African American Families

Knight Barron, the second eldest son of the Barron family is led by duty, honor, and chivalry. Above all else, he is dedicated to his family. When it’s his turn to accept a marriage planned by his parents, Knight steps up fully prepared to play dutiful husband. What Knight cannot foresee is another woman falling into his life. A woman that isn’t a part of the plan, but has him intrigued. It doesn’t take long before Knight is questioning whether to choose family loyalty or his happiness.

You gotta know the rules to play the game. Ball is life. Take it to the hoop. Soar. What can we imagine for ourselves? What if we were the star players, moving and grooving through the game of life? What if we had our own rules of the game to help us get what we want, what we aspire to, what will enrich our lives? The Playbook is intended to provide inspiration for kids ages 10 and up to help them succeed on and off the court.

The Hairstons is the extraordinary story of the largest family in America, the Hairston clan. With several thousand black and white members, the Hairstons share a complex and compelling history: divided in the time of slavery, they have come to embrace their past as one family.

Five years ago, Lonnae O’Neal grabbed some seeds for her backyard garden, including seeds for Bibb lettuce. She had no idea how deeply she’d wind up digging, or how far she would travel. Lonnae’s fourth great-grandmother, Keziah, was enslaved by the Kentucky Bibb family, including John Bigger Bibb, who developed the Bibb lettuce strain, which remains a culinary darling more than 150 years later.

One of five children, Pat watched as her alcoholic mother struggled to get by on charity, cons, and petty crimes. At age seven, Pat was taught to roll drunks for money. At 12, she was targeted for sex by a man eight years her senior; by 13, she was pregnant. By 15, Pat was a mother of two. Alone at 16, Pat was determined to make a better life for her children. But with no job skills and an eighth-grade education, her options were limited. She learned quickly that hustling and humor were the only tools she had to survive.

Have you ever heard of a family of lies and secrets? Well the Wood family who's made of Ash, Cherry, Teak and the matriarch of the family Simon Wood is each carrying their own secret that will snatch the heartbeat right out of the family. Simon raised his three kids to be strong and mighty because that’s the only way he knew how but what he didn’t realize is that raising them to be so strong also taught them to be cold and disconnected. When they were kids he had his own version of Simon Says but as all three kids grow up and each dive into their own harsh realities the kid version of ...

When Shaylene leaves her small-town life to live with her sister Sandy in the city, she's quickly thrown into a world of hidden hustles, streetwise survival, and complicated family dynamics. As Sandy's secrets unfold, Shaylene faces the reality of her sister's life—a harsh contrast to her own ideals. Both women must navigate their love for each other against a backdrop of conflict, choices, and the pursuit of a better life. Can their bond survive the truth that threatens to tear them apart, or will the streets swallow them whole? Author: True Story

With ten years into a successful marriage and a thriving business, Destiny Harris was living the life most only dreamed of. There was only one addition that would bring everything full circle, but a harsh reality turned her world upside down. Betrayal and lies replaced the truth she believed to be the foundation of her happy life. MyKyng Masters was a man of substance and structure. Even at a very young age, he had a firm grasp on everyone and everything around him. With an already complicated life, the last thing he needed was a reminder that no one can maintain complete control.

Our family is being tested in the worst way possible. Bonds are broken, while new ones are formed. Mistakes will be made. Hearts will be broken. But at the end of the day, we're family and we ride for each other. I'm about to step into a new role, shedding the Delgato name for the last time, and stepping into my new role as Capri Inferno, the wife of Quameer Inferno, the sister-in-law of Quasim Inferno, head of Inferno Gods, and the daughter-in-law of Mina and Papa Inferno. When it's all said and done, I will make sure the Delgatos and Inferno always end up on top.

After seeing the dark side of addiction, Tamika desperately tries to stay clean with the help of her suspicious acting husband. Expecting Reggie to save her soul she quickly learns that he has his own dangerous demons that may threaten his life and the sanctity of their marriage. Amina is still fuming from the revelation of Russo’s paralyzing shooting and makes sure he pays for his deceit dearly. Completely helpless Russo discovers that the devil you know is the best option when he seeks help from a vengeful relative. For better or worse is truly tested in these marriages…will the ...

In the finale, everyone is battling their own demons. Messiah may have done something that could end her relationship with her daughter and husband. Has she gone too far, or like usual Messiah, did she know what she was doing? Staten is stuck on trying to handle loving Liberty, even after she ended things, be a father to he and Chanel’s daughter, and be there for a pregnant Maliah as well. Can he juggle it all, while trying to be there for his big brother too?

Sequel to: The Story Of Ms. Gertie King (Book #4 in the Bentley Family Adventure Series) Howdy, ya'll, I'm back! It's Ms. Gertie King here, and the year be nineteen hundred and seventy-eight. I can hardly believe it, but I've now reached the ripe ol' age of ninety, and thanks be to the Lord; he's showered me with many blessings in my long life. For the most part, I still has my mind fully intact, my boomin' voice has not left me, and I can still chase after the young'uns if'n they don't run too fast! My grandbabies be keepin' me young, that's for sure. For those of you who don't know it, ...

Martha S. Jones grew up feeling her Black identity was obvious to all who saw her. But weeks into college, a Black Studies classmate challenged Jones’s right to speak. Suspicious of the color of her skin and the texture of her hair, he confronted her with a question that inspired a lifetime of introspection: “Who do you think you are?” Now a prizewinning scholar of Black history, Jones delves into her family’s past for answers. In every generation since her great-great-great-grandmother survived enslavement to raise a free family, color determined her ancestors’ lives.

Is love ever too good to be true? That is a question Lydia struggles to answer in this romantic novel. She seemingly meets the perfect man and tries to make it work. However, haunted by the pain of past and present betrayals, she worries that her struggles will drive him away. Is there such a thing as too much baggage? Can she use her faith to untangle the webs of pain and forge a path of forgiveness with those who have hurt her before her pain and anger rob her of her future?

In 1838, a group of America’s most prominent Catholic priests sold 272 enslaved people to save their largest mission project, what is now Georgetown University. In this groundbreaking account, journalist, author, and professor Rachel L. Swarns follows one family through nearly two centuries of indentured servitude and enslavement to uncover the harrowing origin story of the Catholic Church in the United States. Through the saga of the Mahoney family, Swarns illustrates how the Church relied on slave labor and slave sales to sustain its operations and to help finance its expansion.

Burned by his faith. Abandoned by his family. Coming out was nothing compared to finding a reason to forgive… Embittered, Lawrence Greene can't catch a break. He loathes his dead-end job, and his love life is pitiful. When his religious mother returns seeking reconciliation, he’s torn between resentment and his need to heal. As his mother fights for a place in her son's life, her presence conjures painful memories for Lawrence. But when a sexy and good-hearted man named Hakee Mitchell comes knocking, will Lawrence let go of his grief and embrace a fresh start? The Freed Church Boy is a ...

Love wasn’t supposed to be a part of the deal… Even a famed matchmaker like Nolan Madaris’s great-grandmother can’t get it right every time. Nolan, the notorious fun-loving ladies’ man, could never connect with someone as straitlaced as tech whiz Ivy Chapman. Yet the scheme Ivy proposes is tempting - they can pretend to be a couple, just long enough to satisfy their families. But someone forgot to clue in their hearts. What happens, though, when Ivy’s plan to get her relatives off her back has an unexpected side effect: getting her into Nolan’s bed?

Rio Duncan is one of the youngest children of the Duncan clan. With no solid position in the family business like his other siblings, he has been feeling out of place and decides to disappear. Rio leaves his Duncan identity behind and goes on a search for friends and family who can relate to him. His destination is Baltimore, and he is sure to find what he is looking for in the city with a community like no other.

Ever since running away at the age of fourteen, Paul-Edward, the son of a white landowner and a black slave, has had one dream: to own land every bit as good as his daddy's. While growing up, Paul-Edward loved, and feared, his father, but he loved the land unconditionally. Then, after a rash act of youthful rebellion, he leaves his family behind and vows to succeed on his own. However, for anyone black coming of age in 1880's Mississippi, this is no simple goal.

Seven years ago, Mckayla, the woman of Ray’s dreams, abruptly disappeared the same day a member of his family was killed in a hit and run accident. When she resurfaces out of the blue engaged to his cousin (Shawn), Ray struggles with letting her go and focusing on his job as Chief of Staff to his father, Governor Walt Rucker. Shawn makes the separate startling discovery that the families of him and his and his new fiancée are already tied together deeper than their nuptials could stich them, and he decides to keep it to himself for the time being. After a by chance run-in, Ray and ...