Episode 23 - Author Erica Armstrong Dunbar
Givens Foundation | Black Market Reads
Release Date: 07/26/2017
Episode 103 -Antonio Michael Downing, Saga Boy and Black Cherokee
Givens Foundation | Black Market Reads
Antonio Michael Downing is an author, speaker, and musical artist. His memoir Saga Boy was called “singularly dazzling” by Kiese Laymon and “the triumph of Blackness everywhere” by Scotiabank Giller Prize–winner Ian Williams. He is also the author of the children’s picture book Stars in My Crown and his debut novel, Black Cherokee. He writes and performs music as John Orpheus. In this Episode Lissa and Antonio travel the world in their far reaching conversation from Trinidad, to Canada, to Brooklyn, to the Cherokee Nation- discussing his memoir Saga Boy: My...
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Episode 102 - Ethelene Whitmire, The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram
Givens Foundation | Black Market Reads
The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram by Ethelene Whitmire tells the true story of Reed Peggram, a brilliant Black, queer Harvard scholar who went to Paris in 1937 and stayed through World War II for love, eventually escaping Nazi-occupied Italy with his partner, Arne Gerdahn Hauptmann, with the help of an all-Black American regiment. This episode was recorded before a live audience at in Minneapolis. Lissa talks with author Whitmire about her research, her quest for untold stories, and the remarkable life of Reed Peggram. For GO DEEPER information about this episode, and to learn...
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Episode 101 - C.J. Farley - Who Knows You By Heart
Givens Foundation | Black Market Reads
Kicking off Season 11 and Black History Month- This conversation could not be more timely. Part social thriller, part modern love story, Who Knows You by Heart by CJ Farley is a sly, witty, and endlessly discussable tale of Big Tech, new money, relationships, race, and discovering what’s real in an age of artificial intelligence. C.J. (Christopher John) Farley is a Jamaican-born author, journalist, and editor known for works spanning fiction, YA, and biography, including and . A Harvard graduate and former and editor, his novels often explore...
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Episode 100: A Landmark Celebration of Black Stories, Voices, and Legacy
Givens Foundation | Black Market Reads
Hosted by Lissa Jones, the 100th episode is an expansive, deeply moving celebration that honors the elders, the artists, the activists, and the community that built—and continues to fuel—the Black literary tradition. Highlights include: • A newly released archival segment featuring J. California Cooper Recorded before the podcast officially launched, this rare conversation hosted by elder storyteller Beverly Cottman with renowned author J. California Cooper offers timeless reflections on writing, wisdom, and the purpose of storytelling. • A segment honoring the legacy of George Floyd...
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Episode 99 - Debra Stone, The House on Rondo
Givens Foundation | Black Market Reads
In Episode #99 Lissa talks with Author Debra J Stone about her new middle grade novel, (University of Minnesota Press). Rooted in the lived histories of Minnesota’s Black communities, The House on Rondo offers a deeply personal window into the destruction of a thriving neighborhood through the eyes of a young Black girl coming of age during an era of national civil rights protests. As Zenobia joins forces with her neighbor, the unforgettable former cowgirl Mrs. Ruby Pearl, to fight against the demolition of her grandparents' home to make way for the new interstate...
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Episode 98 - Leila Mottley, The Girls Who Grew Big
Givens Foundation | Black Market Reads
Adela Woods is sixteen years old and pregnant. Her parents banish her from her comfortable upbringing in Indiana to her grandmother’s home in the small town of Padua Beach, Florida. When she arrives, Adela meets Emory, who brings her newborn to high school, determined to graduate despite the odds; Simone, mother of four-year-old twins, who weighs an abortion in the heart of the South; and the rest of the Girls, a group of outcast young moms who raise their growing brood in the back of Simone’s red truck. In this episode Lissa talks with author Leila Mottley about her latest novel The...
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Episode 97 - Valerie Burns, Icing on the Murder
Givens Foundation | Black Market Reads
Looking forward to an intriguing summer read, Lissa talks with author Valerie Burns about her latest work. Packed with a delicious mix of cake, chaos, and crime, Icing on the Murder is a page-turner that’s sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats and leave them craving more! In this fourth installment of the Baker Street Mystery series, influencer-turned-bakery-owner Maddy Montgomery is preparing for her dream wedding, but before she can say "I do" to her fiancé, veterinarian Michael Portman, she must first solve a murder that threatens...
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BONUS EPISODE: Ink, Identity, and Imagination: Literature as a Catalyst for Black Determination
Givens Foundation | Black Market Reads
Ink, Identity, and Imagination: Literature as a Catalyst for Black Determination was the plenary discussion for From Resistance to Resilience: The Evolution of African American Reading, The Givens Foundation's Annual Conference held June 3, 2025 at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. Moderator: Gevonee Ford, founder of the Panelists: , scholar, author and curator of The Duchess Harris Collection, Dr. Ebony Aya, founder of the , and Tish Jones, poet and Executive Director of
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BONUS EPISODE: Banned Books: The Duchess Harris Collection
Givens Foundation | Black Market Reads
Duchess Harris, professor and author, was a presenter at From Resistance to Resilience: The Evolution of African American Reading, The Givens Foundation for African American Literature's annual conference, held on June 3, 2025 at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. In this engaging workshop, Dr. Harris addresses The Unwritten Curriculum: How Erasure in Literature Fuels Inequity, as she talks about her trajectory as an author, and the banning of her books. Visit to hear from conference Keynote Dr. Luke Wood, President of Sacramento State University...
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Episode 96 - From Resistance to Resilience, Dr.Luke Wood
Givens Foundation | Black Market Reads
Dr. Luke Woods was the Keynote speaker at the Givens Foundation's annual conference conference, Dr. Luke Wood returned to his alma mater, Sacramento State to become its ninth president on July 16th, 2023. A nationally renowned scholar on racial equity with a specific focus on early childhood education and community colleges. Dr. Wood has authored or co-authored 16 books and published nearly 200 articles, focusing on racial inequity in education. Dr. Woods' bold vision for the university includes 23 strategic action items, including the creation of the Nation's First Black Honors...
info_outlineIn this episode, host Lissa Jones speaks with Erica Armstrong Dunbar about her recent work, Never Caught: The Washington's Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave Ona Judge. Dunbar is an author and historian focusing on the experiences of African American women in the context of slavery, racial injustice, and gender inequality. Today, she is a professor of History at Rutgers University.