4 Books Published by Bowker on AALBC — Book Cover Collage

2020 is a year we shall never forget-not America, not the world.

The tragic death of Kobe Bryant and his daughter GiGi. The global pandemic called COVID-19. The police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. The massive street protests of Black Lives Matter. The passing of famous names like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Chadwick Boseman, Naya Rivera, and Congressman John Lewis. The U.S. presidential election and its ugly aftermath.

Amidst all of this, acclaimed writer Kevin Powell and the historic Nuyorican Poets Cafe partnered on seven free Zoom writing workshops to avllow people to express themselves in a safe and non-judgmental space, and to build community given the harsh realities of COVID. Writers of all ages and identities showed up. Seven workshops turned into ten workshops plus a permanent Facebook group of a few hundred writers.

And now this book: 2020: The Year That Changed America. Award-winning and game-changing writers like Nikki Giovanni, Gloria Steinem, Etan Thomas, Nancy Mercado, Dave Zirin, Jackson Katz, jessica Care moore, asha bandele, Tim Wise, Bob Holman, and V (formerly Eve Ensler) join both previously published and newly published writers of blogs, essays, poetry, journal entries, and fiction.

Soulful, informational, eye- catching, and gut-wrenching, this anthology is a testimony of resilience and loss, of hurt and hope, of stories remembered and stories forgotten, of politics and the political, and what is possible when so much seems impossible.

As a child, it is important to develop a healthy sense of identity.Keith tells his momma he wants to grow his hair long …He tells her he wants to dye it blue and red …And he tells her he wants to twist it into dreadlocks …But above all, he just wants to be himself.To help him make an informed choice, his momma explains the history of dreadlocks and the complex process and patience involved. What will happen to Keith? What will he decide? And is this something he really wants to do to "be me"?

In When We Free the World, acclaimed writer and activist Kevin Powell presents a stunning and brutally honest survey of America, yesterday and today, and what he hopes for its future, through the window of his own very painful personal trials - as #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, mass shootings, immigration, a global pandemic, and Donald Trump rotate in the background. The result is a deeply spiritual and emotional reminder of why freedom and justice and equality still remain so elusive for many, in this nation, on this planet. Inspired by the poetic dream montage of Langston Hughes, the prophetic letter sermon of James Baldwin, and Bobby Kennedy’s raw and naked eulogy speech for Dr. King, Powell has created a fearless literary and political manifesto that is a town-hall meeting for an America seemingly at war with its own soul. With a passion and sensitivity that few writers of his generation can match, Powell tackles leadership, history, family, community, parenting, education, the legal system, racism, sexism, love, hate, forgiveness, mental health, and violence in all forms. And he challenges us, from beginning to end, on what that word "freedom" means, or ought to mean, for all human beings.

Welcome to the newest venture in the Knight Seeker story realm which takes place in the rough streets of Los Angeles, California. Tyreek Solder is a high school teen who happens to be a talented computer hacker. While at school he secretly winds up breaking into the devious and sinister Diamond Corporation’s mainframe computer which consequently places his life in grave jeopardy. As the forces of the Diamond Corp. give chase to Tyreek he is killed one fateful night and is mysteriously brought back to life by a strange alien technology. With his new emerging abilities Tyreek must learn to adapt to his new life as a superhero, and get through the school year while discovering the person he truly is.MERGE is a ’Caption Novel’ containing over 40 illustrations.