Books like Jam on the vine by LaShonda K. Barnett

Ivoe Williams grows up in the poor, segregated quarter of Little Tunis, Texas, where an early encounter with a newspaper sparks her lifelong passion for journalism. After earning a scholarship to Willetson College in Austin, she returns to a hometown offering only menial work under racially biased employers. Together with her former teacher and lover, Ona, Ivoe relocates to Kansas City and co‑founds Jam! On the Vine, the first female‑run African‑American newspaper. Amid the 1919 Red Summer—marked by lynchings and race riots—she risks her safety to expose the brutality of segregation, particularly within the American prison system. Barnett’s narrative intertwines Ivoe’s story with that of her family, offering an epic portrait of the hardships and injustices of the era while revealing a complex history often overlooked.

First publish date: 2015