Black History Month: Teen Nonfiction

Updated February 3, 2026
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
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-...
Call him Jack : the story of Jackie Robinson, Black freedom fighter
Williams, Yohuru
Paper Book
An enthralling, eye-opening portrayal of this barrier-breaking American hero as a lifelong, relentlessly proud fighter for Black justice and civil rights. According to Martin Luther King, Jr., Jackie Robinson was "a sit-inner before the sit-ins, a freedom rider...
Overground railroad : the Green book and the roots of black travel in America
Taylor, Candacy A.
Paper Book
Overground Railroad chronicles the history of the Green Book, which was published from 1936 to 1966 and was the "Black travel guide to America." For years, it was dangerous for African Americans to travel in the United States. Because of segregation, Black travelers couldn't eat,...
Revolution in our time : the Black Panther Party's promise to the people
Magoon, Kekla
Paper Book
A National Book Award Finalist A Coretta Scott King Author Award Honor Book A Michael L. Printz Honor Book A Walter Dean Myers Honor Book With passion and precision, Kekla Magoon relays an essential account of the Black...
Black birds in the sky : the story and legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
Colbert, Brandy
Paper Book
A searing new work of nonfiction from award-winning author Brandy Colbert about the history and legacy of one of the most deadly and destructive acts of racial violence in American history: the Tulsa Race Massacre. Winner, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. In the early morning of June 1, 1921,...
Stamped : racism, antiracism, and you
Reynolds, Jason
Paper Book
Don't miss this "fresh and conversational" (TIME Magazine), "potent and provocative" (The San Francisco Chronicle), #1 New York Times bestselling exploration of racism--and antiracism--in America. ...
Making our way home : the Great Migration and the Black American dream
Imani, Blair
Paper Book
A powerful illustrated history of the Great Migration and its sweeping impact on Black and American culture, from Reconstruction to the rise of hip hop. Over the course of six decades, an unprecedented wave of Black Americans left the South and spread across the nation in search...
Lifting as we climb : black women's battle for the ballot box
Dionne, Evette
Paper Book
For African American women, the fight for the right to vote was only one battle. This Coretta Scott King Author Honor book tells the important, overlooked story of black women as a force in the suffrage movement--when fellow suffragists did not accept them as equal...
Accused! : the trials of the Scottsboro Boys : lies, prejudice, and the Fourteenth Amendment
Brimner, Larry Dane
Paper Book
This chilling and harrowing account tells the story of the Scottsboro Boys, nine African-American teenagers who, when riding the rails during the Great Depression, found their lives destroyed after two white women falsely accused them of rape. Award-winning author Larry Dane Brimner explains how...
A few red drops : the Chicago Race Riot of 1919
Hartfield, Claire
Paper Book
This mesmerizing narrative nonfiction draws on contemporary accounts as it traces the roots of an explosion that had been building for decades in race relations, politics, business, and clashes of culture. Coretta Scott King Award winner * Carter G. Woodson Book Award from the National...
March forward, girl : from young warrior to Little Rock Nine
Beals, Melba
Paper Book
"Beals' recollection of white oppression and her rise above it will haunt readers. A must-read for teens." --School Library Journal From the legendary civil rights activist and author of the million-copy-selling Warriors Don't Cry comes an ardent and profound childhood memoir of...
Loving vs. Virginia : a documentary novel of the landmark civil rights case
Powell, Patricia Hruby
Paper Book
From acclaimed author Patricia Hruby Powell comes the story of a landmark civil rights case, told in spare and gorgeous verse. In 1955, in Caroline County, Virginia, amidst segregation and prejudice, injustice and cruelty, two teenagers fell in love. Their life together broke the law, but their...
In the shadow of Liberty : the hidden history of slavery, four presidents, and five black lives
Davis, Kenneth C.
Paper Book
Did you know that many of America's Founding Fathers--who fought for liberty and justice for all--were slave owners? Through the powerful stories of five enslaved people who were "owned" by four of our greatest presidents, this book helps set the record straight about the role...
Turning 15 on the road to freedom : my story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March
Lowery, Lynda Blackmon
Paper Book
A memoir of the Civil Rights Movement from one of its youngest heroes A Sibert Informational Book Medal Honor Book KirkusBest Books of 2015 BooklistEditors' Choice 2015 BCCBBlue Ribbon 2015 As the youngest...
Courage has no color : the true story of the Triple Nickles : America's first Black paratroopers
Stone, Tanya Lee.
Paper Book
They became America's first black paratroopers. Why was their story never told? Sibert Medalist Tanya Lee Stone reveals the history of the Triple Nickles during World War II. World War II is raging, and thousands of American soldiers are fighting overseas against the injustices...
Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave
Douglass, Frederick
Paper Book
An updated edition of a classic African American autobiography, with new supplementary materials A Penguin Vitae Edition The preeminent American slave narrative first published in 1845, Frederick Douglass'sNarrativepowerfully details the life of the...
I know why the caged bird sings
Angelou, Maya
Paper Book
Maya Angelou's debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide. Her life story is told in the documentary film And Still I Rise, as seen on PBS's American Masters. Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself....

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.