Bøger i Mint Editions--Black Narrative serien

What does it mean to be Black in America and how has that experience changed over time? Featuring such orators as Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells and Maria W. Stewart, The Voice of a People: Speeches from Black America hopes to answer that question in a powerful collection of speeches by some of the nation's leading Black intellectuals, activists, artists and organizers.

Overshadowed: A Novel (1901) is a novel by Sutton E. Griggs. Published just two years after his debut novel, Overshadowed takes a different angle on the political reality of African Americans than Griggs explored in Imperium in Imperio. Taking an ironic tone, he examines the intersection of race and gender in the burgeoning Black middle-class to explore and critique the politics of liberalism and assimilation. Although Griggs' novels were largely forgotten by the mid-twentieth century, scholars have recently sought to emphasize his role as an activist and author involved with the movement for Black nationalism in the United States. Critics since have recognized Griggs as a pioneering political figure and author whose utopian themes and engagement with contemporary crises constitute some of the era's most radical literary efforts by an African American writer. "[T]he grain that came to life under the oak has its peculiar struggles. It must contend for sustenance with the roots of the oak. It must wrestle with the shade of the oak. The life of this isolated grain of corn is one continuous tragedy. Overshadowed is the story of this grain of corn, the Anglo-Saxon being the oak, and the Negro the plant struggling for existence." Introducing his second novel, Griggs sets the stage for a story of perseverance, a quality possessed by both Erma Wysong and Astral Herndon. Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Erma and Astral are representative of the emerging Black middle class. As they each go off to college and embark on a path to a promising young adulthood, they hope to take advantage of opportunities that weren't afforded to their parents. Secretly, however, Astral hopes to return to Richmond and win Erma's hand in marriage, believing that time and distance will convince her that he can be more than a friend. Although their love grows stronger, Astral finds himself flooded with doubt regarding one aspect of Erma's identity-although she was raised by Black parents, her birth father was a white man. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Sutton E Griggs' Overshadowed: A Novel is a classic work of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.

The Uncalled (1898) is a novel by African American author Paul Laurence Dunbar. Published while Dunbar was at the height of his career as one of the nation's leading black poets, The Uncalled marked his debut as a novelist with a powerful vision of faith and perseverance who sought to capture and examine the diversity of the African American experience. When his mother dies, Freddie Brent-whose father is presumed dead-is officially orphaned. Although some members of the church community think it best to send him to the local orphanage, Miss Hester, an unmarried older woman, declares it her duty to provide for the boy. Having never raised a child before, however, she struggles to ascertain and fulfill Freddie's needs, focusing instead on her perception of his troubled upbringing and punishing the boy for his parents' supposed sinfulness. Freddie looks forward to visits from Eliphalet Hodges, Miss Hester's longtime suitor, who acts as a father figure and shows him kindness and respect. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Paul Laurence Dunbar's The Uncalled is a classic of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.

Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands (1857) is the autobiography of Mary Seacole. Recognized for her pioneering healthcare work for soldiers and citizens around the world, Seacole was also the first Black Briton to publish an autobiographical work. Although Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands underwent editing by an anonymous person, it is a first-person account of Seacole's experiences during outbreaks of cholera, malaria, and war. "As I grew into womanhood, I began to indulge that longing to travel which will never leave me while I have health and vigour. I was never weary of tracing upon an old map the route to England; and never followed with my gaze the stately ships homeward bound without longing to be in them, and see the blue hills of Jamaica fade into the distance." Adventurous and energetic, empathetic and kind, Mary Seacole was a pioneering traveler and healer who saved countless lives and cared for the sick and dying on both sides of the Atlantic. From her early work with cholera and malaria patients in the Caribbean to her famous British Hotel, opened on the outskirts of Sevastopol during the Crimean War, Seacole served the suffering without regard for her own health or finances. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Mary Seacole's Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands is a classic work of British literature reimagined for modern readers.

The Collected Meditations of Mrs. Maria W. Stewart (2021) compiles the speeches and writings of Maria W. Stewart. This groundbreaking collection includes some of the best works from across Stewart's career as the first African American public lecturer, including Meditations from the Pen of Mrs. Maria Stewart, her 1832 speech delivered at the Franklin Hall, her address delivered before the African American Female Intelligence Society, and her lecture delivered at the African Masonic Hall in 1833. "Many will suffer for pleading the cause of oppressed Africa, and I shall glory in being one of her martyrs; for I am firmly persuaded that the God in whom I trust is able to protect me from the rage and malice of mine enemies, and from them that will rise up against me; and if there is no other way for me to escape, He is able to take me to himself..." In the brief span of five years, Stewart became one of Boston's most prominent lecturers on abolition and women's rights, passionately condemning the institution of slavery while calling attention to the racism faced by free African Americans living in the north. This collection places some of her best-known speeches alongside her highly regarded meditations, personal reflections on life as a Black woman in nineteenth century America. A keen observer of political events and a powerful voice against oppression of all kinds, Maria W. Stewart remains relatively unknown despite her prominent role in the movements for abolition and women's rights. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of The Collected Meditations of Mrs. Maria W. Stewart is a classic of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.

Two families, one nation, two entirely different worlds. Clarence Garie is a Georgian planter raising mixed-race children with his common-law wife, Emily. Charles Ellis is a free Black carpenter living in Philadelphia. When the Garies move North to escape persecution, they struggle with a new type of prejudice. The Garies and Their Friends is a novel by Frank J. Webb.

On a plantation in the South, a slave named Miriam mourns the death of her daughter. In North Carolina, a group of escaped slaves joins up with a Union Army regiment. Paul, whose father died an alcoholic, opposes drinking, while John hopes to open a saloon. The Novels of Frances Harper collects four brilliant works of a pioneering African American writer.

Initially published in 1920, Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil is a combination of essays that tackle the power dynamics of gender, race and religion. It's a searing portrait of America influenced by Du Bois' own personal experiences. Du Bois delivers a contemporary examination of African American life during the first half of the twentieth century. He addresses issues of segregation, employment disparity and misogyny, specifically toward Black women. Darkwater: Voices from within the Veil is one of his prominent autobiographies, detailing internal and external conflicts and their effect on the whole. He presents an overall indictment of systemic racism, oppression and exploitation of any kind. W.E.B. Du Bois was a celebrated figure who dedicated his life to uplifting and educating the African American community. Darkwater: Voices from within the Veil is a critical part of his enduring legacy. It broaches tough topics and presents a valid critique of American culture. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Darkwater: Voices from within the Veil is both modern and readable.

The New Negro (1925) is an anthology by Alain Locke. Expanded from a March issue of Survey Graphic magazine, The New Negro compiles writing from such figures as Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Jean Toomer, and Locke himself. Recognized as a foundational text of the Harlem Renaissance, the collection is organized around Locke's writing on the function of art in reorganizing the conception of African American life and culture. Through self-understanding, creation, and independence, Locke's New Negro came to represent a break from an inhumane past, a means toward meaningful change for a people held down for far too long."[F]or generations in the mind of America, the Negro has been more of a formula than a human being-a something to be argued about, condemned or defended, to be 'kept down,' or 'in his place,' or 'helped up,' to be worried with or worried over, harassed or patronized, a social bogey or a social burden." Identifying the representation of black Americans in the national imaginary as oppressive in nature, Locke suggests a way forward through his theory of the New Negro, who "wishes to be known for what he is, even in his faults and shortcomings, and scorns a craven and precarious survival at the price of seeming to be what he is not." Throughout The New Negro, leading artists and intellectuals of the Harlem Renaissance offer their unique visions of who and what they are; voicing their concerns, portraying injustice, and illuminating the black experience, they provide a holistic vision of self-expression in all of its colors and forms.With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Alain Locke's The New Negro is a classic of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.

Of One Blood (1902-1903) is a novel by Pauline E. Hopkins. Recognized as one of the earliest works of science fiction by an African American writer, Of One Blood was originally published in The Colored American Magazine, America's first monthly periodical covering African American arts and culture. Combining themes of racial identity and passing within a genre-blending narrative of Gothic horror and the occult, Hopkins weaves a masterful tale of conspiracy, a lost African kingdom, and murder. Struggling with the mental and financial pressures of medical school, Reuel Briggs-a Black man who passes as white-decides to take a night off in order to attend a local concert. There, he sees the singer Dianthe Lusk, a beautiful woman who possess a mysterious aura. The next day, Reuel is called to assist at the scene of a train accident. There, he chances upon Dianthe, who has sustained a blow to the head. Using an experimental form of mesmerism, Reuel brings her back to life, but she seems to be suffering from near total amnesia. After nursing her back to health with the help of his best friend Aubrey, Reuel finds her a place to stay in Boston. Hoping to marry her, he offers to embark on an archaeological expedition organized by Aubrey, who claims to have discovered a lost Ethiopian kingdom. As the story unfolds, redemption turns to betrayal, best friends become sworn enemies, and a secret from the distant past threatens to change Reuel's life forever. With this thrilling tale of race, adventure, and mystery, Hopkins proves herself as a true pioneer of American literature, a woman whose talent and principles afforded her the vision necessary for illuminating the injustices of life in a nation founded on slavery and genocide. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Pauline E. Hopkins' Of One Blood is a classic work of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.

Ida B. Wells exposes a series of racially-motivated acts that disproportionately affect African Americans and is overwhelmingly ignored by a majority white criminal justice system. It's crucial documentation of a brutal practice that tormented a community.In the late nineteenth century, Ida B. Wells was a thriving journalist and civil rights activist. She used her writing and skills as an investigative reporter to reveal the horrifying reality that many African Americans experienced. The Red Record: Tabulated Statistics and Alleged Causes of Lynching in the United States, is an explosive report on how mob violence and white supremacy had become the de facto law of the land. It created a culture of cruelty and anti-blackness that promoted public attacks, including lynchings.Ida B. Wells' work helped to initiate conversations about racism, policy and policing. Shortly after the release of The Red Record: Tabulated Statistics and Alleged Causes of Lynching in the United States, the first anti-lynching bill was introduced into Congress. Wells' efforts were critical for African Americans seeking justice in a historically racist system.Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book. With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.