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Our Minds Were Always Free: A History of How Black Brilliance Was Exploited―and the Fight to Retake Control
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 Beyoncé or Kendrick Lamar.
Lisa E. Davis, one of the foremost African American 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 Beyoncé or Kendrick Lamar.
Lisa E. Davis, one of the foremost African American 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.
- GenresNonfiction
272 pages, Hardcover
Published May 19, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 19, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC.
This book was extremely insightful and gave you a look into the entertainment industry and how black Americans never received the credit and money that they were due.
Throughout history black Americans have had to work twice as hard to receive half as much as their counterparts, still to this day.
This book goes from slavery to current day and its all connected how black people have had to fight on all fronts.
This book was so much more then I thought it would be and I really enjoyed it.
This book was extremely insightful and gave you a look into the entertainment industry and how black Americans never received the credit and money that they were due.
Throughout history black Americans have had to work twice as hard to receive half as much as their counterparts, still to this day.
This book goes from slavery to current day and its all connected how black people have had to fight on all fronts.
This book was so much more then I thought it would be and I really enjoyed it.
August 7, 2026
I have never stopped reading a book to listen to music by the artists mentioned in the book before but I did that with this one. I think a lot of people could benefit from reading this book.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
There is much to be angry about here, and much to celebrate, although nearly every success comes with an “in spite of” hurdle (or mountain) of obstacles. This is a deeply researched (with 213 endnotes*!) history covering a broad range of topics while drilling down to specific examples within each.
The stolen intellectual property of the people who were considered and treated as property. Patents and copyrights. Music artists who originated genres an styles, innovated, without due credit; artists who were/are exploited by laws, unscrupulous agents/producers/attorneys, corporations. Film? Griffith’s much lauded racist epic; Black filmmakers unknown to most; Black actors known to most, who blazed trails, but there are still trails to be blazed. Warring on drugs as an excuse to harass, abuse, demonize Blacks (the author made it a point to capitalize black throughout). Entrepreneurs.
So, that bullet summary doesn’t do this justice. I learned quite a bit. I am grateful to the publisher and Edelweiss+ for offering me a review copy of this. And I am grateful to the author for bringing my attention to Sister Rosetta Tharp. She was quite amazing. And… for prompting me to revisit Dvořák. I need to listen to Symphony No. 9, From the New World, again.
* On the 213 notes, I was unfortunately disappointed to find that they were unkeyed endnotes. There are no in-text callouts, and the sentence fragment is a label for the note, not (obviously) a citation key, that requires the reader to do a reverse search of the text. This is made impossible if searching is not allowed on your DRM reader copy.
A few curated highlights:
[on film censorship]
“The court stated that motion pictures, thanks to ‘[t]heir power of amusement [were]... more insidious in corruption.’ Thus, film studios were at the mercy of the moral judgments of the men who comprised 208 different state and local censorship boards.
The divergent responses of these myriad censorship boards to The Birth of a Nation [Griffith] and Within Our Gates [Oscar Micheaux] make clear that the predominant societal view was that audiences didn't need to be shielded from scenes of racial violence, but rather from images of the white perpetrators of that violence.”
{I need to watch Micheaux’s film, which is available if you do a search.}
[more film censorship]
“There is no evidence that the Illinois censorship law was ever used to stop a film that maligned Black people or any other marginalized group. The one notable instance of prosecution under the law was detailed in the 1952 Supreme Court case of Beauharnais v. Illinois. Joseph Beauharnais, president of a white supremacist group, was prosecuted under the law for distributing handbills promoting residential segregation that implored the mayor and city council of Chicago to ‘halt the further encroachment, harassment, and invasion of white people, their property, neighborhoods and persons, by the Negro.’ He added that ‘if... the need to prevent the white race from being mongrelized by the Negro will not unite us, then the aggressions... of the Negro surely will.’ The Supreme Court found that Illinois's prosecution of Beauharnais for distribution of these truly noxious handbills did not violate his Constitutional rights, a rare instance of the law actually policing racist speech.”
{ARC crossover... I read about that in January in a review copy of James Loeffler's "Exceptional Hatred".}
[the First War on Drugs]
[Harry] “Anslinger [“the virulent racist in charge of the federal government's narcotics policy for thirty years”] popularized the term marijuana so that the public would associate the drug with Mexican immigrants. He asserted that there was a link between marijuana use and violence, although research showed that this assertion was completely false. Throughout the 1930s, Anslinger worked to conflate race, drugs, music, and crime in the minds of the public. Anslinger's efforts culminated in the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, which made the drug illegal.”
{Bottom line, call it cannabis.}
[the injustice of streaming companies]
“Spotify's practices don't only affect artists. These practices also impact what audiences listen to and the very relationship that people have with music itself. As New Yorker reporter Kyle Chayka has pointed out: Over the last decade, Spotify, along with other tech platforms, has shifted from a ‘user-centered approach’ to a ‘corporation-centered approach .. optimized to extract profit.’
{ Capitalism. Where the objective is to screw the other guy out of as much money as possible. I tried that particular platform 13 years ago and when I gave it some suggestions for it to come up with suggestions (Rush was one of mine) , it gave me, among other similar wtfs, The Smiths, Eminem, Justin Timberlake. I suspect heir algorithm would both be better now, and also more strategically directed. The Bezos stream likes to throw in Journey when I ask for Rush. And that’s just wrong. It is about the corporation and not the artist and not the listener.}
The stolen intellectual property of the people who were considered and treated as property. Patents and copyrights. Music artists who originated genres an styles, innovated, without due credit; artists who were/are exploited by laws, unscrupulous agents/producers/attorneys, corporations. Film? Griffith’s much lauded racist epic; Black filmmakers unknown to most; Black actors known to most, who blazed trails, but there are still trails to be blazed. Warring on drugs as an excuse to harass, abuse, demonize Blacks (the author made it a point to capitalize black throughout). Entrepreneurs.
So, that bullet summary doesn’t do this justice. I learned quite a bit. I am grateful to the publisher and Edelweiss+ for offering me a review copy of this. And I am grateful to the author for bringing my attention to Sister Rosetta Tharp. She was quite amazing. And… for prompting me to revisit Dvořák. I need to listen to Symphony No. 9, From the New World, again.
* On the 213 notes, I was unfortunately disappointed to find that they were unkeyed endnotes. There are no in-text callouts, and the sentence fragment is a label for the note, not (obviously) a citation key, that requires the reader to do a reverse search of the text. This is made impossible if searching is not allowed on your DRM reader copy.
A few curated highlights:
[on film censorship]
“The court stated that motion pictures, thanks to ‘[t]heir power of amusement [were]... more insidious in corruption.’ Thus, film studios were at the mercy of the moral judgments of the men who comprised 208 different state and local censorship boards.
The divergent responses of these myriad censorship boards to The Birth of a Nation [Griffith] and Within Our Gates [Oscar Micheaux] make clear that the predominant societal view was that audiences didn't need to be shielded from scenes of racial violence, but rather from images of the white perpetrators of that violence.”
{I need to watch Micheaux’s film, which is available if you do a search.}
[more film censorship]
“There is no evidence that the Illinois censorship law was ever used to stop a film that maligned Black people or any other marginalized group. The one notable instance of prosecution under the law was detailed in the 1952 Supreme Court case of Beauharnais v. Illinois. Joseph Beauharnais, president of a white supremacist group, was prosecuted under the law for distributing handbills promoting residential segregation that implored the mayor and city council of Chicago to ‘halt the further encroachment, harassment, and invasion of white people, their property, neighborhoods and persons, by the Negro.’ He added that ‘if... the need to prevent the white race from being mongrelized by the Negro will not unite us, then the aggressions... of the Negro surely will.’ The Supreme Court found that Illinois's prosecution of Beauharnais for distribution of these truly noxious handbills did not violate his Constitutional rights, a rare instance of the law actually policing racist speech.”
{ARC crossover... I read about that in January in a review copy of James Loeffler's "Exceptional Hatred".}
[the First War on Drugs]
[Harry] “Anslinger [“the virulent racist in charge of the federal government's narcotics policy for thirty years”] popularized the term marijuana so that the public would associate the drug with Mexican immigrants. He asserted that there was a link between marijuana use and violence, although research showed that this assertion was completely false. Throughout the 1930s, Anslinger worked to conflate race, drugs, music, and crime in the minds of the public. Anslinger's efforts culminated in the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, which made the drug illegal.”
{Bottom line, call it cannabis.}
[the injustice of streaming companies]
“Spotify's practices don't only affect artists. These practices also impact what audiences listen to and the very relationship that people have with music itself. As New Yorker reporter Kyle Chayka has pointed out: Over the last decade, Spotify, along with other tech platforms, has shifted from a ‘user-centered approach’ to a ‘corporation-centered approach .. optimized to extract profit.’
{ Capitalism. Where the objective is to screw the other guy out of as much money as possible. I tried that particular platform 13 years ago and when I gave it some suggestions for it to come up with suggestions (Rush was one of mine) , it gave me, among other similar wtfs, The Smiths, Eminem, Justin Timberlake. I suspect heir algorithm would both be better now, and also more strategically directed. The Bezos stream likes to throw in Journey when I ask for Rush. And that’s just wrong. It is about the corporation and not the artist and not the listener.}
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Our Minds Were Always Free by Lisa E. Davis is a must-read. In a world where we say “content is king,” understanding the history of the road that Black creators, artists, visionaries, and entrepreneurs paved is essential. It ensures they are not only recognized for their talents but also justly compensated, and it helps shape how we move in today’s digital age.
I learned so much from the depth and richness of the history within these pages. Each chapter builds on the last, sharing the experiences of Black Americans and the obstacles placed in their path by individuals, systems, and socioeconomic barriers determined to keep our greatness contained. Davis does an excellent job exploring how, across different periods in history, Black Americans either found ways to work the system to their advantage or suffered because of it. From enslaved people creating new inventions, to music publishing, the attack on hip-hop, and the rise of AI, she illustrates how we are in a constant fight not only to let our brilliance shine but also to be compensated fairly for the value it brings.
At the same time, when considering how Black brilliance has been exploited, I think the book could have gone further. I would have loved additional chapters that examine how we sometimes get in our own way. For example, a deeper dive into 360 deals that many young R&B and hip-hop artists were signed to, along with the psychology behind why those who were victims of these deals repeated it with their artist, would have added another layer. A chapter on intellectual property for influencers and content creators would also feel timely and relevant. Lastly, the ending felt a bit abrupt. I wanted Davis to spend more time offering a blueprint for how we can better protect and own our brilliance moving forward, so we do not repeat past mistakes.
I highly recommend this book to content creators and to anyone interested in the history of Black America and intellectual property. With so much insight packed into these pages, you will walk away with a deeper respect for what our ancestors endured and a renewed drive to ensure their work was not in vain.
I learned so much from the depth and richness of the history within these pages. Each chapter builds on the last, sharing the experiences of Black Americans and the obstacles placed in their path by individuals, systems, and socioeconomic barriers determined to keep our greatness contained. Davis does an excellent job exploring how, across different periods in history, Black Americans either found ways to work the system to their advantage or suffered because of it. From enslaved people creating new inventions, to music publishing, the attack on hip-hop, and the rise of AI, she illustrates how we are in a constant fight not only to let our brilliance shine but also to be compensated fairly for the value it brings.
At the same time, when considering how Black brilliance has been exploited, I think the book could have gone further. I would have loved additional chapters that examine how we sometimes get in our own way. For example, a deeper dive into 360 deals that many young R&B and hip-hop artists were signed to, along with the psychology behind why those who were victims of these deals repeated it with their artist, would have added another layer. A chapter on intellectual property for influencers and content creators would also feel timely and relevant. Lastly, the ending felt a bit abrupt. I wanted Davis to spend more time offering a blueprint for how we can better protect and own our brilliance moving forward, so we do not repeat past mistakes.
I highly recommend this book to content creators and to anyone interested in the history of Black America and intellectual property. With so much insight packed into these pages, you will walk away with a deeper respect for what our ancestors endured and a renewed drive to ensure their work was not in vain.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Our Minds Were Always Free is a sharp, deeply researched examination of how Black artists have been exploited from enslavement to the modern entertainment industry. Entertainment attorney Lisa Davis traces the evolution of the theft from stolen enslaved labor to stolen intellectual property, showing how the mechanisms of exploitation simply adapted across generations.
What made this book especially effective is how clearly Davis connected ownership to survival, legacy, and generational wealth. Chapter after chapter, she highlights how Black creativity built industries while the creators themselves were often denied protection, compensation, and control.
Davis moves through examples spanning Bessie Smith, Berry Gordy, Michael Jackson, 2 Live Crew, Robert Townsend, and Spike Lee, illustrating how systemic inequality, limited legal access, and widespread misunderstanding of copyright law allowed others to profit from Black artistry.
I did find myself wanting more exploration of how some influential Black entertainment figures replicated similar exploitative practices within their own communities. I also would have appreciated more discussion surrounding protections for underage artists navigating the industry.
Still, this is an enlightening and important read for anyone interested in music, film, art, copyright, or the long fight for Black artists to maintain ownership over the work they create.
ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley. Opinions are my own.
What made this book especially effective is how clearly Davis connected ownership to survival, legacy, and generational wealth. Chapter after chapter, she highlights how Black creativity built industries while the creators themselves were often denied protection, compensation, and control.
Davis moves through examples spanning Bessie Smith, Berry Gordy, Michael Jackson, 2 Live Crew, Robert Townsend, and Spike Lee, illustrating how systemic inequality, limited legal access, and widespread misunderstanding of copyright law allowed others to profit from Black artistry.
I did find myself wanting more exploration of how some influential Black entertainment figures replicated similar exploitative practices within their own communities. I also would have appreciated more discussion surrounding protections for underage artists navigating the industry.
Still, this is an enlightening and important read for anyone interested in music, film, art, copyright, or the long fight for Black artists to maintain ownership over the work they create.
ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley. Opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Our Minds Were Always Free
by Lisa Davis
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I read this in two days. That tells you everything.
Lisa Davis has written something rare — a factual book about Black achievement in entertainment, music, and film that reads like you cannot put it down. She recovers names and stories that have been overlooked for far too long. Oscar Micheaux made Within Our Gates in 1920 and the Hollywood establishment didn't recognize him until 1987 — ten years after his death. Sister Rosetta Tharpe pioneered the guitar techniques in the 1940s and 1960s that we now credit to Keith Richards and Eric Clapton. I love Prince deeply, but she did it first.
What sets this book apart is how Davis weaves legal history — copyright law, intellectual property, the systems that allowed or denied generational wealth — into something you can actually understand and deeply appreciate. That's not easy to do, and she does it beautifully.
One line stopped me cold: "The extent to which American exceptionalism was powered not only by Black bodies but Black brains is a significant part of history we must face, despite the desire of racists to erase it." In this current climate, that isn't just history. It's a challenge to what is happening right now.
Buy the hardcover. You will come back to this one.
Read my full review at Being Michele: https://michelewgreene.substack.com/p...
by Lisa Davis
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I read this in two days. That tells you everything.
Lisa Davis has written something rare — a factual book about Black achievement in entertainment, music, and film that reads like you cannot put it down. She recovers names and stories that have been overlooked for far too long. Oscar Micheaux made Within Our Gates in 1920 and the Hollywood establishment didn't recognize him until 1987 — ten years after his death. Sister Rosetta Tharpe pioneered the guitar techniques in the 1940s and 1960s that we now credit to Keith Richards and Eric Clapton. I love Prince deeply, but she did it first.
What sets this book apart is how Davis weaves legal history — copyright law, intellectual property, the systems that allowed or denied generational wealth — into something you can actually understand and deeply appreciate. That's not easy to do, and she does it beautifully.
One line stopped me cold: "The extent to which American exceptionalism was powered not only by Black bodies but Black brains is a significant part of history we must face, despite the desire of racists to erase it." In this current climate, that isn't just history. It's a challenge to what is happening right now.
Buy the hardcover. You will come back to this one.
Read my full review at Being Michele: https://michelewgreene.substack.com/p...
August 14, 2026
Our Minds Were Always Free is a survey of various time periods and structures around how intellectual property (inventions, copyright) rules and governance led to abuse and thievery of value created by Black creators. David covers various time periods where inventions were made or art was created and highlights what the legal structure was like then, how it evolved over time, and how Black inventors, creators, and business people worked within and to change the system.
I found the book to be superficial and largely devoid of policy recommendations for today or actionable items for people to adopt in their day to day life to improve the environment and support artists and creators. There have been a number of recent cases and laws that have shifted the landscape, and many other policy ideas being developed. Also, there are organizations that are advocating for change. These topics weee left out of the book.
I did learn about some artists of the early 20th century that had a huge impact and were “erased” as well as some tragic outcomes.
While the struggle continues, I was left without any clear path forward and how I can impact with my voice and money.
I found the book to be superficial and largely devoid of policy recommendations for today or actionable items for people to adopt in their day to day life to improve the environment and support artists and creators. There have been a number of recent cases and laws that have shifted the landscape, and many other policy ideas being developed. Also, there are organizations that are advocating for change. These topics weee left out of the book.
I did learn about some artists of the early 20th century that had a huge impact and were “erased” as well as some tragic outcomes.
While the struggle continues, I was left without any clear path forward and how I can impact with my voice and money.
May 19, 2026
I always have an emotional reaction of anger and sadness to books like this because I can never understand what kind of Jolly someone gets, for destroying another persons ambition and hard work to better them selves. It was sad to see all these talented people being cheated out of their artistic works, some never being financially rewarded like they should have been. Maybe this book will put a spotlight on the abuse that happened to these people and maybe someday people will realize it's better to raise everyone up instead of putting someone down.
I want to thank Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advance copy of a book putting a spotlight on musicians and people in the music industry who tried to create more opportunities for themselves and others, when others kept slamming the door on their faces who tried.
I want to thank Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advance copy of a book putting a spotlight on musicians and people in the music industry who tried to create more opportunities for themselves and others, when others kept slamming the door on their faces who tried.
Review of advance copy
A brief history of Black creativity and entrepreneurship. This book often uses two examples of artists of a certain genre, one that didn't hold the rights to their work and one that did. (Eg Thelonius Monk and Billie Holiday.) There was a lot of quick summaries of stories that are told much more comprehensively in other places, but with the goal of pointing out how many Black artists and thinkers have contributed to our culture, and how often they were not compensated for their art.
Pretty good, and I am shocked that there is no biopic movie about Motown records with a stellar cast.
Pretty good, and I am shocked that there is no biopic movie about Motown records with a stellar cast.
May 4, 2026
I had the privilege of reading an advance copy of Lisa Davis’s Our Minds Were Always Free — and it is a spectacular exposition of Black excellence, resilience, and innovation. Davis reframes how we understand the American story, making clear that African-Americans have always been central contributors, not footnotes. Essential reading. Highest recommendation.
https://bookshop.org/p/books/our-mind...
https://bookshop.org/p/books/our-mind...
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Lisa E. Davis does a great job in making the past relevant to today. Each chapter educates the reader on significant chapters in film and music and the great impact of black accomplishments. It is an easy read that I would definitely recommend.
May 21, 2026
Solid history of Black artists being exploited and overcoming the odds in America. The focus is primarily on music and film and is comprehensive and engaging.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Pro: Excellent content for an entertainment law workshop, CLE, or class. Cons: Left me wishing this work included a chapter detailing how Black women are exposed to and exploited by the industry overall, and by men in particular, and a separate section (not chapter) detailing the exploitive activities levied by Black entertainment professionals against Black entertainers. Conclusive review: An original argument diluted by overemphasis on legal and political theory.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews