Black History Month Books for Adults

Updated January 23, 2026
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American scare : Florida's hidden cold war on Black and queer lives
Fieseler, Robert W.
Paper Book
In January of 1959, Art Copleston was escorted out of his college accounting class by three police officers. In a motel room, blinds drawn, he sat in front of a state senator and the legal counsel for the Florida Legislative Investigation Committee. His crime? Being a suspected homosexual. And the...
Black AF history : the un-whitewashed story of America
Harriot, Michael
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From acclaimed columnist and political commentator Michael Harriot, a searingly smart and bitingly hilarious retelling of American history that corrects the record and showcases the perspectives and experiences of Black Americans. America...
Black writers of the founding era, 1760-1800
Basker, James G.
Paper Book
Black Writers of the Founding Era is the most comprehensive anthology ever published of Black writing from the turbulent decades surrounding the birth of the United States. An unprecedented archive of historical sources-including more than 200 poems, letters, sermons, newspaper advertisements, slave...
Combee : Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black freedom during the Civil War
Fields-Black, Edda L.
Paper Book
Winner, 2025 Pulitzer Prize for History Winner, 2025 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize Publishers Weekly Starred Review Library Journal Starred Review Booklist Top Ten History Books of 2024 The story of the Combahee River Raid, one of Harriet Tubman's...
Glory daze
Arceneaux, Danielle
Paper Book
"Glory Broussard's talents and foibles as a human and a crime-solver on full display in Arceneaux's sublime Glory Daze."--Sarah Weinman, The New York Times Book Review, "Best Mystery Novels of the Year" In the highly anticipated follow-up to the award-winning...
Invisible generals : rediscovering family legacy, and a quest to honor America's first Black generals
Melville, Doug
Paper Book
The amazing true story of America's first Black generals, Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. and Jr., a father and son who helped integrate the American military and created the Tuskegee Airmen. Perfect for fans of Devotion and Hidden Figures. Red Tails, George Lucas's...
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...
No right to an honest living : the struggles of Boston's Black workers in the Civil War era
Jones, Jacqueline
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE IN HISTORY A "sensitive, immersive, and exhaustive" portrait of Black workers and white hypocrisy in nineteenth-century Boston, from "a gifted practitioner of labor history and urban history" (Tiya Miles, National Book Award-winning author...
A pair of wings : a novel
Hopson, Carole
Paper Book
An airline captain crafts a riveting, adventurous novel inspired by the remarkable true life of pioneer aviatrix Bessie Coleman, a Black woman who learned to fly at the dawn of aviation and found freedom in the air A few years after the Wright brothers' first flight, Bessie...
People of Means
Johnson, Nancy
Paper Book
From the acclaimed author of The Kindest Lie, a propulsive novel about a mother and daughter each seeking justice and following their dreams during moments of social reckoning--1960s Nashville and 1992 Chicago; perfect for readers of Brit Bennett and Tayari Jones. ...
The potting shed murder
Sutton, Paula
Paper Book
From the creator of Hill House Vintage and "Queen of Cottagecore" (Vogue), a fresh, witty, fun, and delightfully quirky cozy crime novel set in a seemingly sleepy English village for fans of Richard Osman, Parini Shroff, Benjamin Stevenson, and Anthony Horowitz. "Miss Marple...
Son of the morning : a novel
Emezi, Akwaeke
Paper Book
DELUXE LIMITED EDITION features stenciled edges, color endpapers, and a unique jacket that reveals an alternate case cover illustration when removed. Available for a limited time while supplies last. From New York Times bestselling author Akwaeke Emezi comes a steamy paranormal...
The swans of Harlem : five Black ballerinas, fifty years of sisterhood, and their reclamation of a groundbreaking history
Valby, Karen
Paper Book
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW NOTABLE BOOK * Finalist for the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography * The forgotten story of a pioneering group of five Black ballerinas and their fifty-year sisterhood, a legacy erased from history--until now. "This is the kind...
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,...
The wilderness : a novel
Flournoy, Angela
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER FINALIST FOR THE KIRKUS PRIZE FOR FICTION FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITIC CIRCLES AWARD FOR FICTION LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION LONGLISTED FOR THE ASPEN WORDS LITERARY PRIZE ...

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