Showing results by narrator "Leon Nixon" in All Categories

Lillian Smith leads an unexceptional life, writing obituaries and killing time with her inattentive husband and disconnected son. Then she meets David, a handsome stranger, in a coffee shop. Lured into an affair, she invents a new persona, one without strings, deadlines, or brooding husbands. Lillian has never felt so reckless, unpredictable, or wanted. But as her affair with David intensifies, she withdraws from everything that’s real, even her closest friend.

Lessons in Gratitude tells the story of Aaron Dworkin, a MacArthur Fellow, social entrepreneur, and spoken word artist who has dedicated his life’s work to changing the face of classical arts in the world. The themes of persistence, passion, and loyalty shine through stories of an unhappy childhood, a lifelong search for identity, and the obstacles of race, culture, and class. Listeners will learn how the author greets these challenges and how they drove him to make a difference for people who are shut out of opportunity.

My mission in life is simple. Family. Food. Freedom. Most people don't question my love for my family. And I make my living as a celebrity chef. The freedom part? The thought of being confined-behind bars, at a desk, or in a monogamous relationship-is not something I want for myself. Unfortunately, it becomes a problem when women want to make me their Forever Bae. Even after I make it clear that I'm not looking for more than short interlude.

Impassioned antislavery rhetoric made antebellum Boston famous as the nation’s hub of radical abolitionism. In fact, the city was far from a beacon of equality. In No Right to an Honest Living, historian Jacqueline Jones reveals how Boston was the United States writ small—a place where the soaring rhetoric of egalitarianism was easy, but justice in the workplace was elusive. Highlighting the everyday struggles of ordinary Black workers, this book shows how injustice in the workplace prevented Boston—and the United States—from securing true equality for all.

A Plausible Man unfolds as a historical detective story, as Susanna Ashton combs obscure records for evidence of Jackson's remarkable flight from slavery to freedom, his quest to liberate his enslaved family, and his emergence as an international advocate for abolition. This fresh and original work takes us through the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the restoration of white supremacy-where we last glimpse Jackson losing his freedom again on a Southern chain gang.

In This Nonviolent Stuff'll Get You Killed, civil rights scholar Charles E. Cobb Jr., describes the vital role that armed self-defense played in the survival and liberation of black communities in America during the Southern Freedom Movement of the 1960s.

Confronted by a crisis in black American leadership, state-sanctioned violence against black communities, and colorblind laws that trap black Americans in a racial caste system, Black Lives Matter activists and the artists inspired by them have devised new forms of political and cultural resistance. More Than Our Pain explores how affect and emotion can drive collective political and cultural action in the face of a new nadir in race relations in the United States. Affect and emotion have moved from the margin to the center of this new human rights movement.

In the club, with flashing lights and loud music, seeing him across the room is a scene out of a movie. We lock eyes and sway to the beat—instantly connecting. He nudges his head, calling me to the other side. Me? Of all the women in the club, this sexy man wants me to join him in VIP. So I do. And then I realize how tall he is, and the other guys surrounding him are also. Wait. This guy was on the basketball court at the game I watched the night before. The guys standing around him are his teammates on the Houston Outlaws.

One thing about me? I don't play games. Another thing about me? I don't waste time. In my role as Mr. Black Detroit, my focus is supporting my community and planning the city's annual Juneteenth celebration. Again, my time is valuable. I should've ignored the text. But . . . there's something about Daphne that makes me want to engage. Maybe it's the way she commands a room and isn't afraid to get her hands dirty. Or maybe it's the glimpse of vulnerability in her eyes. It's probably just her. Whatever it is in the beginning quickly morphs into something else entirely, though.

Centering Black voices and the narratives of enslaved people, Breaking the Chains offers a thoroughly researched account of the ways people in bondage were themselves a driving force behind their own emancipation.

At the end of part two, Belly realized just how important the upcoming match was to Mason Strauss. In a game where your pride and ego can sometimes drive you to do irrational things, Belly and the people who love him have learned that to some this is more than just a sport. Will Belly make it through and be able to seek retribution for what Mason has done? Or will their longtime rivalry end in death, making it far too late?

Bigger Thomas, the central figure in Richard Wright’s novel Native Son (1940), eludes easy categorization. A violent and troubled character who rejects the rules of society, Bigger is both victim and perpetrator, damaged by racism and segregation on the South Side of Chicago, seemingly raping and killing without regrets. His story has electrified readers for more than eight decades, and it continues to galvanize debates around representation, respectability, social justice, and racism in American life.

When it comes to business, Mr. Black Los Angeles, Dante Powell believes in planning down to the smallest detail, and that includes the Juneteenth festival he's spearheading. His personal life is another matter, however. He lives by one simple rule—no strings, only flings. But he didn't count on the one night of explosive passion he shared with Jayana Cole or seeing her again.

Journalist Josiah Bates pulls back the curtain on a crisis that continues to plague the United States in this gripping narrative. Fueled by the convergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and social unrest, gun violence has surged to unprecedented levels, devastating marginalized communities and urban areas across the nation. Bates embarks on a heart-wrenching journey, crisscrossing the country to meet victims, perpetrators, community activists, and renowned scholars. Through their powerful stories, he unearths the hidden causes behind the escalating gun violence epidemic.

In the final installment, Belly and Blaise return, but with a plate even fuller than before. Belly has found himself incarcerated over the rape of the former champion's wife, and it couldn't be at a worse time. Having to be away from his newborn child leaves Belly seething on the inside of his jail cell, praying for the opportunity to get his hands on whomever is responsible. Not to mention, the handsome boxer still finds himself in trouble with the ladies, even while locked up.

Common ground is hard to find in today’s politics. In a society teeming with irreconcilable political perspectives, many people have grown frustrated under a system of government that constantly demands compromise. More and more on both the right and the left have come to blame the Constitution for the resulting discord. But the Constitution is not the problem we face; it is the solution. Blending engaging history with lucid analysis, conservative scholar Yuval Levin’s American Covenant recovers the Constitution’s true genius and reveals how it charts a path to repairing America’s fault lines.

How one night turned into fifteen and counting is beyond me. I never imagined ending up here. I'm a Marriage Broker, not a matchmaker . . . Especially for myself! It was always a ruse. Perception, not reality. For a purpose, not for always. Business, not romance. Want to know my plan? A simple assist, a favor. Want to know my potential downfall? Him. His sincere eyes, his intoxicating smile, his scintillating personality. Oh, and our out-of-control chemistry.

Yasmean Haley has left her hometown hoping to get some new perspective, and to escape a toxic relationship with an ex who has betrayed her in more ways than she actually knows. But what's a girl to do when the place she's escaped to–that being the all black school Hughmoore College–throws her right into the middle of a risky and forbidden love triangle?

Serenity Ward must come to terms with her role in Kaycie's flawed society. The Establishment is corrupt, but there are those pushing for change from within. Division isn't exclusive to the elite group, though. The islands splinter in the wake of the uprising as webs of lies are untangled.

Bleu Levell is cautious with her heart these days. After unknowingly having children with a married man, she’s recovering from heartbreak and betrayal. With her children’s father locked up on gun charges, Bleu has thrown herself into work and motherhood. It wasn’t until she meets photographer O’Shea Boulware, her massage client, that she considers opening her heart to love again. Tables turn when her ex, Isaiah, is suddenly released and looking to get that old thing back. His possessive nature won’t allow him to let Bleu go so easily, even with his wife in his back pocket.