Black History Month

Fiction and nonfiction titles for Black History Month

Updated January 8, 2025
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The dead are arising : the life of Malcolm X
Payne, Les 1941-2018
Paper Book
Les Payne, the renowned Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist, embarked in 1990 on a nearly thirty-year-long quest to interview anyone he could find who had actually known Malcolm X--all living siblings of the Malcolm Little family, classmates, street friends, cellmates, Nation of Islam...
Invisible man
Ellison, Ralph.
Paper Book
Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all time * Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read Invisible Man is a milestone in American literature, a book that has continued to engage readers since its...
Wake : the hidden history of women-led slave revolts
Hall, Rebecca
Paper Book
A Best Book of 2021 by NPR and The Washington Post Part graphic novel, part memoir, Wake is an imaginative tour-de-force that tells the "powerful" (The New York Times Book Review) story of women-led slave revolts and chronicles scholar Rebecca Hall's...
Devil in the grove : Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the dawn of a new America
King, Gilbert.
Paper Book
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize "A must-read, cannot-put-down history." -- Thomas Friedman, New York Times Arguably the most important American lawyer of the twentieth century, Thurgood Marshall was on the verge of bringing the landmark suit Brown v. Board of...
Sing, unburied, sing : a novel
Ward, Jesmyn
Paper Book
*WINNER of the NATIONAL BOOK AWARD for FICTION *A TIME MAGAZINE BEST NOVEL OF THE YEAR and A NEW YORK TIMES TOP 10 OF 2017 *Finalist for the Kirkus Prize *Finalist for the Andrew Carnegie Medal *Finalist for the Aspen Words Literary Prize...
The Talk
Bell, Darrin.
Paper Book
Winner of the NAACP Image Award in Outstanding Graphic Novels Winner of an Alex Award from the American Library Association Winner of the Libby Award for Best Comic/Graphic Novel of the Year Finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize in Nonfiction ...
Legacy : a Black physician reckons with racsim in medicine
Blackstock, Uch?
Paper Book
Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, it never occurred to Uche Blackstock and her twin sister, Oni, that they would be anything but physicians. In the 1980s, their mother headed an organisation of Black women physicians, and for years the girls watched these fiercely intelligent women in white coats...
The birdcatcher
Jones, Gayl
Paper Book
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST 2022 Publishers Weekly Top 10 BEST BOOKS OF 2022 "Gayl Jones's work represents a watershed in American literature." --Imani Perry Legendary writer Gayl Jones returns with a stunning new novel about Black American...
Basquiat : a graphic novel
Parisi, Paolo 1980-
Paper Book
...a beautifully illustrated hardcover book... Inside you'll find the story of Basquiat's life relayed in a quick-to-read, visually dazzling fashion. - Forbes.com Cool, talented, and transgressive, Jean-Michel Basquiat's life is just as fascinating as the work he produced. Delve...
The Art of Ruth E. Carter: Costuming Black History and the Afrofuture, from Do the Right Thing to Black Panther
Carter, Ruth E.
Paper Book
Costume designer Ruth E. Carter has shaped the story of the Black experience on screen--from the eighties streetwear of DO THE RIGHT THING to the royal regalia of COMING 2 AMERICA. Her costume design on Marvel's BLACK PANTHER not only brought Afrofuturism to the mainstream, but also made her...
The water dancer : a novel
Coates, Ta-Nehisi
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK * From the National Book Award-winning author of Between the World and Me, a boldly conjured debut novel about a magical gift, a devastating loss, and an underground war for freedom. "This potent book about America's...
Last on His Feet : Jack Johnson and the Battle of the Century
Daoudi, Youssef/ Matejka, Adrian.
Paper Book
On the morning of July 4, 1910, thousands of boxing fans stormed a newly built stadium in Reno, Nevada, to witness an epic showdown. Jack Johnson, the world's first Black heavyweight champion--and most infamous athlete in the world because of his race--was paired against Jim Jeffries, a former...

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