This brand-new book occupies the intellectual space between Kevin Powell’s essay collections and Bakari Kitwana’s seminal work.

M.K. Asante, Jr., a filmmaker, poet and college professor, adds his name to the list of young (under 45 🙂 ) Blacks who’ve written works that seek to combine journalism, personal essays and contemporary history, using hiphop of the point of departure. He is an optimistic self-described “artivist,” a 26-year-old writing to inspire younger people who will pick up this book because of its title. It’ll be their text for Black Contemporary Socio-Political Development 101, and believe me, they need it.

Get this book for the teenager (or college-aged young adult) in your life and make him or her read it. Then make him or her look up all of the authors he mentions.