Activist Tamika Mallory, a Time 100 honoree and co-founder of 2017’s Women’s March, will make her literary debut with “State of Emergency,” which will also be the first release from Charlamagne Tha God’s Black Privilege Publishing, a new imprint from Atria Books at Simon & Schuster.
Described as “a searing indictment of America’s historical, deadly, and continuing assault on Black lives,” “State of Emergency” will also explore how best to continue the country’s onward advancement and momentum toward true equality and social justice.
Black Privilege Publishing is led by Charlamagne Tha God, host of iHeartRadio’s “The Breakfast Club,” founder of iHeart’s Black Effect podcast network and host of a forthcoming late-night show on Comedy Central. According to the announcement, the imprint will focus on opening new doors in the publishing marketplace by amplifying Black and brown narratives and rethinking traditional approaches to the industry.
Mallory says, “This country can’t undo the gross atrocities and inner and outer scars committed against the Black, brown, indigenous, and immigrant lives that were sacrificed for the benefit of its creation, development, and rise. But it is now clear that we, the people, who have toiled, sacrificed and contributed an indelible handprint from the soil to the soul of this nation, will no longer tolerate the continual systemic injustice, inequality, inequity, and indignities against the communities our government never bothered to correct. We’re owed the same American Dream of this nation as those who seek the haven of it. And the time is now.”
Charlamagne Tha God (Lenard Larry McKelvey) notes that he is a native of South Carolina, where it was once prohibited to teach slaves to read and write. “Now, thanks to Black Privilege Publishing, we don’t just read and write — we read, we write, and we publish our own narratives,” he says. “Black Privilege Publishing is a home for the descendants of slaves impacted by Anti-Literacy Laws to forge stories that our ancestors could only dream of reading.”
“Tamika is one of those people who’s always on the frontlines fighting for us—not for self-serving reasons, but because she cares about Black People,” he continues. “‘State of Emergency’ is going to immortalize her words and give Black people a study guide that will help us navigate our way to true freedom.”
Mallory served as the youngest ever Executive Director of the National Action Network and was instrumental in the creation of the New York City’s Crisis Management System, an official gun violence prevention program that awards nearly $27 million to violence prevention organizations annually. In 2017 she served as a national co-chair of the 2017 Women’s March on Washington. Most recently, she co-founded Until Freedom, an intersectional social justice organization that serves as a clearing house for organizers, activists, movement attorneys, artists, celebrities, and formerly incarcerated individuals. Tamika also co-hosts alongside raptivist Mysonne Linen the newly launched “Street Politicians” podcast on iHeart Radio’s Black Effect Network.
Black Privilege Publishing will be operated for Atria Books by Editor Nicholas Ciani and Senior Vice President and Publisher Libby McGuire. “There is no one better positioned to discover, cultivate, and elevate the next generation of art and leadership in Black and brown America than Charlamagne Tha God,” said Ciani. “I am thrilled to take this journey alongside him.”
“Atria Books has had a longstanding commitment to publishing that reflects a wide range of cultures, experiences, and origins,” said McGuire. “Black Privilege Publishing is a big, bold step in continuing and expanding that tradition. I could not be more excited to partner with Charlamagne as he builds this new imprint and help in its development.”
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