Marcus Hunter is redrawing the map of African-American history and culture in the United States

As another Black History Month draws to a close, it is important to remember that when it comes to critical race theory — research and practices that demand a constant reckoning with systems of inequality and power in America — the beat decidedly goes on. And one of the most creative drummers of that beat happens to be UCLA’s own Marcus Hunter, professor of sociology and chair of the African American studies department.

Hunter’s most recent book, “Chocolate Cities: The Black Map of American Life,” co-written with Zandria F. Robinson, a professor of sociology and anthropology at Rhodes College, is a deep and complex examination of often misperceived factors and facets of black life in the United States. From Central District Seattle to Harlem to Holly Springs, Black people have built a dynamic network of cities and towns where Black culture is maintained, created and defended. Chocolate Cities offers a new “Black map” that more accurately reflects the lived experiences and the future of Black life in America.

The book, which was a finalist for an Association of American Publisher’s PROSE Award, weaves together historical and sociological analysis punctuated by insight from the words and stories of revered black voices and artists, such as Zora Neale Hurston, James Baldwin and Audre Lorde to Aretha Franklin and Afeni Shakur. The title of the book is borrowed from a 1975 Parliament Funkadelic album, with the blessing of George Clinton, who provided the following blurb for the book jacket.