{"product_id":"our-minds-were-always-free-a-history-of-how-black-brilliance-was-exploited-and-the-fight-to-retake-control","title":"Our Minds Were Always Free: A History of How Black Brilliance Was Exploited--And the Fight to Retake Control","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBiographical Note\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLisa E. Davis is one of the foremost entertainment attorneys in the country. She is chair of the Entertainment Group of Frankfurt Kurnit Klein \u0026amp; Selz, representing celebrities in the film, television, publishing, music, theater, and sports industries. Davis has been ranked as a New York area \"Super Lawyer\" since 2007 and featured on the cover of \n\u003ci\u003eSuper Lawyers \u003c\/i\u003emagazine about her career and advocacy for racial justice. She is recognized in \n\u003ci\u003eWho's Who Legal\u003c\/i\u003e 2024, by \n\u003ci\u003eBest Lawyers in America \u003c\/i\u003e2023-2025, \n\u003ci\u003eCrain's New York Business\u003c\/i\u003e's 2023 Notable Women in Law, \n\u003ci\u003eThe Hollywood Reporter\u003c\/i\u003e's Power Lawyers 2025, 2024, 2023, 2021, and 2020 lists of New York's Top 20 Entertainment Attorneys, \n\u003ci\u003eVariety\u003c\/i\u003e's Legal Impact Report, and more. Davis has been quoted in \n\u003ci\u003eElle \u003c\/i\u003emagazine, \n\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, and \n\u003ci\u003eBlack Enterprise\u003c\/i\u003e magazine. A graduate of Harvard College and New York University School of Law, she clerked for the Honorable Constance Baker Motley in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. A frequent speaker and panelist at conferences, she is a member of the New York City Bar and the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association. Davis also has a political blog, \n\u003ci\u003eJournal of the Plague Years\u003c\/i\u003e. She practices law in New York and lives in New Jersey with her family.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"There's so much to admire in this perceptive book. Lively and smart, this is a must for music lovers.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eKirkus\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Davis paints a cohesive portrait of intellectual property theft as a key component of America's anti-Black superstructure. Amid the rise of AI and new questions about who controls intellectual property, this is a unique and urgent contribution.\" -- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \" \n\u003ci\u003eOur Minds Were Always Free\u003c\/i\u003e is a treatise on Black genius, a masterclass in intellectual property, and a history lesson on the intersection of creativity, capitalism and cultural exploitation. This should be required reading for every Black artist and creative.\" \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e-- \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eMichael Harriot, \u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e New York Times \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cb\u003ebestselling author of \u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eBlack AF History\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"'Don't be telling folks all my business, ' is an African American proverb. And I am so glad that Lisa Davis did not listen in this compelling book in which she tells all our business, quite literally. This is the story of how intellectual property law was wielded to steal the fruits of Black creative genius-- and how Black artists, inventors, and entrepreneurs fought back-- told through the eyes of one of our top Black entertainment attorneys. The story is riveting, and deeply insightful, both for the way it gives us our history anew, and for the lessons it teaches. The wisdom this book promises to impart will help shape the creators we become.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Brittney Cooper \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eEloquent Rage\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Sobering yet ultimately uplifting, this meticulously researched work is a clear-eyed narrative of how the law has dealt with Black brilliance across generations.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Loretta Lynch, 83rd Attorney General of the United States\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"In \n\u003ci\u003eOur Minds Were Always Free\u003c\/i\u003e, Lisa brilliantly captures the plunder of black artistic and intellectual virtuosity, and the boundless creative elasticity necessary to perseverance through that shit to still be the shit.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Damon Young, author of \u003ci\u003eWhat Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"My Hero Lisa E Davis has spent her career digging into the underbelly of intellectual property and cleaning up the mess. An unheralded force for over a quarter of a century. Her legacy is sealed with \n\u003ci\u003eOur Minds Were Always Free\u003c\/i\u003e, cutting through cultural confusion to reveal how so many millions got melted in the heat of the 'so called beat.'\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Chuck D Public Enemy \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn exploration of how African American innovators and artists--whose impact and financial value in American music, movies, and TV is disproportionately greater than their numbers--have fought for and often won the rights to own and benefit from their own work.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen we think about the things that have barred success for African Americans, intellectual property law is hardly the first thing that comes to mind, if we even think of it all. We certainly don't think of it as the launching pad for building generational wealth in the Black community, so it follows that we don't see our favorite pop stars as revolutionary race warriors. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e African American artists have finally, belatedly, come to be the owners of their art and beneficiaries of the money their art makes, after centuries of producing life-changing art. There were hundreds and thousands of Bessie Smiths before we ever got Beyoncé or Kendrick Lamar. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Lisa E. Davis, one of the foremost entertainment attorneys in the country, traces the epic journey Black Americans have been on, from being claimed as property to claiming the benefits of intellectual property. As she notes, \"Under slavery, our minds were always free, but there was no profit from what our minds created.\" \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Beginning in the 18th century with the drafting of the Constitution and ending in the 21st century with a warning about the role technology will play in creative industries, \n\u003ci\u003eOur Minds Were Always Free\u003c\/i\u003e tells the story of the indelible legacy of Black American genius and the struggle to receive the credit and the profit that they deserved.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 06\/08\/2026 (EAN 9781982175993, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/span\u003e 06\/15\/2026 (EAN 9781982175993, Hardcover) - *Starred Review\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eContributor Bio:\u003c\/strong\u003eDavis, Lisa E\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLisa E. Davis is one of the foremost entertainment attorneys in the country. She is chair of the Entertainment Group of Frankfurt Kurnit Klein \u0026amp; Selz, representing celebrities in the film, television, publishing, music, theater, and sports industries. Davis has been ranked as a New York area \"Super Lawyer\" since 2007 and featured on the cover of \n\u003ci\u003eSuper Lawyers \u003c\/i\u003emagazine about her career and advocacy for racial justice. She is recognized in \n\u003ci\u003eWho's Who Legal\u003c\/i\u003e 2024, by \n\u003ci\u003eBest Lawyers in America \u003c\/i\u003e2023-2025, \n\u003ci\u003eCrain's New York Business\u003c\/i\u003e's 2023 Notable Women in Law, \n\u003ci\u003eThe Hollywood Reporter\u003c\/i\u003e's Power Lawyers 2025, 2024, 2023, 2021, and 2020 lists of New York's Top 20 Entertainment Attorneys, \n\u003ci\u003eVariety\u003c\/i\u003e's Legal Impact Report, and more. Davis has been quoted in \n\u003ci\u003eElle \u003c\/i\u003emagazine, \n\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, and \n\u003ci\u003eBlack Enterprise\u003c\/i\u003e magazine. A graduate of Harvard College and New York University School of Law, she clerked for the Honorable Constance Baker Motley in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. A frequent speaker and panelist at conferences, she is a member of the New York City Bar and the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association. Davis also has a political blog, \n\u003ci\u003eJournal of the Plague Years\u003c\/i\u003e. She practices law in New York and lives in New Jersey with her family.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496140472598,"sku":"9781982175993","price":34.8,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9781982175993.jpg?v=1783053848","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/our-minds-were-always-free-a-history-of-how-black-brilliance-was-exploited-and-the-fight-to-retake-control","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}