Dr. Artika R. Tyner, founder of Planting People Growing Justice Press and Bookstore in St. Paul, has been named a 2026 Zoom Solopreneur 50 honoree, selected from nearly 2,800 applicants across 48 states.
Books
A space for local and national arts and entertainment stories, with an emphasis on stories pertaining to African and African Americans.
Posted inBooks
The Black lawyer history forgot
Norma Adams-Wade explores the forgotten legacy of attorney Joseph Edwin Wiley Sr., founder of Dallas’s historic Mill City community, through the unpublished memoir of 105-year-old Pearl Etta McVey-Guthrie.
Posted inEducation
Dr. Brittany Lewis challenges institutions to build a new table in debut book
Dr. Brittany Lewis Building a New Table challenges institutions and funders to move beyond good intentions toward genuine community centered leadership rooted in accountability and shared power.
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PPGJLI Seeks Submissions for Children’s Book Awards Honoring Black Authors and Illustrators
PPGJLI Children’s Book Awards are now accepting submissions from Black authors and illustrators nationwide through April 15.
Posted inWomen’s History Month
Trailblazing athlete Lusia Harris spotlighted in Difference Makers book series
The Lusia Harris NBA draft milestone is highlighted in a Difference Makers book about the pioneering basketball star’s historic career.
Posted inSister Spokesman
“Her Story” encourages Black women to write and publish their stories
The Her Story Sister Spokesman event brought women together at Hallie Q. Brown Community Center to celebrate African American authors and storytelling.
Posted inBlack History
‘Our First Bus Ride’ brings Hale-Field school integration history to life
Black history Minneapolis school integration is explored in a new children’s book recounting the 1971 Hale-Field Elementary bus ride.
Posted inArts + Culture
Ralph Remington launches “Penetrating Whiteness,” a personal and political examination of white supremacy
Ralph Remington never intended to write a book, but inspiration from James Baldwin led him to compile years of essays into Penetrating Whiteness: How White Supremacy Built America. During a Twin Cities book launch, Remington shared powerful reflections on race, empathy and navigating today’s political moment.
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Children’s Book Launch Revisits Minnesota’s School Integration History Through Young Eyes
The Our First Bus Ride book launch in Minneapolis highlights a true story of school integration through children’s literature and community conversation.
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‘Natural Order’ explores love, trauma and renewal
Donika Kelly’s “The Natural Order of Things” opens with the familiar warmth of Black gatherings and uses bones as a powerful symbol to explore love, queerness, community and healing. With lyrical precision, Kelly moves between tenderness, political awareness and the natural world, offering a collection that speaks to survival and the ongoing work of living in one’s body with honesty and joy.
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Local author celebrates the world through a child’s eyes
In 2020, as Minneapolis grappled with the twin realities of pandemic isolation and civil unrest, South Minneapolis native Jocelyn McQuirter found herself observing a quiet but powerful story unfolding at home: the world through the eyes of her two-year-old son, Kaiden. While the city experienced uncertainty and tension, Kaiden remained fully immersed in play, mesmerized […]
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‘At Mama Feely’s Feet’ journeys through faith, generational healing
When Hope Venetta began writing “At Mama Feely’s Feet,” she wasn’t simply crafting a book. She was building what she calls “an altar of remembrance.” Venetta, a Durham-based therapist and storyteller, set out to create a space where the stories of her family, and those of other Black families, could be honored, reclaimed and healed. […]
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In ‘Before I Lie,’ MN poet speaks up for Black women
A powerful review of Dralandra Larkins’ hybrid collection Before I Lie. The book centers truth telling, Black girlhood, ASL, and healing through poetry, prose, and image.
Posted inEducation
Children’s bookstore inspires early love for books
Planting People Growing Justice, a Black woman-owned children’s bookstore and publisher inside Gideon Barbershop, is growing literacy and youth leadership in South Minneapolis. Founded by Dr. Artika Tyner, PPGJ centers books that reflect the African Diaspora and offers storytimes, workshops, and author visits to help kids “read to lead.”
Posted inEvents
Dr. Tonya Jackman Hampton redefines leadership through fear, not in spite of it
Dr. Tonya Jackman Hampton’s The Myth of the Fearless Leader is part memoir, part leadership manual—and a much-needed challenge to outdated, harmful ideas about fear, perfection, and presence in leadership. She’ll present the book on August 25 at Magers & Quinn in Minneapolis.
Posted inEducation
With Black history under assault, Givens Collection more precious than ever
The Givens Collection of African American Literature and Life marks 40 years with a new exhibit and renewed call to protect and uplift Black cultural memory.
Posted inBooks
Black author Sings raises awareness of bullying
R&B artist and community advocate Chantel Sings has released “Billy Likes to Bully,” a children’s book tackling bullying with cultural relevance and heart.
Posted inFinance
Metro Black business growth among nation’s fastest
Dr. Andre Perry joined Twin Cities leaders to launch Black Power Scorecard, highlighting data-driven strategies to boost Black wealth, homeownership, and life expectancy.
Posted inBooks
New Poetry Collection Sweetgrass and Soul Food Explores Afro-Indigenous Identity and Resilience
Afro-Indigenous poet and educator Marique Moss will release her debut poetry collection, “Sweetgrass and Soul Food: A Memoir in Poems,” on Juneteenth, followed by print and hardcover editions on the Summer Solstice, and a companion journal on the same dates.
Posted inBooks
‘Happy Land’ unearths a forgotten Black kingdom in Appalachia
Author Dolen Perkins-Valdez’s latest novel, “Happy Land,” explores the often-overlooked world of rural Black communities in Appalachia, highlighting the legacy of a 19th-century kingdom built by formerly enslaved people.