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Are Prisons Obsolete? by
With her characteristic brilliance, grace and radical audacity, Angela Y. Davis has put the case for the latest abolition movement in American life: the abolition of the prison. As she quite correctly notes, American life is replete with abolition movements, and when they were engaged in these struggles, their chances of success seemed almost unthinkable. For generations of Americans, the abolition of slavery was sheerest illusion. Similarly,the entrenched system of racial segregation seemed to last forever, and generations lived in the midst of the practice, with few predicting its passage from custom. The brutal, exploitative (dare one say lucrative?) convict-lease system that succeeded formal slavery reaped millions to southern jurisdictions (and untold miseries for tens of thousands of men, and women). Few predicted its passing from the American penal landscape. Davis expertly argues how social movements transformed these social, political and cultural institutions, and made such practices untenable.
In Are Prisons Obsolete?, Professor Davis seeks to illustrate that the time for the prison is approaching an end. She argues forthrightly for "decarceration", and argues for the transformation of the society as a whole.
Dear Martin by
'Absolutely incredible, honest, gut-wrenching! A must-read!' Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give '?Painfully timely and deeply moving, this is the novel the next generation should be reading' Jodi Picoult 'Justyce's story is earnest, funny, achingly human, and unshakably hopeful. I am forever changed.' Becky Albertalli, author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda 'Raw and gripping' Jason Reynolds, author of Long Way Down 'A powerful, wrenching, and compulsively readable story that lays bare the history, and the present, of racism in America' John Green, author of The Fault in our Stars --------------- Raw, captivating, and undeniably real, Nic Stone boldly tackles American race relations in this bestselling novel. Justyce McAllister is top of his class and set for the Ivy League - but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. And despite leaving his rough neighbourhood behind, he can't escape the scorn of his former peers or the ridicule of his new classmates. Justyce looks to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for answers. But do they hold up anymore? He starts a journal to Dr. King to find out. Then comes the day Justyce goes driving with his best friend, Manny, windows rolled down, music turned up - way up, sparking the fury of a white off-duty police officer beside them. Words fly. Shots are fired. Justyce and Manny are caught in the crosshairs. In the media fallout, it's Justyce who is under attack. Return to the world of Dear Martin in the stunning NEW novel from Nic Stone, Dear Justyce. Publishing October 2020 and available for pre-order now! Also by Nic Stone Odd One Out Jackpot Dear Justyce - publishing October 2020
Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People about Race by
'Every voice raised against racism chips away at its power. We can't afford to stay silent. This book is an attempt to speak'The book that sparked a national conversation. Exploring everything from eradicated black history to the inextricable link between class and race, Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race is the essential handbook for anyone who wants to understand race relations in Britain today. THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERWINNER OF THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS NON-FICTION NARRATIVE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2018FOYLES NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEARBLACKWELL'S NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEARWINNER OF THE JHALAK PRIZELONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTIONLONGLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZESHORTLISTED FOR A BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARD
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Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People about Race by
'Every voice raised against racism chips away at its power. We can't afford to stay silent. This book is an attempt to speak' The book that sparked a national conversation. Exploring everything from eradicated black history to the inextricable link between class and race, Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race is the essential handbook for anyone who wants to understand race relations in Britain today. THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS NON-FICTION NARRATIVE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2018 FOYLES NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR BLACKWELL'S NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER OF THE JHALAK PRIZE LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION LONGLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR A BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARD
Brit(ish) by
Where are you really from? You're British. Your parents are British. You were raised in Britain. Your partner, your children and most of your friends are British. So why do people keep asking you where you are from? Brit(ish)is about a search for identity. It is about the everyday racism that plagues British society. It is about our awkward, troubled relationship with our history. It is about why liberal attempts to be 'colour-blind' have caused more problems than they have solved. It is about why we continue to avoid talking about race. In this personal and provocative investigation, Afua Hirsch explores a very British crisis of identity. We are a nation in denial about our past and our present. We believe we are the nation of abolition, but forget we are the nation of slavery. We are convinced that fairness is one of our values, but that immigration is one of our problems. Brit(ish)is the story of how and why this came to be, and an urgent call for change.
Queenie by
Asked by her boyfriend, Tom, to move out, estranged from her mother, and beyond bored at work, Jamaican British Queenie is having a rough go. Add to that the miscarriage she just went through, thoroughly alone, and it's no wonder she needs her best friends to hold her up right now, in the form of an active group text. When Tom continues to ignore her and she attempts to mute her sorrows with the attention of altogether disappointing men, Queenie soon finds herself suffering panic attacks and forced to move in with her strict grandparents. London-based publishing executive Carty-Williams creates an utterly knowable character in Queenie, who's as dimensional and relatable as they come as she tries to balance her own desires with what everyone else seems to want for her. Flashbacks show the dissolution of her and Tom's love and why it's so hard for her to accept and reveal the reasons for her distance from her mother. Fast moving and with a strong sense of Queenie's London, this entertains while tackling topics like mental health and stigma, racism and tokenism, gentrification, and the isolation of social-media and dating-app culture. This smart, funny, and tender debut embraces a modern woman's messiness.--Annie Bostrom Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
Shuri: the Search for Black Panther by
The world fell in love with her in the movie. Now, the Black Panther's techno-genius sister launches her own adventures written by best-selling Afrofuturist author Nnedi Okorafor and drawn by Eisner nominated artist Leonardo Romero! The Black Panther has disappeared, lost on a mission in space. And in his absence, everyone's looking at the next in line for the throne. But Shuri is happiest in a lab, surrounded by gadgets of her own creation. She'd rather be testing gauntlets than throwing them. But a nation without a leader is a vulnerable one - and Shuri may have to choose between Wakanda's welfare and her own. Collecting: Shuri 1-5
For the theme of Black History Month 2023, this guide has been updated by the Black Asian Minority Ethnic Staff Network. Prior to that these books were curated in association with the Union of Brunel students to showcase Black authors from the UK and elsewhere.
We welcome your suggestions for any new book purchases to increase the diversity of our collection. Please give title/author details in this online form.
Recommendations from contemporary writers, taken a Guardian article on 03 October 2021, currently part of our collection.
Corregidora by 
Introduction to a poetics of diversity by
This book reproduces the texts of four lectures, followed by discussions, and two interviews with Lise Gauvin published in Introduction à une poétique du divers (1996); and also four further interviews from L'Imaginaire des langues (Lise Gauvin, 2010). It covers a wide range of topics but key recurring themes are creolization, language and langage, culture and identity, 'monolingualism', the 'Chaos-world' and the role of the writer.
The Nakano Thrift Shop by
From the bestselling author of Strange Weather in Tokyo, here is a story of treasure hoarders, bargain hunters and would-be lovers. Chosen by Bryan Washington.
Night Haunts by
Traditional depictions of London at night have imagined a lawless orgy of depravity and pestilence. But is Britain's capital after dark now as bland and unthreatening as an evening in any new provincial town? Sukhdev Sandhu journeys across the city to find out whether the London night really has been rendered insipid by street lighting and CCTV. Night Haunts seeks to reclaim the mystery and romance of the city--to revitalize the great myth of London for a new century.
Night Theatre by
A powerful fable about a surgeon negotiating the fine line between life and death. Chosen by Oyinkan Braithwaite.
Search Sweet Country by
Chosen by Michael Donkor: one of the greatest novels ever to come out of the African continent, it follows the lives of an eclectic and inextricably interconnected group of Ghanaians living in and around the sprawling, chaotic city of Accra in the mid-1970s. Bringing to life the bustling markets and bars in dizzying, lyrical prose, Laing weaves a story filled with bizarre and often melancholy characters: an idealistic professor, a lovely young witch, a wide-eyed student, a corrupt politician and his hack sidekick, a business-savvy young woman, a healer, a bishop, a crazy man intent on founding his own village. Their collective narratives create a portrait of a country where colonialism is dying, but democracy remains elusive. Search Sweet Country is a timeless, near-forgotten gem by a virtuosic writer whose bold and bawdy voice and deep wisdom are as necessary now as they were when the book was first published. Like Joyce's Dublin and Dickens's London, Laing's Accra brims with both lush specificity and universal relevance. First published in 1986, this new edition comes beautifully packaged and with a foreword by Binyavanga Wainaina, winner of the prestigious Caine Prize for African Writing, and director of the Chinua Achebe Centre for African Literature and Languages at Bard College.
The Tunnels Below by
A twelfth birthday takes a very unexpected turn when a girl finds herself at the centre of a plot to save a community from a brutal regime.
Redemption Ground by 
