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...
American wings : Chicago's pioneering Black aviators and the race for equality in the sky
Smith, Sherri L.
Paper Book
From the acclaimed author of Flygirl andthe bestselling author of Code Name Verity comes the thrilling and inspiring true story of the desegregation of the skies. "This beautiful and brilliant history of not only what it means to be Black and dream of flying but...
Magically Black and other essays
Walker, Jerald
Paper Book
In this engaging follow up to How to Make a Slave and Other Essays, the recipient of PEN New England Award for nonfiction and finalist for the National Book Award sharply examines and explains Black life and culture with equal parts candor and humor. In Magically Black and...
This is the honey : an anthology of contemporary Black poets
Alexander, Kwame
Paper Book
A breathtaking poetry collection on hope, heart, and heritage from the most prominent and promising Black poets and writers of our time, edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author Kwame Alexander. In this comprehensive and vibrant poetry anthology,...
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 * One of Smithsonian Magazine's Ten Best History Books of the Year "Though broad strokes of Tubman's story are widely known, Miles probes deeper, examining her inner life,...
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,...
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 "It literally changed...
Medgar & Myrlie : Medgar Evers and the love story that awakened America
Reid, Joy-Ann
Paper Book
#1 New York Times Bestseller "Medgar Evers deserves a place alongside Malcolm X and Dr. King in our historical memory. Evers, with Myrlie as his partner in activism and in life, was doing civil rights work in the single most hostile and dangerous environment in America."--from Medgar...
A passionate mind in relentless pursuit : the vision of Mary McLeod Bethune
Rooks, Noliwe
Paper Book
An intimate and searching account of the life and legacy of one of America's towering educators, a woman who dared to center the progress of Black women and girls in the larger struggle for political and social liberation When Mary McLeod Bethune died, tributes in newspapers...
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...

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