WV PICKS – Women History
March is Women�s History Month and as we pay homage to all the powerful women of our time, we also celebrate those special women � grandmothers, mothers, wives, daughters, aunts, and nieces — who touch and impact our lives each and every day. This month, I am excited to promote the personal stories of some dynamic women whose life experiences �good and bad– speak to our hearts, minds, and spirits. Read their stories; then celebrate their lives with others this month!
A Piece of Cake
by Cupcake Brown
Crown
1400052289
$24.95, Hardcover
A Piece of Cake is unlike any memoir you�ll ever read. Moving and almost transgressive in its frankness, it is a relentlessly gripping tale of a resilient spirit who took on the worst of contemporary urban life and survived it with a furious wit and unyielding determination. Cupcake Brown is a dynamic and utterly original storyteller who will guide you on the most satisfying, startlingly funny, and genuinely affecting tour through hell you�ll ever take.
Growing Up X
by Ilyasah Shabazz
One World/Ballantine
0345444965
$13.95, Paperback
February 21, 1965: Malcolm X is assassinated in Harlem�s Audubon Ballroom. June 23, 1997: After surviving for a remarkable twenty-two days, his widow, Betty Shabazz, dies of burns suffered in a fire. In the years between, their six daughters reach adulthood, forged by the memory of their parents? love, the meaning of their cause, and the power of their faith. Now, at long last, one of them has recorded that tumultuous journey in an unforgettable memoir: Growing Up X.
Don’t Play in the Sun: One Woman’s Journey through the Color Complex
by Marita Golden
Doubleday
0385507860
$23.95, Hardcover
In a hard-hitting meditation on the role that color plays among African Americans and in wider society, Marita Golden dares to put herself on the line, expressing her fears and rage about how she has navigated through the color complex.
Black, White & Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self
by Rebecca Walker
Riverhead
1573229075
$15.00, Paperback
Hailed as “compelling” by The Washington Post and “stunningly honest” by The San Francisco Chronicle, this memoir has hit bestseller lists and earned critical praise from coast to coast. Rebecca Walker was born in 1969 to author Alice Walker and lawyer Mel Leventhal, who met and married in the heyday of the Civil Rights movement. But after their divorce, Rebecca was a lonely only child ferrying between two worlds-and trying to figure out where she fit in.
Afeni Shakur : Evolution of a Revolutionary
by Jasmine Guy
Atria
0743470532
$25.00, Hardcover
Over the course of a decade, the renowned actress Jasmine Guy has been recording the thoughts of Afeni Shakur. In this unique book, Guy reveals the evolution of the woman through a series of intimate, revealing conversations on themes such as love, race, drugs, music, and of course her son. We see how the impoverished southern girl became a leading light in the Black Panther movement; how drugs brought her low; how her recovery filled her with new hope for herself and the future of black women everywhere; and how the work of her son has served to bring renewed hope and courage to people that this country has too often left behind. Beautifully written, and a beacon of understanding for all Americans, Afeni Shakur: Evolution of a Revolutionary will stand as a powerful testament to the perseverance of one woman, and the power of change and forgiveness.
Susie King Taylor: Destined to be Free
by Denise Jordan and Higgins Bond, Illustrator
Just Us Books
0940975505
$5.00, Paperback
Susie King Taylor is the moving story of one of the first Black nurses in the United States. She was also the first to write and publish her own story. This title was written by Denise Jordan, who was inspired to become a nurse after reading about Susie King Taylor.
The Voice That Challenged a Nation
by Russell Freeman
Clarion Books
0618159762
$18.00, Hardcover
Drawing on Anderson’s own writings and other contemporary accounts, Russell Freedman shows readers a singer pursuing her art despite the social constraints that limited the careers of black performers in the 1920s and 1930s. Though not a crusader or a spokesperson by nature, Marian Anderson came to stand for all black artists-and for all Americans of color-when, with the help of such prominent figures as Eleanor Roosevelt, she gave her landmark 1939 performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, which signaled the end of segregation in the arts. Carefully researched, expertly told, and profusely illustrated with contemporary photographs, here is a moving account of the life of a talented and determined artist who left her mark on musical and social history.
Fannie Lou Hamer: Fighting for the Right to Vote
by Laura Baskes Litwin
Enslow Publishers
0766017729
$26.60, Hardcover
A wonderful biography of Fannie Lou Hamer, the civil rights activist who devoted her life to helping African Americans register to vote and gain a national political voice.
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