“It’s in the Action: Memories of a Nonviolent Warrior.”

This month’s Black Voices Book Club selection traces the civil rights trail blazed by Dr. C.T. Vivian. We discuss Vivian’s legacy with Steve Fiffer, the co-author of “It’s in the Action: Memories of a Nonviolent Warrior.”

Hope Edelman has been writing, speaking and leading bereavement workshops for 25 years. Edelman joined “Chicago Tonight” to discuss loss, grief and grieving on pause, one year into the pandemic. (Credit: Hannah Kozak)

Hope Edelman has been writing, speaking and leading bereavement workshops for 25 years. She joins us to discuss her latest book, “The AfterGrief: Finding Your Way Along the Long Arc of Loss.”

From jumping out of airplanes to zip-lining through the jungle, Luvvie Ajayi Jones has become an expert at challenging fear — but not all of her daring adventures involve leaving the ground. She tells us about her new book, “Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual.”

Jazz is the foundation of Mark Ruffin’s entire career as a music historian, journalist and broadcaster. In this week’s Black Voices Book Club selection, the principles of jazz composition also inspired his fictional takes on topics of race and intolerance.

Princeton University professor Dr. Eddie Glaude Jr. talks about his hopes for the nation — and those of writer James Baldwin — in this week’s Black Voices Book Club selection.

“White Fright: The Sexual Panic at the Heart of America’s Racist History” re-examines the Reconstruction era through the 1960s and offers a new perspective on America’s history of white supremacy. Author Jane Dailey joins us as part of our Black Voices Book Club series.

Stateville Correctional Center (WTTW News)

In Illinois there are more than 1,400 laws regulating the lives of people who are formerly incarcerated. A new book by Reuben Jonathan Miller examines these laws and how they affect the lives of people with felonies once they are out of prison.

Author and journalist Deborah Douglas said that traveling the civil rights trail is an emotional experience, but one that is worth having in person. “I gained a greater appreciation for the African American experience and what my elders were able to accomplish,” she said.

We kick off the first installment of our Black Voices Book Club series with a new biography on a Black woman whose legend looms large in Chicago. And it’s written by Michelle Duster, her great-granddaughter. 

Meet a local author who argues that the idea of laziness is a lie — one that’s having a detrimental effect on Americans during the pandemic.

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Satirists strive to challenge, critique and confront society’s absurdities or injustices through their humor. “(Satire is) really trying to catch your attention to say something so you’re aware of it so we can possibly change it,” said Al Gini, co-author of “The Sanity of Satire.”

(Courtesy of Scribner, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.)

In 50 days, Joe Biden is set to become the country’s 45th president, but he still faces an ongoing assault on transition norms from President Donald Trump. Author Evan Osnos joins us to discuss the challenges Biden faces. 

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth appears on "Chicago Tonight" on July 6, 2017.
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Twelve, a Hachette Book Group imprint, announced the deal with Sen. Tammy Duckworth on Thursday, the 16th anniversary of the day she was shot down in a helicopter while serving in Iraq and lost both of her legs.

An illustration from DC’s “Weird War Tales” #68 (October 1978)

In the comic book world there is the Marvel universe and the DC universe. Less well-known is the Ernest Hemingway universe. But the Oak Park-born writer, a towering figure in 20th century literature, was a popular figure in comics.

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter’s wedding photo. (Courtesy the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library)
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Jimmy Carter, who served just a single term in the White House, is widely seen as a model ex-president but largely unsuccessful president. Now, the 96-year-old is the subject of a full-length, independent biography.

Former Gov. George Ryan expounds on the death penalty in a new book with co-author Maurice Possley titled, “Until I Could Be Sure: How I stopped the Death Penalty in Illinois.”