New York: Macmillan, (1971) dj. Hardcover first edition - An account of a year the author spent with five 8th & 9th grade students at a mostly Black junior high school in Washington, D.C. - he calls these students "the single most powerful force I have ever known for good change in bad education." 254 pp.

Freedom, CA: Crossing Press, (1994). First edition - Essays, memoirs and poetry - contributors include Saundra Sharp, Sapphire, Rita Arditti, Genny Lim, Rita Williams, Maria E. Barron, Nellie Wong and many others. Each selection is preceded by a photograph of the writer. Reading list, list of resources. 243 pp. ISBN: 0-895947080.

Toronto: Harper Collins, (1996.). SIGNED - A look at the troubled state of race relations in Canada by this black novelist, who came to Canada from Barbados at the age 24. Although the title refers to how the fugitive slaves (and Foster himself) thought of Canada, the reality is quite different: "The sons and daughters of black doctors, lawyers and politicians are just as likely to drop out of school and to be harassed by the police as are the offspring of domestic servants. For many young Blacks, this situation is not acceptable. INSCRIBED on the title page and dated in 1998. Index. 325 pp. ISBN: 0-00638028X.

New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, (2005.) dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - Autobiography of this noted historian, whose work "From Slavery to Freedom" remained the classic text for over 60 years. Born in 1915, he was "confined to segregated schools, threatened and consistently subjected to racismÕs denigration of his humanity." Yet he went on to earn a Ph.D. at Harvard & become the first black historian to assume a full professorship at a white institution; he has reshaped the understanding and teaching of African American history. INSCRIBED on the half title page.Photographs, index. xi, 401 pp. ISBN: 0-374-29944-7.

Aurora, Colorado: Davies Group, Publishers, (2001). SIGNED hardcover first edition - The first collection of short fiction by this African American author best known for his thrillers set in Denver, featuring C. J. Boyd. Greer is also a surgical pathologist, professor and Colorado cattle rancher. A limited first edition, numbered 155/1500 and SIGNED by both Robert Greer and the illustrator Jeff Hall III. Dust jacket praise from Margaret Coel, Clarence Major among others. Promotional book mark laid in. xii, 195 pp. ISBN: 1-888570474.

Boston: Beacon Press, (1997) dj. Hardcover first edition - A very personal study of women's experiences at one ivy league law school, and a more general look at how law school could better serve the needs of women. Extensive notes, index. 175 pp. ISBN: 0-8070-44040.

New York: Ballantine, (1993.). A dispassionate and well-argued book on the top. Includes references, statistical sources and index. 257 pp. ISBN: 0-345-380967.

Gambier, Ohio: Kenyon College, 1991. SIGNED first edition - Special issue featuring writers of color - among the poets are Michael S. Weaver, Wendy Rose, Joy Harjo, Colleen McElroy, Martin Espada and many others; short stories by Reginald McKnight, Paule Marshall, Kyoko Mori and more; essays by Toi Derricotte, Henry Taylor and Barbara DiBernard, and reviews by Marilyn Nelson Waniek and Jewelle Gomez. SIGNED by THREE authors at their contributions: by Cyrus Cassells at his poem, 'Life Indestructible', Quincy Troupe at his poem 'Reflections on Growing Older' and by Marilyn Nelson (Waniek) at her reviews. Uncommon signed. Notes on contributors, index to Volume 21. 236 pp. plus ads. We specialize in literary journals, and have many others - including many not yet catalogued and listed on line.

Washington, D.C.: BET Publications / Arabesque Books, (2000). First edition - "Olympic gymnast Morgan Kirkwood was only 19 when CIA agent Jack Temple recruited her for undercover work at the Korean Olympics. Years later, they meet again when Morgan's cover is blown and Jack answers her call for help from the CIA." 318 pp. ISBN: 1-583141200.

Winona Lake IN: Rodeheaver, Hall-Mack Co, (c. 1939). Arrangements in 4 parts with accompaniment. Introduction by Hall in which he explains the use of dialect and emphasizes that "In singing these songs dialect must not be overdone" as well as the fact that these should be sung a capella. Foreword by Peter Dykema. Approx 10 inches tall by 7 inches. 59 pp.

Fremont, California: Shen's Books (2006.) dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - SIGNED by the author on the front endpaper. Charming multi-cultural children's story - a young African-American girl takes her skeptical grandmother to the Chinese New Year's Day parade - a parade climaxed by the dancing dragon - and as the dragon dancers emerge from beneath the dragon, Sugar recognizes her neighbors, including shopkeeper Mr. Chu, barber Mr. Johnson, teacher Mr. Gonzalez, and her own African-American daddy. Illustrated by Carolyn Reed Barritt with vibrant and colorful and lively paintings. Large format, unpaginated. ISBN: 9781885008305..

New York: Literary Guild, (1929.) dj. Hardcover - Novel set in Charleston, South Carolina, and written primarily in dialect. The basis for both the Broadway drama and the Gershwin musical "Porgy and Bess." 311 pp.. Illustrated endpapers. These early Literary Guild books were attractive productions with stylized dust jacket art.

Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, (1990.) dj. Hardcover first edition - A memoir of growing up during the 1930s in a Jewish ghetto inside the larger African American ghetto of Harlem. Born with a severe cleft palate, much of Horowitz's boyhood was spent in the hospital undergoing one re-constructive surgery after another. The streets taught survival - numbers-running and ticket-scalping were a source of cash for Horowitz; turf wars and muggings were commonplace - while regular visits with his sister to the Apollo theater nutured a love of music, and Central Park at night was a magical place. Photographs. 116 pp. ISBN: 0-87805-4286.

Nashville: Thomas Nelson Inc, (1996) dj. Hardcover - Autobiography of this boxer who was three times the world heavyweight boxing champion, focusing on his youth as he learned to box, his Olympic bronze medal, and his eventual triumph at becoming the champion, as well as the values he held which led to him being called "the real deal." Photographs. 241 pp. ISBN: 0-785276939.

New York: Exposition Press, (1968) dj. Hardcover first edition - A survey of African-American music from the ante-bellum South to the Fisk Jubilee Singers through the 1950s. Jackson focuses mainly on the tradition of black spirituals as they lead to African-American classical composers. Jackson himself was a journalist, author, composer, community activist, and postal worker. Among other things, in 1978, he became the Galveston's first Black postmaster, where he served until 1984. While enrolled at Tuskegee University in Alabama, Jackson grew close to composer William L. Dawson, then a professor and director of the schools choir, known as the Golden Voices and later he Jackson founded Tuskegee's alumni choir and served as interim director for the Golden Voices between 1992-96 and 2000-04. Bibliography. 54 pp.

New York: Exposition Press, (1968) dj. Hardcover first edition - A survey of African-American music from the ante-bellum South to the Fisk Jubilee Singers through the 1950s. Jackson focuses mainly on the tradition of black spirituals as they lead to African-American classical composers. Jackson himself was a journalist, author, composer, community activist, and postal worker. Among other things, in 1978, he became the Galveston's first Black postmaster, where he served until 1984. While enrolled at Tuskegee University in Alabama, Jackson grew close to composer William L. Dawson, then a professor and director of the schools choir, known as the Golden Voices and later he Jackson founded Tuskegees alumni choir and served as interim director for the Golden Voices between 1992-96 and 2000-04. Bibliography. 54 pp.

New York: Amistad / Harper Collins, (2006) dj. Hardcover first edition - The author's first novel, set partly in contemporary Washington, D.C., and post-World War II Dominica, one which interweaves West Indian history and African culture. 292 pp. ISBN: 0-060837578.

New York: Harper Collins/ HarperOne, (2008.) dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - An innovative plan for solving two of our biggest challenges - the failing economy and our devasted environment. SIGNED and dated in the year of publication. Foreword by Robert F, Kennedy Jr. Resource list, notes. 233 pp. ISBN: 0-06-1650757.

New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1983. dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - Her highly praised first book, a collection of 10 short pieces by this Antiguan writer who first came to the US to work as an au pair, and who wound up writing for the New Yorker. While these are described as memories of a childhood in the Caribbean, there is nothing sentimental about them. SIGNED on the title page by Kincaid. Praise from Derek Walcott on the back cover of the dust jacket. ISBN: 0-374-106606.

New York: Simon & Schuster, (2015) dj. Hardcover first edition - "The ultimate critical biography of the King of Pop: a panoramic, vivid, and incisive portrait of Michael Jackson that explores and celebrates his influence in music, dance, and popular culture" Drawing on more than 400 interviews, this puts his long career into perspective. Photographs, notes, index. 438 pp. ISBN: 978-1476730370.

Gambier, Ohio: Kenyon College, 1998. First edition - Double issue featuring an interview with Yusef Komunyakaa and his poetry. Also includes poetry by Charlie Smith, Jean Valentine, Judith Ortiz Cofer, Kelly Cherry, Leon Stokesbury and others; translations of 3 Eastern poets by Arthur Sze; fiction by Chaim Potok, Mark Jacobs, etc.; a review of Latin American poetry in translation by Hardie St. Martin, a Kenyon Review Classic: a re-evaluation of the early poems of Robert Lowell, and more. Notes on contributors, index to Volume 20. 230 pp. We specialize in literary journals, and have many others - including many not yet catalogued and listed on line.

Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, (1996.). SIGNED - Originally published in 1960, at a time when the colonies were moving towards independence and Caribbean literature was making its first worldwide impact, this series of interrelated essays focus on his life as a writer in self-imposed exile in England and of his travels in the Caribbean, West Africa, and the United States and on the experiences of other writers from the Caribbean - Salkey, Naipaul and more. Index. Includes a foreword by Sandra Pouchet Paquet, with references. INSCRIBED by Lamming on the dedication page, with the words "best wishes." Index. xxvii, 232 pp. ISBN: 0-472-064703.

Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, (2011.) dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - The author's first novel for young adults - When fires in Oakland lead to racial tension in the San Francisco Bay Area, bi-racial Nina faces the bigotry of long-time friends, her parents' divorce, and her brother's misbehavior, and so she turns to the story of her great-great grandmother Sarah's escape from slavery (told as a novel within the novel) as a way to understand her roots and her place in the world. SIGNED on the title page. Includes an author's note and questions for discussion, a glossary and sources. 222 pp. ISBN: 0-310727634.

Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, (2011.) dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - The author's first novel for young adults - When fires in Oakland lead to racial tension in the San Francisco Bay Area, bi-racial Nina faces the bigotry of long-time friends, her parents' divorce, and her brother's misbehavior, and so she turns to the story of her great-great grandmother Sarah's escape from slavery (told as a novel within the novel) as a way to understand her roots and her place in the world. INSCRIBED on the title page. Includes an author's note and questions for discussion, a glossary and sources. 222 pp. ISBN: 0-310727634.

Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, (1995). First edition - Powerful and compassionate photographs which reveal the poverty in the Mississippi Delta region - and the strength and dignity of those who endure that poverty - in the cotton fields, in the cotton gins and in their homes. Foreword by Robert Moses and an afterword by Ken Light in which he describes the four and a half years he spent taking these photographs. Large square format. xvi, 125 pp. ISBN: -560984894.

New York: Putnam, (2007.) dj. SIGNED hardcover - A powerful - and moving - account of a chance encounter with a homeless street musician changed both the lives of Lopez, a journalist who at first saw only a column in the story, and that of the violinist. Basis for the movie of the same name with Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx. Boldly SIGNED by Lopez on the title page. 273 pp. ISBN: 9780399155062.