In this innovative collection, thirteen established and emerging African-American writers present a range of compelling and provocative stories. One of America's best-known African-American writers, Jewelle Gomez, acclaimed author of The Gilda Stories, offers a new episode in her historic series. Harlem native and award-winning writer Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, romance writer Anne Shade, short-story stylist Craig L. Gidney, actress and playwright Ifalade Ta'Shia Asanti, noted children's author Becky Birtha, and award-winning novelist Fiona Lewis each explore what it means to be black in America today as well as in America's historic past, addressing issues not only of race, but also of class, gender, sexual orientation, and religion. Filmmaker Lowell Boston details the multi-faceted complexities of racism in America for young black men, while emerging writers Lisa R. Nelson, Guillaume Stewart, Misty Sol, kahlil almustafa, and Quincy Scott Jones take on different aspects of urban life: Nelson presents a young girl who wants to escape her middle-class neighborhood, Stewart writes provocatively about missing fathers in black America, Sol explores the impact of gun violence and no-snitch rules, almustafa details the day-to-day suspicion young black men face, and Jones places a young black man in white academe in a dazzling display of wordplay. This exciting collection combines a wide range of dynamic characters, divergent styles, and compelling issues that will appeal to all ages and which belongs in every American library.