Lively and smart, this is a must for music lovers.
An entertainment lawyer takes on the topic of Black creators and intellectual property.
Davis writes early in her book, “America has a long and sordid history of mining the value of the art and inventions of Black people for its own benefit and erasing evidence of Black authorship to prop up the myth of white superiority.” It’s impossible to argue with that, as she demonstrates in this well-researched look at how Black creators have been exploited and robbed by white people determined to enrich themselves unjustly. She contends that Black artists who were able to succeed financially did so by understanding intellectual property laws (although, of course, this was not an option in the days of slavery). She draws contrasts between creators like Bessie Smith, the legendary blues singer who was exploited mercilessly by the music industry, and Harry T. Burleigh, the composer whose knowledge of copyright law enabled him “to build a foundation for a long, comfortable life and multigenerational wealth.” The author makes a similar point about composer Thelonious Monk, who was insistent on policing his own copyrights, and Billie Holiday, the singer who unknowingly signed one-sided contracts and later died nearly penniless. Davis also examines the film and television industry, explaining how Spike Lee retained his creative independence by electing to shoot his debut film, She’s Gotta Have It, outside the studio system, and Oprah Winfrey, who took a financial risk by choosing to sign with a syndication company that allowed her to own her own show rather than signing with ABC. (The risk seems to have paid off.) Davis explains legal concepts with ease, deftly translating lawyer-speak into plain English, and her enthusiasm for the artists she writes about is palpable (and charming). She incorporates welcome moments of humor when appropriate (for example, calling Kendrick Lamar “every Blerd’s favorite rapper”), and her prose is measured and elegant. There’s so much to admire in this perceptive book.
Lively and smart, this is a must for music lovers.Pub Date: today
ISBN: 9781982175993
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: yesterday
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2026
A concise personal and scholarly history that avoids academic jargon as it illuminates emotional truths.
The Harvard historian and Texas native demonstrates what the holiday means to her and to the rest of the nation.
Initially celebrated primarily by Black Texans, Juneteenth refers to June 19, 1865, when a Union general arrived in Galveston to proclaim the end of slavery with the defeat of the Confederacy. If only history were that simple. In her latest, Gordon-Reed, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, and numerous other honors, describes how Whites raged and committed violence against celebratory Blacks as racism in Texas and across the country continued to spread through segregation, Jim Crow laws, and separate-but-equal rationalizations. As Gordon-Reed amply shows in this smooth combination of memoir, essay, and history, such racism is by no means a thing of the past, even as Juneteenth has come to be celebrated by all of Texas and throughout the U.S. The Galveston announcement, notes the author, came well after the Emancipation Proclamation but before the ratification of the 13th Amendment. Though Gordon-Reed writes fondly of her native state, especially the strong familial ties and sense of community, she acknowledges her challenges as a woman of color in a state where “the image of Texas has a gender and a race: “Texas is a White man.” The author astutely explores “what that means for everyone who lives in Texas and is not a White man.” With all of its diversity and geographic expanse, Texas also has a singular history—as part of Mexico, as its own republic from 1836 to 1846, and as a place that “has connections to people of African descent that go back centuries.” All of this provides context for the uniqueness of this historical moment, which Gordon-Reed explores with her characteristic rigor and insight.
A concise personal and scholarly history that avoids academic jargon as it illuminates emotional truths.Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-63149-883-1
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Liveright/Norton
Review Posted Online: Feb. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A welcome new version of a publication that is no less important now than it was in 1967.
A timely distilled version of the powerful report on racism in the U.S.
Created by Lyndon Johnson’s executive order in 1967, the Kerner Commission was convened in response to inner-city riots in cities like Newark and Detroit, and its findings have renewed relevance in the wake of the George Floyd verdict and other recent police brutality cases. The report, named for Otto Kerner, the chairman of the commission and then governor of Illinois, explored the systemic reasons why an “apocalyptic fury” broke out that summer even in the wake of the passage of significant civil rights and voting acts—a response with striking echoes in recent events across the country. In this edited and contextualized version, New Yorker staff writer Cobb, with the assistance of Guariglia, capably demonstrates the continued relevance and prescience of the commission’s findings on institutionalized discriminatory policies in housing, education, employment, and the media. The commission was not the first to address racial violence in the century, and it would not be the last, but the bipartisan group of 11 members—including two Blacks and one woman—was impressively thorough in its investigation of the complex overarching social and economic issues at play. “The members were not seeking to understand a singular incident of disorder,” writes Cobb, “but the phenomenon of rioting itself.” Johnson wanted to know what happened, why it happened, and what could be done so it doesn’t happen “again and again.” Of course, it has happened again and again, and many of the report’s recommendations remain unimplemented. This version of the landmark report features a superb introduction by Cobb and a closing section of frequently asked questions—e.g., “How come nothing has been done about these problems?” The book contains plenty of fodder for crucial national conversations and many excellent ideas for much-needed reforms that could be put into place now.
A welcome new version of a publication that is no less important now than it was in 1967.Pub Date: July 27, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-63149-892-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Liveright/Norton
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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