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 January 7, 2025
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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...
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...
The Black utopians : searching for paradise and the Promised Land in America
Robertson, Aaron
Paper Book
One of The New York Times's 100 Notable Books of 2024 One of the Washington Post's 50 Best Nonfiction Books of 2024 A Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History A New York Public Library Top Ten Book of 2024 | A...
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...
Resist : how a century of young Black activists shaped America
Omokha, Rita
Paper Book
What do the struggles of the past teach us about the urgent challenges in our own time? Resist chronicles the inspiring story of young Black activists who have fought tirelessly at the helm for justice over the last century, from the 1920s to the Trayvon generation--how they reshaped...
The Black box : writing the race
Gates, Henry Louis, Jr.
Paper Book
A New York Times Notable Book "Henry Louis Gates is a national treasure. Here, he returns with an intellectual and at times deeply personal meditation on the hard-fought evolution and the very meaning of African American identity, calling upon our country to transcend its...
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,...
John Lewis : in search of the beloved community
Arsenault, Raymond
Paper Book
The first full-length biography of civil rights hero and congressman John Lewis   A New Yorker "Best Book of 2024" Selection   "The perfect book, at the right time."--Michael Henry Adams, The Guardian
Hell put to shame : the 1921 Murder Farm massacre and the horror of America's second slavery
Swift, Earl
Paper Book
"Hell Put to Shame is a powerfully unsettling portrait of the single most savage episode in the long decades of savagery inflicted by white southerners on their Black neighbors in the 20th century--and the methodical process that followed to erase those crimes from America's...
The survivors of the Clotilda : the lost stories of the last captives of the American slave trade
Durkin, Hannah
Paper Book
NAMED A TOP BOOK OF 2024 BY AMAZON AND WASHINGTON POST "Hannah Durkin lets the enslaved speak for themselves, and they tell a story not only of unimaginable suffering but also of courage and survival."--Wall Street Journal "The Survivors of the Clotilda, a comprehensive account of...
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 * Nominated for a PEN America...
Medgar & Myrlie : Medgar Evers and the love story that awakened America
Reid, Joy-Ann
Paper Book
#1 New York Times Bestseller NAACP Image Award Winner From Joy-Ann Reid, a triumphant work of biography that repositions slain Civil Rights pioneer Medgar Evers at the heart of America's struggle for freedom, and celebrates Myrlie Evers's extraordinary activism after her husband's...
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...
The road is good : how a mother's strength became a daughter's purpose
Aduba, Uzo
Paper Book
A powerful, timely memoir of Black immigrant identity, the story of an unforgettable matriarch, and a unique coming-of-age story by Nigerian American actress Uzo Aduba. The actress Uzo Aduba came of age grappling with a master juggling act: as one of few Black families in...
Grown woman talk : your guide to getting and staying healthy
Malone, Sharon
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "A must-read for anyone who cares about their quality of life . . . Dr. Sharon Malone is the first person I turn to for a whole host of issues, especially my health."--MICHELLE OBAMA A practical guide to aging and health for women who have...

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