Race/Racism Archives - Page 12 of 25

African American Actresses: The Struggle for Visibility, 1900-1960 by Charlene Regester [in Library Journal]

04 Sep, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Biography, Black/African American, Nonfiction, Repost

Charlene Regester (African & Afro-American studies, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill) documents the lives and careers of nine African American actresses working before the Civil Rights era whose “contributions to mainstream cinema have been either minimized or erased in the histories of Hollywood cinema.” Madame...

A Foreigner Carrying in the Crook of His Arm a Tiny Bomb by Amitava Kumar [in Christian Science Monitor]

17 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Indian, Indian American, Nonfiction, Repost, South Asian, South Asian American

If Rip Van Winkle were to read A Foreigner Carrying in the Crook of His Arm a Tiny Bomb upon waking, he would most likely shake his head and dismiss it as farce. Alas, you’ll only find this title in the “non-fiction” section of bookstores and...

Nomad: From Islam to America: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

13 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, African, Audio, Memoir, Nonfiction

With the publication of her first memoir, Infidel (2007), Ayaan Hirsi Ali spent the better part of a year seeing her debut on the New York Times bestseller list. Born in Somalia, at times neglected, abandoned, or abused by her parents, the strictly-raised Muslim child that...

I Hotel by Karen Tei Yamashita [in Library Journal]

18 Jun, by SIBookDragon in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Fiction, Japanese American, Pan-Asian Pacific American, Repost, Southeast Asian American

*STARRED REVIEW Comprising 10 novellas that took 10 years to craft, this is Yamashita’s (Circle K Cycles) magnum opus. Year by year, the novellas mark a decade’s worth of tumultuous Asian Pacific American (APA) history, from 1968, when ethnic studies was painfully birthed in San Francisco,...

We Troubled the Waters by Ntozake Shange, illustrated by Rod Brown

14 Jun, by SIBookDragon in Black/African American, Middle Grade Readers, Poetry, Young Adult Readers

Although at first glance, this might look like a children's title – it is essentially a picture book – the sometimes difficult contents make it much more suitable for middle grade readers and older. Even adults will certainly find deeply resonating moments to appreciate throughout. Ntozake...

Sky Train: Tibetan Women on the Edge of History by Canyon Sam, foreword by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

21 May, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Chinese American, Memoir, Nonfiction, Tibetan

Last night, six of my book hens (my mother likes to refer to my book club as "the chicken coop," which has an amusing ring to it in Korean: "kkoh-kkoh-jang") got together for a lively discussion of Canyon Sam's debut, Sky Train. Even though I...

Map of the Invisible World by Tash Aw [in Bloomsbury Review]

24 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, British Asian, Fiction, Malaysian, Repost, Southeast Asian

Five years ago, Taipei-born Malaysian British Tash Aw landed in the media spotlight with The Harmony Silk Factory, complete with public speculations about an allegedly enormous debut advance. Decorated with multiple important prizes, including Commonwealth and Whitbread first novel awards, Aw’s Factory earned him both...

Arab in America by Toufic El Rassi

13 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Arab American, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Memoir, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

If the observations, memories, and pop culture references here weren't so obviously recognizable in our post-9/11 western world, you might have read this graphic memoir as a hack comedy. The black-and-white panels initially seem almost unfinished, as if still in rough-draft mode. The contents might...

Snakes Can’t Run: A Mystery by Ed Lin

05 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Chinese American, Fiction

Timing is everything, right? Last weekend, I had our teenage daughter and a friend of hers wandering NYC, and we happened to do the fabulous, downloadable Soundwalk/Chinatown walking tour narrated by Chinatown native Jami Gong – all three of us were attached to one iPod...

It Is Well with My Soul: The Extraordinary Life of a 106-Year-Old Woman by Ella Mae Johnson with Patricia Mulcahy [in Christian Science Monitor]

02 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Black/African American, Memoir, Nonfiction, Repost, Young Adult Readers

“Some of the things in this book happened a hundred years ago...

The Poker Bride: The First Chinese in the Wild West by Christopher Corbett [in San Francisco Chronicle]

20 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Chinese American, Nonfiction, Repost

The Poker Bride: The First Chinese in the Wild West, by Christopher Corbett, is an oddly disturbing read, not so much for its content but for its publication as a historical text about Asian American pioneer woman Polly Bemis, Corbett's eponymous "poker bride." Problems with historical...

Slightly Behind and to the Left: Four Stories & Three Drabbles by Claire Light

17 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Chinese American, Hapa/Mixed-race, Short Stories

I used to think of myself as a well-rounded reader ...

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Philip Hoose

08 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Biography, Black/African American, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

Winner of the 2009 National Book Award for Young People's Literature, Philip Hoose's inspiring title brings much-needed focus on a brave 15-year-old girl who decided, "You just have to take a stand and say, 'This is not right.'" In March 1955, nine months before Rosa...

Author Interview: Ruthanne Lum McCunn [in Bookslut]

01 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Author Interview/Profile, Children/Picture Books, Chinese American, Fiction, Hapa/Mixed-race, Hong Kongese, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction, Repost, Young Adult Readers

Through the decades, Ruthanne Lum McCunn has built a lauded career giving voice to spirited, groundbreaking heroes of Asian descent. Growing up in a large, extended family in Hong Kong, McCunn, who is half Chinese and half Scottish American, was surrounded by strong, independent women...

Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton

27 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, African, Audio, Fiction, Young Adult Readers

Heartbreak and hope are two words that define this 1948 classic by one of South Africa's most important writers. I picked it up recently because it's on our daughter's middle school reading list and while I vaguely remembered some of the plot, I realized I...

A Taste of Honey: Stories by Jabari Asim

24 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Black/African American, Short Stories

I have old emails in my inbox from Jabari Asim, when he used to be a books editor at The Washington Post. I did a couple of book reviews for him, and pitched a few more ...

The Shifting Grounds of Race: Black and Japanese Americans in the Making of Multiethnic Los Angeles by Scott Kurashige

20 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Black/African American, Japanese American, Nonfiction

How fitting to finish reading University of Michigan Professor Scott Kurashige's debut title on the 68th annual Day of Remembrance, which marks the anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt which led to the imprisonment of 120,000 Americans of...

Wench: A Novel by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

15 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Black/African American, Fiction

In 1848 American English, "wench" referred to "[a] colored woman of any age; a negress or mulattress, especially one in service." Among far too many southern (utterly misnamed) 'gentlemen' (as these men exhibited nothing 'gentle' in their behavior), a wench's expected service was sexual in...

KING: A Comics Biography | The Special Edition by Ho Che Anderson

12 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Biography, Black/African American, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

I thought I should mark Lincoln's birthday today with Ho Che Anderson's epic graphic biography of Martin Luther King, Jr., who gave his legendary "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963. Eighteen years in the making,...

Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper

11 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Black/African American, Fiction, Young Adult Readers

Reading this phenomenal title four years ago was and remains for me one of the most searing literary experiences about the horrors of slavery. Something made me pull it out again and leaf through the pages, and viscerally recall 15-year-old Amari's terrifying 1738 journey across...

BookDragon Race/Racism Tag