women, black

Lupita Nyong'o became an internationally known actor after appearing in 12 Years a Slave , winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the movie and becoming the first Kenyan and Mexican actor to win in the category. She's gone on to star in Star Wars: The Force Awakens , Black Panther , Us , and more. As a college student, Nyong'o saw herself working behind the camera instead of in front of it, since she didn't know of any successful Kenyan actors. She studied filmmaking and theater but eventually decided to pursue her dream of acting on screen, appearing in the Kenyan TV show Shuga and attending the Yale School of Drama. Just before she graduated, she landed the role in 12 Years a Slave and has been working steadily ever since. In addition to acting, Nyong'o speaks out against colorism and sexism in the film industry and has written a picture book based on her experiences growing up. Learn about Nyong'o's childhood in Kenya, her activist work, and what she plans to do next.

"Lou, a young Black woman, wakes up in an alley in 1930s Los Angeles, nearly naked and with no memory of how she got there or where she's from, only a fleeting sense that this isn't the first time she's found herself in similar circumstances. Taken in by a caring foster family, Lou dedicates herself to her education while trying to put her mysterious origins behind her. She'll go on to become the first Black female journalist at the Los Angeles Times, but Lou's extraordinary life is about to become even more remarkable. When she befriends a firefighter at a downtown boxing gym, Lou is shocked to realize that though she has no memory of ever meeting him she's been drawing his face since her days in foster care. Increasingly certain that their paths have previously crossed-perhaps even in a past life-and coupled with unexplainable flashes from different times that have been haunting her dreams, Lou begins to believe she may be an immortal sent to this place and time for a very important reason. One that only others like her will be able to explain. Relying on her journalistic training and with the help of her friends, Lou sets out to investigate the mystery of her existence and make sense of the jumble of lifetimes calling to her from throughout the ages before her time runs out for good. Set against the rich historical landscape of 1930's Los Angeles, The Perishing charts a course through a changing city confronting racism, poverty, and the drumbeat of a coming war for one miraculous woman whose fate is inextricably linked to the city she comes to call home"--.

"Dabiri offers insights into the way racism is coded in society's perception of black hair--and how it is often used as an avenue for discrimination. Dabiri takes us from precolonial Africa, through the Harlem Renaissance, and into today's Natural Hair Movement, exploring everything from women's solidarity and friendship, to the criminalization of dreadlocks, to the dubious provenance of Kim Kardashian's braids. Through the lens of hair texture, Dabiri leads us on a historical and cultural investigation of the global history of racism--and her own personal journey of self-love and finally, acceptance"--Provided by publisher.

"A boy must take up the search for his sister when she goes missing from a neighborhood where black girls' disappearances are too often overlooked"--OCLC.

A collection of eight essays that explore beauty, media, and money in America.

Chronicles the trials and triumphs of black women from antiquity to the present.

A collection of essays of women's rights and freedom from all over the world.

"[Presents] inspirational stories of ten Black women and women's collectives from Canadian and American history. Included are leaders and groundbreakers who were anti-slavery activists, business women, health-care activists, civic organizers and educators"--Provided by publisher.

"Pays tribute to the achievements and contributions of black women around the world"--Provided by publisher.

"An ambitious, exuberant new novel moving from North West London to West Africa, from the multi-award-winning author of White Teeth and On Beauty Two brown girls dream of being dancers--but only one, Tracey, has talent. The other has ideas: about rhythm and time, about black bodies and black music, what constitutes a tribe, or makes a person truly free. It's a close but complicated childhood friendship that ends abruptly in their early twenties, never to be revisited, but never quite forgotten, either. Tracey makes it to the chorus line but struggles with adult life, while her friend leaves the old neighborhood behind, traveling the world as an assistant to a famous singer, Aimee, observing close up how the one percent live. But when Aimee develops grand philanthropic ambitions, the story moves from London to West Africa, where diaspora tourists travel back in time to find their roots, young men risk their lives to escape into a different future, the women dance just like Tracey--the same twists, the same shakes--and the origins of a profound inequality are not a matter of distant history, but a present dance to the music of time"--.