Black Voices & Culture: Non-Fiction Books for Adults

Explore our curated list of non-fiction books by Black and African American voices in celebration of Black History Month.

Updated December 22, 2024
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My black country : a journey through country music's black past, present, and future
Randall, Alice
Paper Book
Alice Randall, award-winning professor, songwriter, and author presents "a celebration of all things country music" (Ken Burns) as she reflects on her search for the first family of Black country music. Country music had brought Alice Randall and her activist mother together and...
Gather me : a memoir in praise of the books that saved me
Edim, Glory
Paper Book
A "dramatic [and] ingeniously crafted" (Los Angeles Times) memoir of family, community, and resilience, and an ode to the power of books to help us understand ourselves, from the renowned founder of Well-Read Black Girl. "A beautiful portrait of a full life that...
Black liturgies : prayers, poems, and meditations for staying human
Arthur Riley, Cole
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A collection of prayer, poetry, and spiritual practice centering the Black interior world, from the author of This Here Flesh and creator of Black Liturgies "A true spiritual balm for our troubled times."--Michael Eric Dyson,...
Night flyer : Harriet Tubman and the faith dreams of a free people
Miles, Tiya
Paper Book
Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Biography * A Washington Post Notable Book * Finalist for the PEN America Literary Award *One of Smithsonian Magazine's Ten Best History Books of the Year * One of AAIHS's Best Black History Books of 2024 "Though...
Madness : race and insanity in a Jim Crow asylum
Hylton, Antonia
Paper Book
A New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2024 * A New Yorker Best Book of 2024 New York Times Bestseller * USA Today Bestseller Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Books of the Year *...
Our hidden conversations : what Americans really think about race and identity
Norris, Michele
Paper Book
Peabody Award-winning journalist Michele Norris offers a transformative dialogue on race and identity in America, unearthed through her decade-long work at The Race Card Project. The prompt seemed simple: Race. Your Thoughts. Six Words. Please Send. The answers,...
Hell put to shame : the 1921 Murder Farm massacre and the horror of America's second slavery
Swift, Earl
Paper Book
From the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of Chesapeake Requiem comes a gripping new work of narrative nonfiction telling the forgotten story of the mass killing of eleven Black farmhands on a Georgia plantation in the spring of 1921--a crime which...
The survivors of the Clotilda : the lost stories of the last captives of the American slave trade
Durkin, Hannah
Paper Book
NAMED A TOP BOOK OF 2024 BY AMAZON AND WASHINGTON POST "The Survivors of the Clotilda, a comprehensive account of one of the most important parts of American history, is a triumph."--Booklist (starred review) "A welcome history of defiance and survival."--Kirkus Reviews ...
The barn : the secret history of a murder in Mississippi
Thompson, Wright
Paper Book
The instant New York Times bestseller * Named a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post, Slate, Vanity Fair, TIME, Buzzfeed, Smithsonian, BookPage, KCUR, Kirkus, and Boston Globe * Nominated for a PEN America...
Medgar & Myrlie : Medgar Evers and the love story that awakened America
Reid, Joy-Ann
Paper Book
#1 New York Times Bestseller NAACP Image Award Winner From Joy-Ann Reid, a triumphant work of biography that repositions slain Civil Rights pioneer Medgar Evers at the heart of America's struggle for freedom, and celebrates Myrlie Evers's extraordinary activism after her husband's...
Late admissions : confessions of a Black conservative
Loury, Glenn C.
Paper Book
Economist Glenn C. Loury is one of the most prominent public intellectuals of our time: he's often radically opposed to the political mainstream, and delights in upending what's expected of a Black public figure. But more so than the arguments themselves-on affirmative action, institutional...
The message
Coates, Ta-Nehisi
Paper Book
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER * NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The renowned author of Between the World and Me journeys to three resonant sites of conflict to explore how the stories we tell--and the ones we don't--shape our realities. "Ta-Nehisi Coates always writes with a...
Grown woman talk : your guide to getting and staying healthy
Malone, Sharon
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "A must-read for anyone who cares about their quality of life . . . Dr. Sharon Malone is the first person I turn to for a whole host of issues, especially my health."--MICHELLE OBAMA A practical guide to aging and health for women who have...

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