by Wil Haygood
First published 1994
Adam Clayton Powell Jr. navigates the bustling streets of Depression-era Harlem as a young man finding his voice. The son of a prominent minister, Powell watches his neighborhood struggle with poverty while white politicians ignore Black communities entirely. He enters the pulpit, then the political arena, determined to challenge a system built to exclude people like him. Powell wins a seat in Congress and launches bold campaigns targeting discrimination and economic inequality. His battles pit him against entrenched power structures that resist every reform he proposes. As Powell rises to prominence, he must balance his growing influence with the personal costs of constant confrontation. The book follows his journey from Harlem's streets to the halls of power, where he wages war against racism and fights for the poor.
Genres: biography, civil-war, american-fiction, 20th-century, american, african-american, african-american-historical-fiction, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: social-justice, underdog
Setting: Harlem, United States
Period: Great Depression
496 pages · Paperback · Houghton Mifflin Harcourt