The wretched and landless poor have existed from the time of the earliest British colonial settlement. They were alternately known as "waste people, " "offals, " "rubbish, " "lazy lubbers, " and "crackers." By the 1850s, the downtrodden included so-called "clay eaters" and "sandhillers, " known for prematurely-aged children distinguished by their yellowish skin, ragged clothing, and listless minds. Surveying political rhetoric and policy, popular...

"In nearly every realm of daily life--from health care to education, highways to home security--there is an invisible velvet rope rising, separating Americans into two radically different experiences of life. On one side of the velvet rope is a friction-free existence where, for a price, needs are anticipated and catered to. Red tape is cut, lines are jumped, appointments are secured, and doors are opened. On the other side of the rope, friction is...

"It's 1917 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The First World War is raging, and despite its distance from the conflict, the Halifax Harbour is bustling with activity. Anti-German prejudice is rampant, and though 12-year-old Maddie Schroeder and her 15-year-old brother Will are still mourning the loss of their father, who died in a mysterious boating accident just six months before, his German heritage doesn't merit them much sympathy. The rumours he'd been...

Join the fight for racially marginalized people with this pocket-sized guide filled with practical insights from one of the leading voices of the movement for equality and founder of the @officialmillennialblack Instagram.

As the tragic murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement has demonstrated, not being racist is not enough. To fulfill the American ideal, to ensure that all people are equal, you must be

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"In this revelatory work, Ruha Benjamin calls on us to take imagination seriously as a site of struggle and a place of possibility for reshaping the future.Imagination: A Manifesto is her proclamation that we have the power to use our imaginations to challenge systems of oppression and to create a world in which everyone can thrive. But obstacles abound. We have inherited destructive ideas that trap us inside a dominant imagination. Consider how racism,...

"An activist calls for better support of young families so they can thrive and reflects on her experiences as a Black mother and college student fighting for opportunities for herself and her child. Pregnant Girl presents the possibility of a different future for young mothers--one of success and stability--in the midst of the dismal statistics that dominate the national conversation. Along with her own story as a young Black mother, Nicole Lynn Lewis...

On election night, a janitor feels cheated out of a life he might have lived when his own clone becomes the President. He goes on a bender to seek justice, encountering new forms of prejudice, dismissal, and classism. In a society where morality around cloning is dividing the masses, looking like the newly elected president has its own dangers…

"A timely and arresting debut for anyone looking for insight into what it means to be a Black woman in the world. Three Black women are linked in unexpected ways to the same influential white man in Stockholm as they build their new lives in the most open society run by the most private people. Successful marketing executive Kemi Adeyemi is lured from the U.S. to Sweden by Jonny von Lundin, CEO of the nation's largest marketing firm, to help fix a...

"An audacious and accessible guide to feminist philosophy-its origins, its key ideas, and its newest directions. Think Like a Feminist is an irreverent yet rigorous primer that unpacks two hundred years of feminist ideas. Professor Carol Hay takes the long view on our current moment, framing it within the philosophical thinking that underlies the organization and activism that has transformed women's roles and lives. She delves into topics such as...

Twenty-five-year-old Anthony Patch appears to have it all: a Harvard education, an apartment in New York City, memberships at all of the best clubs, and a generous trust fund to draw from. Sure, his grandfather is not happy with Anthony's lack of initiative and feckless lifestyle, but can Anthony be blamed knowing that, as an orphan, he is destined to be the sole heir to his grandfather's immense fortune? When Anthony is introduced by friends to the...