Teach-in on Race 2024

In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation's history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of "race," a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men--bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden? Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates's attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son. Coates shares with his son--and readers--the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children's lives were taken as American plunder.

Antiracism is a transformative concept that reorients and reenergizes the conversation about racism--and, even more fundamentally, points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other. At its core, racism is a powerful system that creates false hierarchies of human value; its warped logic extends beyond race, from the way we regard people of different ethnicities or skin colors to the way we treat people of different sexes, gender identities, and body types. Racism intersects with class and culture and geography and even changes the way we see and value ourselves. In How to Be an Antiracist, Kendi takes readers through a widening circle of antiracist ideas--from the most basic concepts to visionary possibilities--that will help readers see all forms of racism clearly, understand their poisonous consequences, and work to oppose them in our systems and in ourselves. Kendi weaves an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science with his own personal story of awakening to antiracism. This is an essential work for anyone who wants to go beyond the awareness of racism to the next step: contributing to the formation of a just and equitable society.

TANNING IS THE CATALYTIC FORCE MAJEURE THAT WENT BEYOND MUSICAL BOUNDARIES AND INTO THE PSYCHE OF YOUNG AMERICA-BLURRUNG CULTURAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC LINES SO PERMANENTLY THAT IT LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR A TRANSFORMATION. Today's consumer is a mind-set, not a race-and when businesses get it right and have a proper understanding of tanning, success is imminent. The 'tanning' phenomenon raised the first generation of consumers who have the same 'mental complexion' based on shared experiences and values. In the Tanning of America, brand marketing expert Steve Stoute shows how a company can connect with this growing market that is influencing consumer taste across the entire socioeconomic spectrum. Stoute draws from his diverse background in the music industry and in brand marketing to chronicle the rise of this market and deconstruct how an upstart art form-street poetry set to beats-came to define urban culture as the embodiment of cool. Tracing the story of hip-hop from its roots, The Tanning of Americabeautifully captures the spirit of every musical and cultural breakthrough over the past thirty years and details the direct link between the birth of hip-hop in the Bronx to President Barack Obama's campaign and election. He also interviews Eminem about the evolution of tanning. It's rich history of the hip-hop movement and its subsequent influence on the world as we know it. Stoute has made a career out of identifying with and activating this new generation of consumers to create extremely successful marketing campaigns. Recalling lessons learned in the field, whether working on McDonald's 'I'm lovin' it' campaign or with Jay-Z to make the fastest selling sneaker in Reebok's history, his impact on how companies communicate with this market sector is legendary. In order to end up on the right side of 'cool,' its important to understand the cultural forces at work, the mind-set of the millennial consumer, and their code. Stoute's knowledge and observations will allow readers to find success in a new generation's bold reinterpretation of the American Dream.