Black Voices & Culture

Updated March 19, 2024
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LINCC (Libraries in Clackamas County)
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I am every good thing
Barnes, Derrick
Paper Book
An upbeat, empowering, important picture book from the team that created the award-winning Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut. A perfect gift for any special occasion! I am a nonstop ball of energy. Powerful and full of light. I am a...

Picture book

Antiracist Baby
Kendi, Ibram X.
Paper Book
A #1 New York Times Bestseller! From the National Book Award-winning author of Stamped from the Beginning and How to Be an Antiracist comes a new full-sized picture book that empowers parents and children to uproot racism in our society and in ourselves,...

Picture book

The hate u give
Thomas, Angie
Paper Book
8 starred reviews · Goodreads Choice Awards Best of the Best  ·  William C. Morris Award Winner · National Book Award Longlist · Printz Honor Book · Coretta Scott King Honor Book · #1 New York Times Bestseller! "Absolutely riveting!" --Jason Reynolds "Stunning." -...

Young Adult Fiction

March. Book one
Lewis, John
Paper Book
#1New York TimesBestseller Congressman John Lewis (GA-5) is an American icon and key figure of the civil rights movement. His commitment to justice and nonviolence has taken him from an Alabama sharecropper's farm to the halls of Congress, from a segregated schoolroom to...

Young Adult Graphic Novel

The undefeated
Alexander, Kwame
Paper Book
Winner of the 2020 Caldecott Medal A 2020 Newbery Honor Book Winner of the 2020 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award The Newbery Award-winning author of THE CROSSOVER pens an ode to black American triumph and tribulation, with art from a two-time...

Picture book

You matter
Robinson, Christian
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! Five starred reviews! Named Best Book of the Year by Barnes & Noble, The New York Times/New York Public Library, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal They All Saw a Cat...

Picture book

All because you matter
Charles, Tami
Paper Book
Instant New York Times bestseller! A lyrical, heart-lifting love letter to Black and brown children everywhere: reminding them how much they matter, that they have always mattered, and they always will, from powerhouse rising star author Tami Charles and esteemed, award...

Picture book

Daddy speaks love
Henderson, Leah
Paper Book
A moving tribute to the joy and grounding that fathers bring to their children's lives. What does a daddy do? From day one, this daddy speaks love to his little one. And along with that love, his words and actions speak many other things, too- like truth, joy, comfort, and pride....

Picture book

The me I choose to be
Tarpley, Natasha Anastasia
Paper Book
In this "exquisite" (Shelf Awareness) "affirming" (Kirkus), and "empowering visual essay" (Publishers Weekly) the bestselling author of I Love My Hair! joins forces with the dynamic photography duo behind Glory to create a stunning celebration of the...

Picture book

Wanda
Nontshokweni, Sihle
Paper Book
An empowering picture book from South Africa about a young girl who overcomes endless teasing Skipping Stones Honor Award Winner 2021 Meet Wanda, with her beautiful head full of hair. She is brave and strong, but she's unhappy because of the endless teasing by...

Picture book

A history of me
Theodore, Adrea
Paper Book
An uplifting message of hope for the future and pride in your history, inspired by a mother's experience of being the only Black child in her classroom. Who do you see when you look in the mirror? Emphasizing the strength, creativity, and courage passed down through...

Picture book

When Langston dances
Langley, Kaija
Paper Book
A young Black boy dreams of dancing in this exuberant, buoyant picture book celebrating the beauty of dance, and the wonder of Black Boy Joy--perfect for fans of Firebird and Crown! Langston likes basketball okay, but what he loves is to dance--ever since he...

Picture book

Keep your head up
King Neil, Aliya
Paper Book
Teach little ones that it's okay to have a bad day in this brightly illustrated, gently affirmative picture book about keeping our heads up and letting things pass. When a child wakes up late one day, it's only the first in a series of things to go terribly awry. But the people...

Picture book

I am you : a book about ubuntu
Moahloli, Refiloe
Paper Book
We may be different, but our hearts beat the same. In southern Africa, there is a belief called ubuntu--the idea that we are all connected. No matter where we're from or who we are, a person is a person through their connections to other people. With simple, lyrical text and...

Picture book

Dream Street
Walker, Tricia Elam
Paper Book
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST CHILDREN'S BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES . FIVE STARRED REVIEWS Visit a truly special street bursting with joy, hope, and dreams. Inspired by the neighborhood where they grew up as cousins, this gorgeous picture book from an award...

Picture book

The vast wonder of the world : biologist Ernest Everett Just
Mangal, Mélina
Paper Book
"A must-purchase picture book biography of a figure sure to inspire awe and admiration among readers."--School Library Journal (starred review) Extraordinary illustrations and lyrical text present pioneering African American scientist Ernest Everett Just. Ernest Everett Just was not...

Picture book

Stuntboy, in the meantime
Reynolds, Jason
Paper Book
A Schneider Family Award Honor Book for Middle Grade From Newbery Medal honoree and #1 New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds comes a hilarious, hopeful, and action-packed middle grade novel about the greatest young superhero you've never heard of, filled with...

Juvenile Fiction

King and the dragonflies
Callender, Kacen
Paper Book
A 2021 Coretta Scott King Honor Book! Winner of the 2020 National Book Award for Young People's Literature! Winner of the 2020 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction and Poetry! In a small but turbulent Louisiana town, one boy's grief takes him...

Juvenile Fiction

Little Shaq
O'Neal, Shaquille
Paper Book
For early reader sports fans, this series from superstar Shaquille O'Neal will inspire kids to love reading. When Little Shaq and his cousin Barry accidentally break their favorite video game, they need to find a way to replace it. That's when Little Shaq's science project...

Juvenile Fiction

Brown girl dreaming
Woodson, Jacqueline
Paper Book
Jacqueline Woodson's National Book Award and Newbery Honor winner is a powerful memoir that tells the moving story of her childhood in mesmerizing verse. A President Obama "O" Book Club pick Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt...

Juvenile Fiction

The crossover
Alexander, Kwame.
Paper Book
Series streaming now on Disney+, with executive producers including NBA great LeBron James! The Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award-winning middle grade bestseller! Basketball and heartache share the court in this slam-dunk novel in verse. "With a bolt of lightning on my...

Juvenile Fiction

Ways to make sunshine
Watson, Renée
Paper Book
From Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Award winner Renée Watson, the first book in a young middle grade series about Ryan Hart, a girl who is pure spirit, kindness, and sunshine. Ryan Hart can be and do anything. Her name means "king", that she is a leader, and she...

Juvenile Fiction

Ikenga
Okorafor, Nnedi
Paper Book
Nnedi Okorafor's acclaimed first novel for middle grade readers introduces a boy who can access super powers with the help of the magical Ikenga. Nnamdi's father was a good chief of police, perhaps the best Kalaria had ever had. He was determined to root out the criminals that...

Juvenile Fiction

Call me Miss Hamilton : one woman's case for equality and respect
Weatherford, Carole Boston
Paper Book
Discover the true story of the woman Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. nicknamed "Red" because of her fiery spirit! Mary Hamilton grew up knowing right from wrong. She was proud to be Black, and when the chance came along to join the Civil Rights Movement and become a Freedom Rider, she was eager...

Juvenile Nonfiction

Jump at the sun : the true life tale of unstoppable storycatcher Zora Neale Hurston
Williams, Alicia
Paper Book
From the Newbery Honor-winning author of Genesis Begins Again comes a shimmering picture book that shines the light on Zora Neale Hurston, the extraordinary writer and storycatcher extraordinaire who changed the face of American literature. Zora was a girl who hankered for...

Juvenile Nonfiction

Beautiful shades of brown : the art of Laura Wheeler Waring
Churnin, Nancy
Paper Book
Growing up in the late 19th century, Laura Wheeler Waring didn't see any artists who looked like her. She didn't see any paintings of people who looked like her, either. As a young woman studying art in Paris, she found inspiration in the works of Matisse and Gaugin to paint the people she knew...

Juvenile Nonfiction

The people remember
Zoboi, Ibi Aanu
Paper Book
From award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Ibi Zoboi comes her debut picture book--a tour de force that uses the principles of Kwanzaa to talk about the history of African Americans. This lyrical, powerful tribute is sumptuously illustrated by New Yorker artist and rising star Loveis...

Juvenile Nonfiction

Unspeakable : the Tulsa Race Massacre
Weatherford, Carole Boston
Paper Book
Winner of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards for Author and Illustrator A Caldecott Honor Book A Sibert Honor Book Longlisted for the National Book Award A Kirkus Prize Finalist A Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book "A must-have"--Booklist (starred review)<...

Juvenile Nonfiction

It's Trevor Noah : born a crime : stories from a South African childhood
Noah, Trevor
Paper Book
The host of The Daily Show, Trevor Noah, shares his personal story and the injustices he faced while growing up half black, half white in South Africa under and after apartheid in this New York Times bestselling young readers' adaptation of his adult memoir. ...

Juvenile Nonfiction

New kid
Craft, Jerry
Paper Book
Winner of the Newbery Medal, Coretta Scott King Author Award, and Kirkus Prize for Young Readers' Literature!  Perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Gene Luen Yang, New Kid is a timely, honest graphic novel about starting over at a new school where diversity is low...

Juvenile Graphic Novel

Ain't burned all the bright
Reynolds, Jason
Paper Book
A Caldecott Honor winner! Prepare yourself for something unlike anything: A smash-up of art and text for teens that viscerally captures what it is to be Black. In America. Right Now. Written by #1 New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jason Reynolds....

Young Adult Fiction

Blackout
Clayton, Dhonielle
Paper Book
Six critically acclaimed, bestselling, and award-winning authors bring the glowing warmth and electricity of Black teens in love to this charming, hilarious, and heartwarming novel that shines a bright light through the dark. A summer heatwave blankets New York City in darkness. But as the...

Young Adult Fiction

Within these wicked walls : a novel
Blackwood, Lauren
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERREESE'S BOOK CLUB FALL 2021 YA PICK "Lauren Blackwood's can't-miss debut is a magical, Ethiopian-inspired remix of Jane Eyre." - Harper's Bazaar What the heart desires, the...

Young Adult Fiction

Ace of spades
Àbíké-Íyímídé, Faridah
Paper Book
Gossip Girl meets Get Out in Ace of Spades, a YA contemporary thriller by debut author Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé about two students, Devon & Chiamaka, and their struggles against an anonymous bully. All you need to know is . . . I'm here to divide and...

Young Adult Fiction

The taking of Jake Livingston
Douglass, Ryan
Paper Book
An Instant New York Times Bestseller! Get Out meets Holly Jackson in this YA social thriller where survival is not a guarantee. Sixteen-year-old Jake Livingston sees dead people everywhere. But he can't decide what's worse: being a medium forced...

Young Adult Fiction

Pride
Zoboi, Ibi Aanu
Paper Book
In a timely update of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi skillfully balances cultural identity, class, and gentrification against the heady magic of first love in her vibrant reimagining of this beloved classic. A smart, funny, gorgeous...

Young Adult Fiction

Skin of the sea
Bowen, Natasha
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The must-read Black mermaid fantasy series that #1 NYT bestselling author Nicola Yoon calls "epic and original," in which one mermaid takes on the gods themselves. Perfect for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and anyone who can't...

Young Adult Fiction

The sum of us : what racism costs everyone and how we can prosper together
McGhee, Heather C.
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD * One of today's most insightful and influential thinkers offers a powerful exploration of inequality and the lesson that generations of Americans have failed to learn: Racism has a cost for everyone--not just for people of...

Young Adult Nonfiction

I'm a wild seed
De la Cruz, Sharon Lee
Paper Book
"The queer community is lucky to have Sharon on our side, using her skills and passions to create a better world for all of us."--Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic A collection of lively autobiographical comics guiding the reader through an understanding of...

Young Adult Graphic Novel

D'Vaughn and Kris plan a wedding
Higgins, Chencia C.
Paper Book
A New York Times best romance pick A Today Show best romance pick from New York Times bestselling author Jasmine Guillory D'Vaughn and Kris have six weeks to plan their dream wedding. Their whole relationship is fake. ...

Adult Fiction

The vanishing half
Bennett, Brit
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2020 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES * THE WASHINGTON POST * NPR * PEOPLE * TIME MAGAZINE * VANITY FAIR * GLAMOUR New York Times<...

Adult Fiction

Harlem shuffle
Whitehead, Colson
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, this gloriously entertaining novel is "fast-paced, keen-eyed and very funny ... about race, power and the history of Harlem all disguised as a thrill...

Adult Fiction

An extraordinary union
Cole, Alyssa
Paper Book
An Entertainment Weekly TOP 10 ROMANCE BOOKS OF THE YEAR A Bookpage TOP PICK A Kirkus BEST BOOKS OF 2017 A Vulture TOP 10 ROMANCE BOOKS OF 2017 A Publishers Weekly ...

Adult Fiction

Blanche on the lam : a Blanche White mystery
Neely, Barbara
Paper Book
It's hard enough making ends meet on the pittance Blanche White earns doing day work for the genteel Southern families of North Carolina. But when her fourth bad check lands her a jail sentence, Blanche goes on the lam. Inadvertently, she finds work at the summer home of a wealthy family, the...

Adult Fiction

An American marriage : a novel
Jones, Tayari
Paper Book
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB 2018 SELECTION LONGLISTED FOR THE 2018 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION "One of my favorite parts of summer is deciding what to read when things slow down just a bit, whether it's on a...

Adult Fiction

Bluebird, bluebird : a novel
Locke, Attica
Paper Book
A "heartbreakingly resonant" thriller about the explosive intersection of love, race, and justice from a writer and producer of the Emmy-winning Fox TV show Empire (USA Today). "In Bluebird, Bluebird Attica Locke had both mastered the thriller and exceeded it...

Adult Fiction

I'm so (not) over you
Jackson, Kosoko
Paper Book
It's been months since aspiring journalist Kian Andrews has heard from his ex-boyfriend, Hudson Rivers, but an urgent text has them meeting at a cafe. Hudson has a favour to ask - he wants Kian to pretend to be his boyfriend while his parents are in town, and Kian reluctantly agrees. The dinner...

Adult Fiction

Wife of the gods : a novel
Quartey, Kwei J.
Paper Book
For fans of Alexander McCall Smith, a debut mystery set in West Africa that introduces a marvelous detective and a culturally rich community Detective Inspector Darko Dawson, a good family man and a remarkably intuitive sleuth, is sent to the village of Ketanu—the site of his mother’s...

Adult Fiction

The underground railroad : a novel
Whitehead, Colson
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * PULITZER PRIZE WINNER * NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER * "An American masterpiece" (NPR) that chronicles a young slave's adventures as she makes a desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South. One of The New York Times's 10...

Adult Fiction

The wedding
West, Dorothy
Paper Book
On the island of Martha's Vineyard in the 1950s there exists a proud, insular, nearly unassailable community known as the Oval, made up of the best and brightest of New York's and Boston's black bourgeoisie. Dr. Clark Coles and his wife Corinne, pillars of this community, are mortified that their...

Adult Fiction

Wild rain
Jenkins, Beverly
Paper Book
USA Today bestselling author Beverly Jenkins continues her captivating Women Who Dare series with a female rancher who forges her own path in the wake of the Civil War...  Banished by her grandfather at the age of eighteen, Spring Lee has survived scandal to claim her...

Adult Fiction

Kindred
Butler, Octavia E.
Paper Book
From the New York Times bestselling author of Parable of the Sower and MacArthur "Genius" Grant, Nebula, and Hugo award winner The visionary time-travel classic whose Black female hero is pulled through time to face the horrors of American slavery and explores the...

Adult Fiction

Watermelon & red birds : a cookbook for Juneteenth and black celebrations
Taylor, Nicole A.
Paper Book
The very first cookbook to celebrate Juneteenth, from food writer and cookbook author Nicole A. Taylor--who draws on her decade of experiences observing the holiday. On June 19, 1865, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, Major...

Adult Nonfiction

Jubilee : recipes from two centuries of African American cooking
Tipton-Martin, Toni
Paper Book
"A celebration of African American cuisine right now, in all of its abundance and variety."-Tejal Rao, The New York Times JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER . IACP AWARD WINNER . IACP BOOK OF THE YEAR. TONI TIPTON-MARTIN NAMED THE 2021 JULIA CHILD AWARD RECIPIENT ...

Adult Nonfiction

Somebody's daughter : a memoir
Ford, Ashley C.
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NBCC John Leonard Prize Finalist Indie Bestseller "This is a book people will be talking about forever." --Glennon Doyle, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Untamed "Ford's...

Adult Nonfiction

Yoke : my yoga of self-acceptance
Stanley, Jessamyn
Paper Book
Finding self-acceptance both on and off the mat. In Sanskrit, yoga means to "yoke." To yoke mind and body, movement and breath, light and dark, the good and the bad. This larger idea of "yoke" is what Jessamyn Stanley calls the yoga of the everyday--a yoga that is not just about perfecting your...

Adult Nonfiction

Things that make white people uncomfortable
Bennett, Michael
Paper Book
A version for Young Adults is also available. Michael Bennett is a Super Bowl Champion, a three-time Pro Bowl defensive end, a fearless activist, a feminist, a grassroots philanthropist, an organizer, and a change maker. He's also one of the most scathingly humorous athletes on the planet, and he...

Adult Nonfiction

Black love matters : real talk on romance, being seen, and happily ever afters
Pryde, Jessica P.
Paper Book
For Black people in the United States and across the diaspora, it hasn't often been easy to find Black romance joyfully showcased in entertainment media. In this collection, revered authors and sparkling newcomers, librarians and academicians, and avid readers and reviewers consider the mirrors and...

Adult Nonfiction

The body is not an apology : the power of radical self-love
Taylor, Sonya Renee
Paper Book
"To build a world that works for everyone, we must first make the radical decision to love every facet of ourselves...'The body is not an apology' is the mantra we should all embrace." --Kimberle Crenshaw, legal scholar and founder and Executive Director, African American Policy Forum<...

Adult Nonfiction

A knock at midnight : a story of hope, justice, and freedom
Barnett, Brittany K.
Paper Book
LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE FINALIST * NAACP IMAGE AWARD NOMINEE * A "powerful and devastating" (The Washington Post) call to free those buried alive by America's legal system, and an inspiring true story about unwavering belief in humanity--from a gifted young...

Adult Nonfiction

The sweetness of water
Harris, Nathan
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER / AN OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK ONE OF PRESIDENT OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2021  Winner of the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence Winner of the Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction ...

Adult Fiction


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