African American Westerns

In her final novel, Dorothy West offers an intimate glimpse into African American middle class. Set on bucolic Martha's Vineyard in the 1950s, The Wedding tells the story of life in the Oval, a proud, insular community made up of the best and brightest of the East Coast's Black bourgeoisie. Within this inner circle of "blue-vein society", we witness the prominent Coles family gather for the wedding of the loveliest daughter, Shelby.

The Family Legacy: Ancestral Echoes of Greatness is a powerful, soul-stirring journey that traces the generational roots of Dr. Marshall J. Cowell, born in Phenix City, Alabama, through centuries of African heritage, slavery, survival, and excellence. The book integrates genealogy, DNA science, West African culture, and historical research into a compelling family narrative that bridges continents and time periods.

Cow Tom, born into slavery in Alabama in 1810 and sold to a Creek Indian chief before his 10th birthday, possessed an extraordinary gift: the ability to master languages. As the new country developed westward, and Indians, settlers, and blacks came into constant contact, Cow Tom became a key translator for his Creek master and was hired out to US military generals.

There was a secret to Dillon Westmoreland's heritage—and Pamela Novak had the key. Though the raven-haired beauty was ensnared by her shifty fiancé, Dillon—eldest of the Denver Westmoreland clan—couldn't resist a mind-blowing night in her arms. And after that incredible passion… Well, once a Westmoreland claimed the woman he wanted, he wouldn't let anything tear them apart!

Everything changes when Bella meets Leven Chandler, a charming and grounded man, at a book signing event. Like Bella, Leven is not actively seeking romantic love. He dedicates all his energy to his children and his demanding job, believing that love is something he can no longer afford to pursue. Bella and Leven experience an immediate and undeniable connection that shakes their preconceived notions about love. Their encounters are filled with heartfelt conversations, shared laughter, and a growing intimacy that neither can ignore.

In Holler, Child’s eleven brilliant stories, LaToya Watkins presses at the bruises of guilt, love, and circumstance. Each story introduces us to a character irrevocably shaped by place and reaching toward something—hope, reconciliation, freedom. In “Cutting Horse,” the appearance of a horse in a man’s suburban backyard places a former horse breeder in trouble with the police. In “Holler, Child,” a mother is forced into an impossible position when her son gets in a kind of trouble she knows too well from the other side.

Kemuel Azar and Queenie Montgomery have had a strong bond since they first formed a friendship in high school. Working together on a class project, they grew closer, finding common ground in their mutual appreciation of construction and interior design. With their bond cemented, they graduate college and work in their respective fields for King Construction, Kemuel's family business. As they anticipate the change in ownership from Kemuel's grandfather to Kemuel, a sense of excitement fills the air, but it is tempered by the condition attached.

Pumkin Patterson is a thirteen-year-old girl living in a tiny two-room house in Kingston, Jamaica, with her grandmother (who wants to improve the family’s social standing), her Aunt Sophie (who dreams of a new life in Paris for her and Pumkin), and her mother Paulette (who’s rarely home). When Sophie is offered the chance to move to France for work, she seizes the opportunity, and promises to send for her niece in one year’s time....

All heroes have fatal flaws and a moment of defining hubris, but few rise from the ashes to achieve greater heights. In 1884 Deputy US Marshal Bass Reeves was arrested for murder and placed among his own prisoners in Hell on the Border, the infamous federal jail in Fort Smith, Arkansas. It was the single greatest setback of his illustrious career, but it wouldn't be his last mistake or trial by fire. In The Forsaken and the Dead we meet Reeves again. In the 1890s, past his prime, Reeves proceeds through the valleys and shadows of Indian and Oklahoma Territories.

In this provocative and captivating dialogue, bell hooks and Cornel West come together to discuss the dilemmas, contradictions, and joys of Black intellectual life. The two friends and comrades in struggle talk, argue, and disagree about everything from community to capitalism in a series of intimate conversations that range from playful to probing to revelatory. In evoking the act of breaking bread, the book calls upon the various traditions of sharing that take place in domestic, secular, and sacred life.

Nathaniel is a well-intentioned, if naive, British cleric feeling blessed to educate a West African village about the benevolent power of God. But as slavers encroach, Nathaniel’s endeavor is daunted by the realities unfolding on the beautiful homeland of his congregation. It seems the Devil has power too. What follows for Nathaniel is a profound spiritual upheaval as he questions his purpose and even his humanity.

Let the people of West Mills say what they will about Azalea 'Knot' Centre; they won't keep her from what she loves best: cheap moonshine, 19th-century literature, and the company of men. And yet, when motherhood looms, Knot begins to learn that her freedom has come at a high price. Low on money, ostracized from her parents and cut off from her hometown, Knot turns to her neighbor, Otis Lee Loving, in search of some semblance of family and home.

Paul Jennings was born into slavery on the plantation of James and Dolley Madison in Virginia, later becoming part of the Madison household staff at the White House. Once finally emancipated by Senator Daniel Webster later in life, he would give an aged and impoverished Dolley Madison, his former owner, money from his own pocket, write the first White House memoir, and see his sons fight with the Union Army in the Civil War.

All hail to the West Coast, where its natural resources of breathtaking beaches, smokable trees, and beautiful women are unlimited. From the freezing top of Mt. Denali in Alaska to the fly-ass architectural marvel of California's Golden Gate Bridge, the region is one of the most desirable places to visit on Earth. But for a problematic girl like Temper Chey, it's a prison, and she's dying to be freed.

After the Civil War, Americans moved west. Colorado was where the great plains met the Rocky Mountains. Denver was a boom town because the railroad brought men and women from the east. Jake Rawlins moved to Colorado after the war. He wanted to find peace and forget about the carnage that he experienced. He had enough of cities and city people. He wanted the solitude of the mountains. Jake had befriended Soaring Eagle and his tribe, but he still needed to be alone and learn the way of the mountains. After the war, slaves were freed in the southern states, but they were still not free. ...

The Orisha religion is a world religion just like Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Christianity. Archeologists have determined it has been practiced in West Africa since at least 500 BCE but is probably much older. During the transatlantic slave trade the Orisha religion spread to the Western Hemisphere. It was most heavily practiced in the Caribbean and Brazil. It is referred to as Isese (the tradition), Cuban Ifa, Lucumi, Santeria, Regla de Ocha, Brazilian candomblé, Umbanda or simply the Orisha religion. I have been studying comparative religion for over twenty years and the only ...

In 1875, Indian Territory, in what is now the state of Oklahoma, was a haven for thieves, swindlers, and murderers, all trying to escape the reach of the law. When President U.S. Grant appointed Judge Isaac Parker judge of the Western District of Arkansas, which included the territory, Parker was intent upon bringing fugitives to justice. He authorized U.S. Marshal James Fagan to hire 200 deputy marshals to help police the 4,500 square mile lawless territory. Among those deputies was Bass Reeves. Born a slave in 1838, Reeves had spent the Civil War as a runaway in Indian Territory, and ...

Black, Buckskin, and Blue takes an in-depth look at African Americans who were scouts and soldiers on the United States western frontier during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The author explores the incidents and adventures black men were involved in during the westward movement as scouts and soldiers. Bypassing the radical hostilities they endured in frontier towns - well covered by other books - the author examines military incidents involving black soldiers and desperadoes, as well as certain critical military engagements in which they made important contributions. This book is ...

Born a slave, Bass Reeves never learned to read or write English, but he spoke six Native American languages and when he became one of the first African American deputy U.S. marshals west of the Mississippi River, he carved out a name for himself as one of the most feared lawmen in Indian Territory. Enjoy volume 3 of more adventures of the man known as the Indomitable Lawman. Fictional but historically accurate tales of a man who in a 30-year career brought in over 3,000 fugitives and despite dozens of gun battles with outlaws was never wounded.

Mike Montana: The Gunman's Mile By celebrated author Demetric Canada Step into the rugged, unforgiving terrain of the Old West with Mike Montana: The Gunman's Mile, a thrilling, pulse-pounding classic Western novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat from the first shot to the final showdown. Penned by the renowned storyteller Demetric Canada, this tale weaves a narrative as vast and wild as the frontier itself. Follow Mike Montana, a legendary gunman with a shadowy past and a heart of gold, as he embarks on a perilous journey across the untamed landscape. Tasked with delivering ...