Blackdom, New Mexico, was a township that lasted aboutthirty years. In this book, Timothy E. Nelson situates the township’s storywhere it belongs: along the continuum of settlement in Mexico’s Northern Frontier.Dr. Nelson illuminates the set of conscious efforts that helped Black pioneersdevelop Blackdom Township into a frontier boomtown.

“Blackdom” started as an inherited idea of a nineteenth-centuryAfrotopia. The idea of creating a Blackdom was refined within Blackinstitutions as part of the perpetual movement of Black Colonization. In 1903,thirteen Black men, encouraged by the 1896 Plessy decision, formed the BlackdomTownsite Company and set out to make Blackdom a real place in New Mexico, wherethey were outside the reach of Jim Crow laws.

Many believed that Blackdom was simply abandoned. However,new evidence shows that the scheme to build generational wealth continued toexist throughout the twentieth century in other forms. During Blackdom’s boomtimes,in December 1919, Blackdom Oil Company shifted town business from aregenerative agricultural community to a more extractive model. Nelson hasuncovered new primary source materials that suggest for Blackdom a newlydiscovered third decade. This story has never been fully told or contextualizeduntil now.

From Andrea Williams, the bestselling author of We Are Family with LeBron James, comes Inside the Park, the story of a young baseball fan’s misadventures after getting locked inside a pro baseball stadium on the eve of the biggest game of the season.

In this all-new, hilarious, action-packed middle grade tale, Timothy “Pumpsie” Strickland, a baseball-loving twelve-year-old, is about to step up to the plate for the biggest swing of his life.

Pumpsie needs a win. Or to be more precise, he needs the Nashville Wildcats to win. Pumpsie’s been waiting his entire life—twelve whole years!—for his favorite team to make it to the playoffs. And this year—finally!—they’re just one win away.

But when Pumpsie accidentally gets trapped in Lookout Field the night before the last game of the season, with only a lost dog named Campy for company, he may have accidentally stumbled into the best night of his life. For a baseball fan like Pumpsie, using the pro batting cages, running the bases, playing with the public address system, eating all the concession-stand junk food he can find is a dream come true . . . until he realizes he’s not alone in the stadium. Foul plots are brewing beneath Lookout Field, and now it’s on Pumpsie to swallow his fears, gum up his courage, and swing for the fences if he wants to save the Wildcats’ postseason chances.

Inside the Park is a fun-filled, action-packed slice of wish fulfillment that’s perfect for fans of Mike Lupica and Tim Green or any kid who’s ever closed their eyes and imagined stepping up to the plate with the game tied and the season on the line.

“Mahalia Jackson was the greatest gospel singer of her time and an overlooked leader in the Civil Rights Movement. Her voice seemed born of heaven.” ?Henry Louis Gates Jr.

If Americans today still recognize the name Mahalia Jackson, they might recall that she was perhaps the greatest gospel singer who ever lived. But for many people, there is no awareness at all, not even for an entertainer whose “Move On Up a Little Higher” sold eight million copies, who headlined two Newport Jazz Festivals and performed before four United States presidents.

While this rich musical legacy is admired by those in the know, virtually no one recognizes Jackson’s astonishing role in American civil rights history. In this startling new depiction of the renowned gospel singer, New York Times best-selling author Timothy B. Tyson and Mary D. Williams, an acclaimed gospel singer herself, bring Jackson back to soaring life by positioning her as the major civil rights figure she, in fact, was.

Mahlia Jackson, Moving On Up a Little Higher then traces Jackson’s career from abject poverty in New Orleans to global superstardom, revealing how even after meteoric success, Jackson maintained an unwavering devotion to Black freedom. In the 1930s in Chicago, even before the Civil Rights Movement took its modern shape, she used her rapturous voice to support independent Black political power. Her work only intensified in the 1940s and beyond when she campaigned first for Franklin D. Roosevelt, and later for Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson; headlined in Montgomery for the 1955–56 bus boycott; sang for the Birmingham campaign and on the Selma March; and performed at the iconic 1963 March on Washington, where she urged Martin Luther King Jr. to “Tell ’em about the dream.” In retrospect what becomes historically significant is that Mahalia Jackson was present at so many civil rights events, even singing a divine rendition of “Precious Lord, Take My Hand,” at Dr. King’s funeral in 1968. Weakened and worn, she succumbed to heart failure four years later at the age of sixty.

Weaving together Mahalia Jackson’s inspiring life journey with her soulful music into a transcendent text, this biography ultimately casts Mahalia Jackson as we’ve never seen her before, as a guiding light for the Civil Rights Movement, whose message still speaks to our struggles today.

5 illustrations

Venture into Nova's secret underground lab— and witness a gum monster come to life! A full-color, action-packed graphic novel about a young Black girl with a love for science and enough determination and confidence to fix the world.

Nova is horrified when she learns about the world's plastic problem and the trash islands floating in the ocean. Good thing she has a super-secret lab in her basement. No problem is too big for SUPA NOVA or for SCIENCE! But things go spectacularly awry when she creates a plastic-eating monster who won't stop eating and GROWING! Will Supa Nova be able to save the day--and the planet?

“I’m in awe. This Side of Beautiful is a beautifully raw work of art. So much passion—for music and for love—drips from the pages for Janae and Landon. Tiye delivered a masterpiece.” - Shanora Williams, New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author
“Tiye tugs at your heartstrings with two deeply flawed characters in an unforgettable love that is raw and messy, but ultimately... beautiful.”- Delaney Diamond, USA Today Bestselling Author

Janae Warner had it all — platinum records, sold-out arenas, and a life in the spotlight. But the same fire that fueled her rise burned everything down. Branded as unstable and unredeemable, she disappeared from the world she once ruled. Now, after years away, Janae is stepping back into the industry she left behind, determined to reclaim her voice and prove she’s more than the headlines.

Returning to Houston, the city that built her and broke her, Janae faces more than the pressures of a comeback. The emotional storms she’s battled for years still churn within, and while her drive to succeed is unwavering, the world is watching, waiting to see if she will rise again or fall harder than before.

Landon Hayes, a quiet, brilliant guitarist, moves through life with a rhythm and focus that sets him apart. His calm, structured world feels like a contradiction to Janae’s relentless highs and lows, yet their connection feels unexpectedly natural. He is a steady presence that both unsettles and intrigues her in ways she never imagined.

As their bond deepens, Landon’s unwavering presence forces Janae to confront the vulnerability she’s worked so hard to bury. Trusting someone who sees through the walls she’s built may be her greatest risk, but it could also be her path to a second chance she thought she’d never deserve.