Looking to the past and exploring the present

Throughout the month of February, UC Press will highlight books we have had the privilege to publish. Books featured raise Black voices, highlight the works of Black artists, bring forth the history, and speak about the issues facing the Black community.

Below we are proud to feature books that look at the past and explore present day issues in the hopes of creating a more just future.

Follow us on Twitter (@UCPress) and on Instagram (@uc_press) as we will highlight a new or recent book each day.


America, Goddam
Violence, Black Women, and the Struggle for Justice

By Treva B. Lindsey

One of the Best Nonfiction Books of 2022, Kirkus Reviews

“A righteous indictment of racism and misogyny.“—Publishers Weekly

Rising star and author Treva Lindsey’s searing and powerful account of violence against Black women and girls in the United States and their fight for liberation.


Dancing Down the Barricades
Sammy Davis Jr. and the Long Civil Rights Era
A Cultural History

By Matthew Frye Jacobson

Nuanced, incisive, and frequently surprising, this is a worthy reconsideration of a divisive public figure.”—Publishers Weekly

Through the lens of Sammy Davis Jr.’s six-decade career in show business and as reflected in his extraordinary life, Dancing Down the Barricades takes a deep dive into racial politics, Hollywood, and Black cultural struggles for liberation.


Revolutionary Nonviolence
Organizing for Freedom

By James M. Lawson Jr.

This book is both easy to read and deeply inspiring. It is among the best introductions to the philosophy of the nonviolent movement.“—CHOICE

From James M. Lawson Jr., one of the great practitioners of revolution through sustained nonviolence, comes a persuasive account of the philosophy and power of nonviolence organizing, and a resource for building and sustaining effective social movements.