Adenrele Ojo

A classic work of feminist scholarship, Ain't I a Woman has become a must-read for all those interested in the nature of black womanhood. Examining the impact of sexism on black women during slavery, the devaluation of black womanhood, black male sexism, racism among feminists, and the black woman's involvement with feminism, Hooks attempts to move us beyond racist and sexist assumptions. The result is nothing short of groundbreaking, giving this...

The life and work of the legendary "Pope of Voodoo," Marie Laveau-a free woman of color who practically ruled New Orleans in the mid-1800s. Marie Laveau may be the most influential American practitioner of the magical arts; certainly, she is among the most famous. She is the subject of songs, films, and legends and the star of New Orleans ghost tours. Her grave in New Orleans ranks among the most popular spiritual pilgrimages in the US. Devotees venerate...

Josephine 'Jojo' Best has it all figured out. Just seventeen, she's been to college, she has her own hairdressing shop and nothing will distract her from her goals. That is, until handsome George Brooks begins to pursue her. Then the return of her childhood nemesis complicates her life even further! No girl is immune to Adam Morgan's charm. But when a wound brings him home from the War Between the States, it's a girl he used to call "Pest" who's turning...

Of all the taxis in all of Cape Town, Sophia Roux had to stumble into his. She should be at her "perfect" sister's bedside, awaiting the arrival of the newest member of her family. But the thought of spending hours at the hospital with her suffocating relatives has Sophia hailing the first taxi she sees. Only to realise too late that the man at the wheel of her getaway car is the most unpleasant one she's ever had the misfortune to meet. Parker...

Of all the weddings in all the world, Angie Roux had to be mistaken for a bridesmaid in this one. Caledon, South Africa, is supposed to be just a stop on the way to Christmas in Cape Town, part of Angie's long-avoided homecoming. She never expected to star in a bizarre comedy of errors, but here she is: convincing a handsome stranger to be her fake boyfriend for the day. Ezra Johnson, the handsome stranger in question, turns out to be a pleasant...

According to the Washington Post, no one who cares about contemporary African American cultures can ignore Bell Hooks's electrifying feminist explorations. Targeting cultural icons as diverse as Madonna and Spike Lee, Outlaw Culture presents a collection of essays that pulls no punches. As Hooks herself notes, interrogations of popular culture can be a "powerful site for intervention, challenge and change." And intervene, challenge, and change is...

In the critical essays collected in Black Looks, bell hooks interrogate old narratives and argues for alternative ways to look at blackness, black subjectivity, and whiteness. Her focus is on spectatorship - in particular, the way blackness and black people are experienced in literature, music, television, and especially film - and her aim is to create a radical intervention into the way we talk about race and representation. As she describes: "the...

Movies matter - that is the message of Reel to Real, bell hooks' classic collection of essays on film. They matter on a personal level, providing us with unforgettable moments, even life-changing experiences and they can confront us, too, with the most profound social issues of race, sex and class. Here bell hooks - one of America's most celebrated and thrilling cultural critics - talks back to films that have moved and provoked her, from Quentin...

In Sisters of the Yam, bell hooks reflect on the ways in which the emotional health of black women has been and continues to be impacted by sexism and racism. Desiring to create a context where black females could both work on their individual efforts for self-actualization while remaining connected to a larger world of collective struggle, hooks articulate the link between self-recovery and political resistance. Both an expression of the joy of self-healing...

What does it mean to call a place home? Who is allowed to become a member of a community? When can we say that we truly belong? These are some of the questions of place and belonging that renowned cultural critic Bell Hooks examines in Belonging: A Culture of Place. Traversing past and present, Belonging charts a cyclical journey in which Hooks moves from place to place, only to end where she began-her old Kentucky home. Hooks has written provocatively...