… Continue Reading Juneteenth Reads: Exploring Slavery and Emancipation

Categories African American Studies/Reading Lists
May 15, 2024

Lynching and Foul Murder: An Excerpt from The Violent World of Broadus Miller

The following is an excerpt from The Violent World of Broadus Miller: A Story of Murder, Lynch Mobs, and Judicial Punishment in the Carolinas by Kevin W. Young, which is available wherever books are sold. “Young offers insight into the day-to-day racism, violence, and fear that permeated the Carolinas. Thoroughly researched and meticulously documented, this gripping narrative is a truly… Continue Reading Lynching and Foul Murder: An Excerpt from The Violent World of Broadus Miller

Categories African American Studies/Excerpts
March 26, 2024

New This Week

Another week, another selection of new books! Check out the following titles that are now on-sale wherever books are sold. A Guide to North Carolina’s Freshwater Fishes by Bryn Tracy, Fred C. Rohde, Scott Smith, Jesse Bissette, and Gabriela M. Hogue A Southern Gateways Guide A Comprehensive guide to the more than 250 species of freshwater fishes that live in North Carolina waters. Includes: Ascension:… Continue Reading New This Week

Categories African American Studies/Nature/Southern Gateways Guides
March 22, 2024

Lights, Camera, Biography: The Perfect Book to Read if You’re Planning to Watch Netflix’s “Shirley”

Today, March 22, is the release of the new Netflix film, Shirley, with Regina King starring as Shirley Chisholm—the first Black woman elected to Congress and the first woman and Black major-party(Democratic) presidential candidate. If you’re planning to watch this biopic, you may want to add Shirley Chisholm: Champion of Black Feminist Power Politics by Anastasia C. Curwood, which is… Continue Reading Lights, Camera, Biography: The Perfect Book to Read if You’re Planning to Watch Netflix’s “Shirley”

Categories African American Studies/Biography / Autobiography/Excerpts/Women's Studies
March 8, 2024

2024 African American Intellectual History Society Annual Meeting

UNC Press is excited to be exhibiting in-person at the African American Intellectual History Society annual meeting! We hope you’ll stop by our table to say hello to editors Andrew Winters & Dawn Durante and to browse our titles on display. If you can’t join us in-person, you can always visit our virtual booth! CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR FINALISTS FOR THE… Continue Reading 2024 African American Intellectual History Society Annual Meeting

Categories African American Studies/Exhibits/UNC Press News
February 27, 2024

New Books This Week

Check out these new titles that are now available wherever books are sold. And don’t forget that if you want to see everything new this month, you can visit our Hot Off the Press page or sign up for monthly enews to get updates in your inbox every month on new books & other exciting UNC Press news. Being Black in the Ivory: Truth-Telling… Continue Reading New Books This Week

Categories African American Studies/Creative Nonfiction/Education/UNC Press News
February 21, 2024

Food As a Weapon: An excerpt from “Food Power Politics”

This week for Black History Month, we’re sharing an excerpt from the introduction of Food Power Politics: The Food Story of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement by Bobby J. Smith II which was the first book in our Black Food Justice Series. “[Smith] shows how the struggles of the region’s Black communities laid the groundwork for the modern food justice… Continue Reading Food As a Weapon: An excerpt from “Food Power Politics”

Categories African American Studies/Food Studies/Southern Studies
February 15, 2024

Biographies to Read During Black History Month

February is Black History Month and to celebrate we’ve been sharing book excerpts and reading lists of our African American studies titles here on the blog. Black History cannot be understood without taking an individual look at the lived experiences and stories of Black people themselves. As such, we have curated a list of Biographies highlighting the Black experience. Ranging… Continue Reading Biographies to Read During Black History Month

Categories African American Studies/Reading Lists
February 14, 2024

A Douglass Day Reading List

Happy Douglass Day 2024! From DouglassDay.org: Although Frederick Douglass (born circa 1817/1818-died February 20, 1895) never knew his birth date, he chose to celebrate every year on February 14th. We mark this day with a collective action that serves & celebrates Black history. The following UNC Press titles celebrate the incredible accomplishments of Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass: America’s Prophet by… Continue Reading A Douglass Day Reading List

Categories African American Studies
February 7, 2024

Worry about Yourself: An Excerpt from “Eating While Black”

During the second week of Black History Month, enjoy this excerpt of Eating While Black: Food Shaming and Race in America by Psyche A. Williams-Forson, which was awarded the 2023 James Beard Foundation Book Award in Food Issues and Advocacy. Worry about YourselfWhen Food Shaming Black Folk Is a Thing In May 2019, an unsuspecting female African American employee of… Continue Reading Worry about Yourself: An Excerpt from “Eating While Black”

Categories African American Studies/Excerpts