Our Minds Were Always Free
A History of How Black Brilliance Was Exploited-and the Fight to Retake Control
Will be published approx. on 2. July 2026
Book
Hardback
272 pages
978-1-9821-7599-3 (ISBN)
Description
An 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.
When 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.
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 Beyonce or Kendrick Lamar.
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."
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, Our Minds Were Always Free tells the story of the indelible legacy of Black American genius and the struggle to receive the credit and the profit that they deserved.
When 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.
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 Beyonce or Kendrick Lamar.
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."
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, Our Minds Were Always Free tells the story of the indelible legacy of Black American genius and the struggle to receive the credit and the profit that they deserved.
Reviews / Votes
"There's so much to admire in this perceptive book. Lively and smart, this is a must for music lovers." -Kirkus (starred review)"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." -Publishers Weekly
"Our Minds Were Always Free 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." - Michael Harriot, New York Times bestselling author of Black AF History
"'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."-Brittney Cooper New York Times bestselling author of Eloquent Rage
"Sobering yet ultimately uplifting, this meticulously researched work is a clear-eyed narrative of how the law has dealt with Black brilliance across generations."-Loretta Lynch, 83rd Attorney General of the United States
"In Our Minds Were Always Free, 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."-Damon Young, author of What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker
"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 Our Minds Were Always Free, cutting through cultural confusion to reveal how so many millions got melted in the heat of the 'so called beat.'"-Chuck D Public Enemy
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
426 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-9821-7599-3 (9781982175993)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Lisa E. Davis
Our Minds Were Always Free
A History of How Black Brilliance Was Exploited-and the Fight to Retake Control
E-Book
05/2026
Simon + Schuster LLC
€14.83
Available for download
Person
Lisa E. Davis is one of the foremost entertainment attorneys in the country. She is chair of the Entertainment Group of Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & 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 Super Lawyers magazine about her career and advocacy for racial justice. She is recognized in Who's Who Legal 2024, by Best Lawyers in America 2023-2025, Crain's New York Business's 2023 Notable Women in Law, The Hollywood Reporter's Power Lawyers 2025, 2024, 2023, 2021, and 2020 lists of New York's Top 20 Entertainment Attorneys, Variety's Legal Impact Report, and more. Davis has been quoted in Elle magazine, The New York Times, and Black Enterprise 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, Journal of the Plague Years. She practices law in New York and lives in New Jersey with her family.