Books That Teach Black History

01 / 59

Strung Up

Stacey Patton

02 / 59

The Great Wherever (Reese's Book Club)

Shannon Sanders

03 / 59

Hubert Harrison

Brian Kwoba

04 / 59

North of Slavery

Leon F Litwack

Leon Litwack examines free African Americans’ lives in the North before the Civil War, including segregation, violence, and restrictions on opportunity.

Synopsis

05 / 59

Been in the Storm So Long (Pulitzer Prize Winner)

Leon F Litwack

“As a comprehensive study of the coming of freedom, Litwack's book has no rival.”
C. Vann Woodward, The New York Review of BooksPublished endorsement

06 / 59

Black Against Empire

Joshua Bloom, Waldo E Martin Jr

Bloom and Martin place the Black Panthers within a larger struggle over policing, community survival, and revolutionary power.

Synopsis

07 / 59

Black Marxism, Revised and Updated Third Edition

Cedric J Robinson, Robin D G Kelley

“Black Marxismis one of the key sources of the idea of 'racial capitalism' and offers an important account of the lineage of Black radical thought.”
Journal of Historical GeographyPublished endorsement

08 / 59

Black Out Loud

Geoff Bennett

“Black Out Loud not only offers a brilliant historical account of Black comedy and its role and place in American life.”
Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., Princeton University Distinguished ProfessorPublished endorsement

09 / 59

How Europe Underdeveloped Africa

Walter Rodney, Angela Davis

Walter Rodney argues that European colonialism and exploitation shaped Africa’s economic underdevelopment and its relationship with Western wealth.

Synopsis

10 / 59

The Conjuring of America

Lindsey Stewart

11 / 59

Our Minds Were Always Free

Lisa E Davis

“There’s so much to admire in this perceptive book.Lively and smart, this is a must for music lovers.”
Kirkus (starred review)Review excerpt

12 / 59

When Trees Testify

Beronda L. Montgomery

13 / 59

I Just Keep Talking

Nell Irvin Painter

“Painter puts muscle and heart into history so that her readers can easily, but thoughtfully, draw the lines between past and present.”
Robin Givhan, The Washington PostReview excerpt

14 / 59

A Black Queer History of the United States

C. Riley Snorton, Darius Bost

15 / 59

The Three Mothers

Anna Malaika Tubbs

“A refreshing, well-researched contribution to Black women’s history.”
Kirkus ReviewsReview excerpt

16 / 59

Black History Is for Everyone

Brian Jones

17 / 59

Medgar and Myrlie

Joy-Ann Reid

18 / 59

Barracoon

Zora Neale Hurston, Alice Walker

“An invaluable addition to American social, cultural, and political history.”
Publishers Weekly (starred review)Review excerpt

19 / 59

Barracoon: Adapted for Young Readers

Zora Neale Hurston, Ibram X. Kendi

20 / 59

Black-Owned

Char Adams

21 / 59

Four Hundred Souls

Ibram X. Kendi, Keisha N. Blain

22 / 59

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey

Maya Angelou recounts her childhood and adolescence, including family separation, racism, sexual violence, and her developing relationship with literature.

Synopsis

23 / 59

A Black Women's History of the United States

Daina Ramey Berry, Kali Nicole Gross

24 / 59

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Rebecca Skloot

“Immortal Life reads like a novel.”
The Washington PostReview excerpt

25 / 59

I Am Not Your Negro

James Baldwin, Raoul Peck

“This might be the only movie about race relations that adequately explains—with sympathy—the root causes.”
The GuardianReview excerpt

26 / 59

“Gordon-Reed offers a timely history lesson.”
Daina Ramey Berry "Washington PostReview excerpt

30 / 59

Twenty Dollars and Change

Clarence Lusane, Kali Holloway

31 / 59

The Scholar and the Struggle

David A Varel

“Lawrence Reddick serves as a lens into the complexities of the Black freedom struggle during the twentieth century.”
Society for U.S. Intellectual HistoryPublished endorsement

Cover of Black History for Every Day of the Year

32 / 59

Synopsis

35 / 59

The Warmth of Other Suns

Isabel Wilkerson

36 / 59

How the Word Is Passed

Clint Smith

“Raises questions that we must all address, without recourse to wishful thinking or the collective ignorance and willful denial that fuels white supremacy.”
Martha Anne Toll, The Washington PostReview excerpt

37 / 59

How the Word Is Passed (Adapted for Young Readers)

Clint Smith, Sonja Cherry-Paul

“Deeply engaging, this is a timely and important contribution to reshaping the American experience to include all participants.”
Booklist, starred reviewReview excerpt

38 / 59

The ABCs of Black History

Rio Cortez, Lauren Semmer

39 / 59

Freedom Is a Constant Struggle

Angela Y Davis, Frank Barat

“Angela is the living proof that this arduous challenge can also be an exhilarating and beautiful one.”
Archbishop Desmond TutuPublished endorsement

40 / 59

“This book will have a permanent place in the literature of the Afro-American struggle.”
I. F. StonePublished endorsement

44 / 59

The 1619 Project: Born on the Water

Nikole Hannah-Jones, Renée Watson

45 / 59

The 1619 Project

Nikole Hannah-Jones, The New York Times Magazine

“Those readers open to fresh and startling interpretations of history will find this book a comprehensive education.”
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)Review excerpt

46 / 59

The Black Panther Party

David F. Walker, Marcus Kwame Anderson

“Walker strives for a comprehensive view, dedicating his book to the party’s ‘rank and file’ involved in community work.”
The New York Times Book ReviewReview excerpt

47 / 59

“A vivid, novelistic narrative that makes the reader acutely aware of the magnitude of the horror perpetrated by King Leopold and his minions.”
The New York TimesReview excerpt