“Carefully researched, eminently readable, and beautifully illustrated, A Short History of Black Craft in Ten Objects reveals the untold story of Black craft in America. If you care about Black art, Black history, or Black culture―and we all should―this book is simply indispensable.”

Praise for A Short History of Black Craft in Ten Objects:

“I am powerfully grateful for the work that Robell Awake conducted in compiling this concise and compelling tour through ten historical objects of Black craft. I was already a fan of his magnificently constructed chairs, but now I can thank him further for elucidating for us readers the true source of several handcraft traditions that could use the exposure. These portraits have me planning a trip to the American Southeast to ogle these works in person, as well as many other cultural treasures for which we should be knowledgeably giving thanks.”
— Nick Offerman, actor, author, humorist, woodworker

“Robell Awake’s inviting text revels in the monumental achievements found in what some might dismiss as ‘humble craft.’ Taking readers through a history in which wood, clay, iron, cotton, and grass become tools of expression and resilience, Awake offers an insightful and joyous reading of objects that unequivocally assert themselves as triumphs of human ingenuity.”
―Paul Galloway, architecture design collection specialist, Museum of Modern Art, New York

“I learned more vital American history from this book than I did my entire formal education. We know Black and enslaved labor built this country’s wealth; here Robell Awake lovingly reorients us toward the creativity, skill, and innovation inherent in Black craft. He celebrates the utilitarian and domestic as the artistic and cultural achievements they are. A book that will change how you see the world.”
―Angela Garbes, author of Essential Labor

“Robell Awake has carefully selected ten object lessons that demonstrate the longevity and excellence of Black material culture, especially from the American South, ensuring visibility for the American historical record. This book is a generous love letter to Black culture and craft, making these important contributions legible to a broader public. As a maker, Awake offers a unique perspective by celebrating a community of Black craftspeople who have expressed ingenuity through creative production in a variety of mediums and through Black-centered collaborative endeavors.”
―Monica Obniski, curator and design historian

“A Short History of Black Craft in Ten Objects represents not only a crucial act of historical recovery but also a deeply spiritual communion with the long and continuing legacy of Black craft in this country. Robell Awake introduces readers to ten crucial Black craft traditions, offering us a chance to peer into worlds of art, architecture, design, and style that are everywhere evident all around us: on our porches and in our living rooms; in the clothes we wear and the quilts that keep us warm at night. Johnalynn Holland’s brilliant illustrations bring light and life to the Black craftspeople who fashioned whole worlds with their hands. This book is a triumph and a pleasure to read.”
―Jason R. Young, author of Rituals of Resistance: African Atlantic Religion in Kongo and the Lowcountry South in the Era of Slavery

“In ten illuminating episodes that render resistance and creativity inextricable, this book argues that the history of Black craft in the United States is a transatlantic history of Black self-determination. Challenging archival silences and erasure, Robell Awake is gorgeously multidisciplinary in his object case studies. He outlines a network of pioneering makers whose furniture, quilts, architecture, ceramics, couture, weaving, metalwork, and assemblage recorded and preserved ancestral knowledge, as well as shared experiences of joy and trauma, celebration and mourning. Awake makes the case―eloquently, yet with urgency―not only that Black histories must continue to be written, but that contemporary Black craftspeople and their material artistry can play a crucial role in that collective endeavor.”
―Irene Sunwoo, John H. Bryan Chair and Curator of Architecture and Design, Art Institute of Chicago

“This is more than just an art book―it’s a book of ethnology, history, and discovery. Awake is not just interested in the ‘what’ but the ‘why?’ and his willingness to seek out the answer makes this unlike any other text of its kind. This book is an ode to the ingenuity and resilience that define black American art and its rich history. That Awake focuses his talent and care on the less explored parts of America’s artistic tradition is a gift to everyone, regardless of demographic. There is something for everyone inside these pages. This is a fascinating book―an engrossing and hopeful look at the history of Black art in America.”
―Josie Duffy Rice, writer, journalist, and host of the Unreformed podcast