Failing Schools, Failing Lives
Martin Luther King Jr.'s Fight for Unions Is Still Essential

Black History Month Giveaway: Last Day to Enter at Beacon.org!

Beacon Press is committed to talking about African-American history year-round, but don't always hand out our books for free! For Black History Month, check out our recommended reading list and enter to win.

One winner will receive five books out of the list of recommended titles for Black History Month. Five winners will win one book. Only one entry per person. Entries will be accepted through February 28. Winners will be chosen on March 1.

Winners can choose from the following books: 

All_labor "All Labor Has Dignity
Author: Martin Luther King, Jr.
Edited and Introduced by: Michael K. Honey

Including twelve previously unpublished speeches, "All Labor Has Dignity" is an unprecedented and timely collection of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speeches on labor rights and economic justice.

"His insights show us the way of transformation from consumers divided by race and ethnicity into an active, united citizenry." —Nell Irvin Painter, author of The History of White People

Why_we_cant_wait Why We Can't Wait
Author: Martin Luther King, Jr.
Introduced by: Dorothy Cotton

Often applauded as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s most incisive and eloquent book, Why We Can’t Wait recounts the Birmingham campaign in vivid detail, while underscoring why 1963 was such a crucial year for the civil rights movement. King examines the history of the civil rights struggle and the tasks that future generations must accomplish to bring about full equality. The book also includes the extraordinary “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” which King wrote in April of 1963.

Letters_black_america Letters from Black America: Intimate Portraits of the African American Experience

Letters from Black America presents the spectrum of African American experience in the most intimate way possible-through the heartfelt correspondence of those who lived through monumental changes and pivotal events, from the American Revolution to the war in Iraq, from slavery to the election of Obama.

"An extraordinary peek at what went on behind the closed doors of black America for nearly three hundred years." —James McBride, author of The Color of Water

Raceball Raceball: How the Major Leagues Colonized the Black and Latin Game
Author: Rob Ruck

On Sale March 1, 2011

From an award-winning writer, the first linked history of African Americans and Latinos in Major League Baseball.

“Rob Ruck serves up a seamless mix of sports and politics that educates and entertains in the way that great political writing—and great sports writing—aspires to do.”—Dave Zirin, author Bad Sports and A People’s History of Sports in the United States

Fskg Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence

In his candid and riveting memoir, Canada relives a childhood in which violence stalked every street corner. This new edition, includes the story of the founding of the Harlem Children's Zone.

"Canada takes us on a powerful journey.…He is a man of hope and a wonderful storyteller." —Henry Hampton, executive producer, Eyes on the Prize

Fskg_graphic Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence
Author: Geoffrey Canada 
Illustrated by: Jamar Nicholas

The brilliant graphic adaptation of the classic memoir by the renowned activist and children's advocate Oprah Winfrey called "an angel from God."

"Jamar Nicholas is a master of his craft—his drawings are full of life and truly stunning." —Bryan Lee O'Malley, creator of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Powerinwords Power in Words: The Stories behind Barack Obama's Speeches, from the State House to the White House

"Considering the number of books written about President Obama, you would think we've heard enough. Not to say that I'm the decider of these things but my vote should count for something, and I think that Power in Wordsdissects the rhetoric of the president in unprecedented ways. A while back I began to see this movement the president is leading as a kind of cultural transformation, and in this book the stories behind the famous addresses come to life." —Bill Cosby

Nobodyturnmearound Nobody Turn Me Around: A People's History of the 1963 March on Washington

A dramatic account of the 1963 March on Washington--the demonstration that changed America.

"The March on Washington was a demand to make the Constitution of the United States work for black people.…Nobody Turn Me Around—Charles Euchner's superb book—brings it all back in vivid detail." —Roger Wilkins, author of Jefferson's Pillow

Mornignhaiku Morning Haiku
Author: Sonia Sanchez

From a leading writer of the Black Arts Movement, poems of commemoration and loss for readers of all ages.

"Sonia Sanchez's latest book resonates as boldly as a jazz ensemble; clear and poignant, it is intransigent in her subject matter. Her impassioned reflections come in the loose form of the American haiku. . . . Sanchez's haiku is as simple and clear as breathing, but with everything that brings energy and vivacity to being alive." —Rain Taxi Review of Books

Kindred Kindred

Dana, a modern black woman, is celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and transported to the antebellum South. Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner, is drowning, and Dana has been summoned to save him. Dana is drawn back repeatedly through time to the slave quarters, and each time the stay grows longer, more arduous, and more dangerous until it is uncertain whether or not Dana's life will end, long before it has a chance to begin.


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