"This extravagantly inventive, linguistically daring work skewers two different American cultures. Johnson, who is African-American, conjures the voice of a naïve young white student who arrives at the University of California, Berkeley, from the deepest of the Deep South."

"A classic that won the National Book Award in 2011. The author lived through Hurricane Katrina, and this is her fictional story about an African-American family before and after the storm."

"“It brought forth the revolutionary in me. I think that Malcolm X represented a lot of authentic militarism during a time of integration and segregation in the 50s and 60s. So he just gave me a new perspective on how he felt about integration and human rights – not just African-American rights.”"

"This is another terrific piece of journalism written years ago about an even earlier time. It’s a portrait of the city of Boston during the racial strife of the ‘60’s and ‘70s. Lucas tracks the lives of three families — African-American, Irish, and upwardly mobile Yankee — to bring the struggles of that era back to life."

"This was one of my favorite films when I was in high school. It’s funny and has a great soundtrack. Sal reminded me of my grandfather in his Canarsie store. The film helped humanize the perspective from both sides of the counter. It was the first film I saw that shed light on the African-American experience in a changing New York City."