2025 Black History Month: African Americans and Labor - Adults

Celebrate Black History Month 2025's theme African American and Labor for adults.

Updated December 22, 2024
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Rooted : the American legacy of land theft and the modern movement for Black land ownership
Baker, Brea
Paper Book
Why is less than 1% of rural land in the U.S. owned by Black people? An acclaimed writer and activist explores the impact of land theft and violent displacement on racial wealth gaps, arguing that justice stems from the literal roots of the earth. "With heartfelt prose and...
We are each other's harvest : celebrating African American farmers, land, and legacy
Baszile, Natalie
Paper Book
A WALL STREET JOURNAL FAVORITE FOOD BOOK OF THE EAR From the author of Queen Sugar--now a critically acclaimed series on OWN directed by Ava Duvernay--comes a beautiful exploration and celebration of black farming in America.  In this impressive...
Twice as hard : the stories of Black women who fought to become physicians, from the Civil War to the 21st Century
Brown, Jasmine
Paper Book
Black women physicians' stories have gone untold for far too long, leaving gaping holes in American medical history, in women's history, and in black history. It's time to set the record straight No real account of black women physicians in the US exists, and what little mention...
We return fighting : World War I and the shaping of modern Black identity
Conwill, Kinshasha
Paper Book
A richly illustrated commemoration of African Americans' roles in World War I highlighting how the wartime experience reshaped their lives and their communities after they returned home. This stunning book presents artifacts, medals, and photographs alongside powerful essays that...
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...
Of blood and sweat : Black lives and the making of White power and wealth
Ford, Clyde W.
Paper Book
"Ford's overlap of past and present, narrative and commentary is masterful, and makes this volume all the more valuable to those readers wise enough to allow the past to inform the future. Of Blood and Sweat is a myth-busting work of genius that will stand as the last word on this vital subject...
Go where there is no path : stories of hustle, grit, scholarship, and faith
Gray, Christopher (Entrepreneur)
Paper Book
For all who dare to go off the beaten track, this is the inspirational, power-packed playbook for transforming your life and your world--from a young, Black social entrepreneur whose dorm-room tech startup has helped millions pay for college and access unprecedented opportunity.  Gray...
We refuse : a forceful history of Black resistance
Jackson, Kellie Carter
Paper Book
An "unsparing, erudite, and incisive" (Jelani Cobb) reframing of the past and present of Black resistance--both nonviolent and violent--to white supremacy Named a Best History Book of 2024 by Smithsonian Black resistance to...
Between Harlem and Heaven : Afro-Asian-American cooking for big nights, weeknights, & every day
Johnson, J. J.
Paper Book
Winner of the James Beard Award for Best American Cookbook "Between Harlem and Heaven presents a captivatingly original cuisine. Afro-Asian-American cooking is packed with unique and delicious layers of flavor. These stories and recipes lay praise to the immense influence...
Walk through fire
Johnson, Sheila C.
Paper Book
The cofounder of BET and first African American woman billionaire shares her deeply personal journey through love and loss, tragedy and triumph--an inspiring story of overcoming toxic influences, discovering her true self, and at last finding happiness in her work and life. From...
Fight Like Hell : The Untold History of American Labor
Kelly, Kim
Paper Book
A 2022 New Yorker Best Book of the Year A 2022 Esquire Best Nonfiction Book of the Year A 2022 BuzzFeed Book You'll Love A 2022 LitHub Favorite Book of the Year "Kelly unearths the stories of the people-farm...
Sweet Home Cafe cookbook : a celebration of African American cooking
Lukas, Albert
Paper Book
A celebration of African American cooking with 109 recipes from the National Museum of African American History and Culture's Sweet Home Cafe. A James Beard Foundation Book Award nominee for best American cookbook; a Food & Wine best cookbook; a Booklist top 10 food book; an...
Shift happens : the history of labor in the United States
Mann, J. Albert
Paper Book
For readers of Stamped and An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People, Albert J. Mann's Shift Happens: The History of Labor in the United States is an accessible and comprehensive YA history of the way the labor movement has shaped America and how it...
Illustrated Black history : honoring the iconic and the unseen
McCalman, George
Paper Book
*AWARD WINNER* of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work - Debut Author / and the NCBR Recognition Award A gorgeous collection of 145 original portraits that celebrates Black pioneers--famous and little-known--in politics, science, literature, music, and more-...
Black smoke : African Americans and the United States of barbecue
Miller, Adrian
Paper Book
Across America, the pure love and popularity of barbecue cookery have gone through the roof. Prepared in one regional style or another, in the South and beyond, barbecue is one of the nation's most distinctive culinary arts. And people aren't just eating it; they're also reading books and articles...
My America : recipes from a young black chef
Onwuachi, Kwame
Paper Book
A BON APPETIT BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR * What is American food? In his first cookbook, the acclaimed author of Notes from a Young Black Chef shares the dishes of his America; dishes that show the true diversity of American food. Onwauachi is "the most important chef in...
Notes from a young Black chef : a memoir
Onwuachi, Kwame
Paper Book
"Kwame Onwuachi's story shines a light on food and culture not just in American restaurants or African American communities but around the world." --Questlove   By the time he was twenty-seven years old, Kwame Onwuachi (winner of the 2019 James Beard Foundation Award for ...
The rise : Black cooks and the soul of American food
Samuelsson, Marcus
Paper Book
An Eater Best Cookbook of Fall 2020 * This groundbreaking new cookbook from chef, bestselling author, and TV star Marcus Samuelsson celebrates contemporary Black cooking in 150 extraordinarily delicious recipes. It is long past time to...
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 and the 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...
Black Flora: Inspiring Profiles of Floriculture's New Vanguard
Speight, Teresa J.
Paper Book
Black Flora is the first book to feature profiles of contemporary Black experts innovating in the world of flowers. Author and long-time gardener, Teresa Speight, offers a beautiful intersection of flowers and community. This book is a homecoming, one that unearths the floral legacies of...
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...
Black food : stories, art & recipes from across the African diaspora
Terry, Bryant
Paper Book
A beautiful, rich, and groundbreaking book exploring Black foodways within America and around the world, curated by food activist and author of Vegetable Kingdom Bryant Terry. WINNER OF THE ART OF EATING PRIZE . JAMES BEARD AWARD NOMINEE . ONE OF THE TEN BEST COOKBOOKS...
The bodies keep coming : dispatches from a black trauma surgeon on racism, violence, and how we heal
Williams, Brian H. (Surgeon)
Paper Book
A tour de force that diagnoses the structural root of the violence that plagues us all. Trauma surgeon and professor Dr. Brian H. Williams has seen it all: gunshot wounds, stabbings, and traumatic brain injuries. In The Bodies Keep Coming, Williams ushers us into the trauma bay, where the...

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