A sumptuously illustrated history of photography as practiced in the state from 1839 to 1941 offering a unique account of the birth and development of a significant documentary and artistic medium

While men commit most of Alabama's crimes, women have written some of the darkest chapters in state history. Poisoners who murdered dozens. A mob icon who captivated millions. An anti-government cop killer. A madam whose courage lifted her from shame to legend. A mummified woman shrouded in mystery. Whether they enjoyed the spotlight or weaponized their status as unlikely suspects, these women left scandal and misery in their wake. Journalist Jeremy W. Gray digs into the sordid mess left behind by some of the most notorious women in Alabama history.

A story of race, guns, and self-protection in America today, through the quest--funny and searing--of a young black man learning to shoot a handgun better than a white person

One August night in 1931, on a secluded mountain ridge overlooking Birmingham, Alabama, three young white women were brutally attacked. The sole survivor, Nell Williams, age eighteen, said a black man had held the women captive for four hours before shooting them and disappearing into the woods. That same night, a reign of terror was unleashed on Birmingham's black community: black businesses were set ablaze, posses of armed white men roamed the streets, and dozens of black men were arrested in the largest manhunt in Jefferson County history. Weeks later, Nell identified Willie Peterson as the attacker who killed her sister Augusta and their friend Jennie Wood. With the exception of being black, Peterson bore little resemblance to the description Nell gave the police. An all-white jury convicted Peterson of murder and sentenced him to death. In Murder on Shades Mountain Melanie S. Morrison tells the gripping and tragic story of the attack and its aftermath—events that shook Birmingham to its core. Having first heard the story from her father—who dated Nell's youngest sister when he was a teenager—Morrison scoured the historical archives and documented the black-led campaigns that sought to overturn Peterson's unjust conviction, spearheaded by the NAACP and the Communist Party. The travesty of justice suffered by Peterson reveals how the judicial system could function as a lynch mob in the Jim Crow South. Murder on Shades Mountain also sheds new light on the struggle for justice in Depression-era Birmingham. This riveting narrative is a testament to the courageous predecessors of present-day movements that demand an end to racial profiling, police brutality, and the criminalization of black men.

"This is a Borzoi book published by Alfred A. Knopf"--Title page verso.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A GOODREADS CHOICE AWARDS FINALIST "Hilarious yet soul-shaking." —Black Enterprise The fearless comedy legend—one of the “Original Kings of Comedy”—hilariously breaks down the wisdom of white people, advice that has been killing black folks in America for four hundred years and counting. 200 years ago, white people told black folks, “‘I suggest you pick the cotton if you don’t like getting whipped.” Today, it’s “comply with police orders if you don’t want to get shot.” Now comedian/activist D. L. Hughley–one the Original Kings of Comedy–confronts and remixes white people’s “advice” in this “hilarious examination of the current state of race relations in the United States” (Publishers Weekly). In America, a black man is three times more likely to be killed in encounters with police than a white guy. If only he hadcomplied with the cop, he might be alive today, pundits say in the aftermath of the latest shooting of an unarmed black man. Or, Maybe he shouldn’t have worn that hoodie … or, moved moreslowly … not been out so late … Wait, why are black peopleallowed to drive, anyway? This isn’t a new phenomenon. White people have been giving “advice” to black folks for as long as anyone can remember, telling them how to pick cotton, where to sit on a bus, what neighborhood to live in, when they can vote, and how to wear our pants. Despite centuries of whites’ advice, it seems black people still aren’t listening, and the results are tragic. Now, at last, activist, comedian, and New York Times bestselling author D. L. Hughley offers How Notto Get Shot, an illustrated how-to guide for black people, full of insight from white people, translated by one of the funniest black dudes on the planet. In these pages you will learn how to act, dress, speak, walk, and drive in the safest manner possible. You also will finally understand the white mind. It is a book that can save lives. Or at least laugh through the pain. Black people: Are you ready to not get shot! White people: Do you want to learn how to help the cause? Let’s go!

A piercing, provocative true story that is also a commentary on our system of justice, centered around a wrongful murder conviction that bares the dark side of the American soul. This book highlights a case that was front page news--featured on "60 Minutes", in The New York Times in 1993.