African American History Month: Books and Resources: Nonfiction books

"In Grief is Love, author Marisa Renee Lee reveals that healing does not mean moving on-healing means learning to acknowledge and create space for your grief. she also explores the unique impact of grief on Black people, Black women in particular, and reveals the key factors that proper healing requires: acknowledgement, rest, community, reflection, support, care and more.

Cole Arthur Riley in her unforgettable book of stories and reflections on discovering the sacred in her skin. In these ... pages, Arthur Riley reflects on the stories of her grandmother and father, and how they revealed to her an embodied, dignity-affirming spirituality, not only in what they believed but in the act of living itself"-- Provided by publisher.

In Sarah Roberts book Woman Evolve, she discusses how everyone faces trials, and everyone will mess up. But failure should not be the focus. Your focus should not be on who you were but rather the pursuit of who you can become

Bishop Michael Curry, author of this book, has illustrated massive changes in our times. He expands on his message of hope by using experience from his own like to create an inspirational road map for living the way of love. Love is the way to address the struggles, issues and burdens of today. This book helps to lead in in the way of Love.

Disruptive Thinking will show you the mindset and the tools you need to create groundbreaking and meaningful change in your own life and in the world around you.-- Adapted from book jacket.

But as Gates brilliantly shows, the Black church has never been only one thing. Its story lies at the heart of the Black political struggle, and it has produced many of the Black community's most notable leaders. At the same time, some churches and denominations have eschewed political engagement and exemplified practices of exclusion and intolerance that have caused polarization and pain. Those tensions remain today, as a rising generation demands freedom and dignity for all within and beyond their communities, regardless of race, sex, or gender. Still, as a source of faith and refuge, spiritual sustenance and struggle against society's darkest forces, the Black Church has been central, as this enthralling history makes vividly clear.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, WINNER OF THE PORCHLIGHT BUSINESS BOOK AWARD - ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR. Heather McGhee traveled around the country to see why the the idea that progress for some of us must come at the expense of others is so popular at the time. This is the story of how public goods in this country; parks, pools,schools, etc. have become private luxuries. How inequality increases; and of how this country has not taken care of the problems. McGhee finds proof of the benefits we gain when people come together across race to accomplish what we simply can't do on our own.

"A stirring and powerful memoir from black cultural critic Rebecca Carroll recounting her struggle to overcome a completely white childhood in order to forge her identity as a black woman in America."-- Provided by publisher.

Mia Bay shows that Black mobility has always been a struggle.", says Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist. She tells how how travel discrimination transformed over time from segregated trains to buses and Uber rides

Anita Hill tells how gender-based violence is a problem that hurts everyone not just the victim or the survivors. Anita Hill draws on her years as a teacher, legal scholar, and advocate, and on the experiences of the thousands of individuals who have told her their stories

, Kendi combines vital scholarship with a compelling personal narrative of his own journey as a parent to create a work whose advice is grounded in research and relatable real-world experience. The chapters follow the stages of child development and don't just help parents to raise antiracists, but also to create an antiracist world for them to grow and thrive in"-- Provided by publisher.

A crucial addition to Civil Rights history, The Movement Made Us is the story of a nation reckoning with change and the hopes, struggles, setbacks, and triumphs of modern Black life. This is it: the extant chronicle of why we live, why we move, and for what we are made."--Publisher's website.

The incredible true story of the last ship to carry enslaved people to America, the remarkable town its survivors founded after emancipation, and the complicated legacy their descendants carry with them to this day—by the journalist who discovered the ship’s remains.
Fifty years after the Atlantic slave trade was outlawed, the Clotilda became the last ship in history to bring enslaved Africans to the United States.

Written by Clyde W Ford who is the author of thirteen works of fiction and nonfiction. He has won numerous awards. This work of nonfiction overlaps the past and present of the black struggle.

"Sitting in the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture is a rough cotton bag, called "Ashley's Sack," embroidered with just a handful of words that evoke a sweeping family story of loss and of love passed down through generations. Historian Tiya Miles carefully follows faint archival traces back to Charleston to find Rose in the kitchen where she may have packed the sack for Ashley.

ells the story of the 1969 murder of a Black Panther activist and the search for justice. The Assassination of Fred Hampton is Jeffrey Haas's personal account of how he and People's Law Office partner Flint Taylor pursued Hampton's assassins, ultimately prevailing over unlimited government resources and FBI conspiracy. Not only a story of justice delivered, this book puts Hampton in the spotlight as a dynamic community leader and an inspiration for those in the ongoing fight against injustice and police brutality.

In 1978 the KKK is on the rise in the United States. Ron Stallworth, the first black detective in the history of the Colorado Springs Police Department goes undercover in the KKK launching what is most audacious, and incredible undercover investigations in history. This true story reads like a crime thriller.

Souffrant debuts with a sound program for achieving financial independence, which she defines as being able to live on the "money you've accumulated in your investment accounts... indefinitely.." her suggestions are specific and pragmatic (Her "25x rule" recommends saving 25 times one's desired annual spending before retiring). Approachable and sensible, this gets the job done" -- Publisher's Weekly, (2023)

From one of South Africa's foremost nonfiction writers, a deeply researched, shattering new account of Nelson Mandela's relationship with Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Drawing on never-before-seen material, Steinberg reveals the fractures and stubborn bonds at the heart of a volatile and ground-breaking union, a very modern political marriage which was performed on the world stage." -- Provided by publisher.

Madness transports readers behind the brick walls of a Jim Crow asylum. In Madness, Peabody and Emmy award-winning journalist Antonia Hylton tells the 93-year-old history of Crownsville Hospital, one of the last segregated asylums with surviving records and a campus that still stands to this day in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.

The Lost Sons of Omaha carefully examines some of the most pressing issues facing America today, including our country's dire need for gun control and mental health reform; the dangerous spread of fake news, particularly on social media; and the urgent call to band together in the collective pursuit of truth, fairness, and healing"-- Provided by publisher.

In this joyous collection of essays about historically Black colleges and universities, alumni both famous and up-and-coming write testimonials about the schools and experiences that shaped their lives and made them who they are today.

The author is a law professor and historian and this book is a collection of essays covering the history of Texas, Juneteenth’, was the day that enslaved African-Americans in Texas were told that slavery had ended, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed. This book adds a discussion of how the day has been celebrated in Texasand why it is now been made a national holiday.

The true story of the 4 African-American female mathematicians at NASA who helped to achieve amazing moments in our space program. Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden and there part in NASA is revealed in this book.

"A lyrical culinary journey that explores the hidden stories of Black Appalachians through powerful essays and forty comforting recipes from the Poet Laureate of Kentucky. Crystal conjures up her ancestors every time she cooks, honoring the mothers who came before her, the land that housed generations of her family, and the untold heritage of Black Appalachia."-- Provided by publisher.

Emily Meggett, the matriarch of Edisto Island, ,has written the first major Gullah Geechee cookbook. Meggett is a respected elder in the Gullah community of South Carolina. This cookbook includes not only delicious and accessible recipes, but also snippets of the Meggett family history on Edisto Island, which stretches back into the 19th century.

The true story of two African-American brothers who were kidnapped and displayed as circus freaks, and whose mother endured a 28-year struggle to get them back. In 1899 in the Jim Crow South town of Truevine, Virginia. Two little boys born to a sharecropper family were capture. They were forced to perform in a circus as caricatures such as cannibals, sheep-headed freaks and even people from Mars. They were successful. They performed for royalty at Buckingham Palace and headlined over a dozen sold-out shows at New York's Madison Square Garden. They were global superstars in a pre-broadcast era. Their mother spent 28 years trying to find them and bring them back. Truevine researches the events of these boy’s life.

Our Team traces the story of the integration of the Cleveland Indians baseball team and their quest for a World Series title through four key participants: Bill Veeck, Larry Doby, Bob Feller, and Satchel Paige.

In this memoir Willie Mays shares what inspired and influenced him on and off the baseball field.Willie, who is considered to be the greatest all-around player in baseball history tells of his experiences and how he was able to remain positive and maintain his integrity through the challenges

The Carolina African American Writers’ Collective celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary with All the Songs We Sing, an anthology of works by members of the Collective, edited by its founder, Lenard D. Moore. This anthology which includes works by Lenard D. Moore, Bridgette Lacy, Crystal Simone Smith, Evie Shockley, Camille T. Dungy, and many others. These writers have shaped literary landscape of the Carolinas for the last twenty-five years and will continue to influence and inspire writers for generations to come.

"A preeminent voice in contemporary literature, Major Jackson offers steady miracles of vision and celebrations of language in rapturous, sophisticated poems. Razzle Dazzle traces the evolution of Jackson's transformative imagination and fierce music through five acclaimed volumes: his Cave Canem Poetry Prize-winning debut, Leaving Saturn (2002), which captures the spirit of resilience in the Philadelphia neighborhoods of the poet's youth;

Such Color collects the best poems from Tracy K. Smith’s award-winning books and culminates in thirty pages of brilliant, new poems. These poems confront America’s historical and contemporary racism and injustices,and also urging us toward love as a resistance to these obstacles.

These are poems emanating from an attempt to follow Daoist philosophy for most of his life. Knowledge of other is in relation to knowledge of self, and self is an illusory continuum, a perspective wherein the poet embodies the transcendent arc of Malcolm X's life as credo"-- Provided by publisher.

An essential, surprising journey through the history, rituals, and landscapes of the American South. This story weaves together stories of immigrant communities, contemporary artists, exploitative opportunists, enslaved peoples, unsung heroes, her own ancestors, and her lived experiences,

"The definitive history of World War II from the African American perspective,"Their bravery and patriotism in the face of unfathomable racism is both inspiring and galvanizing. In a time when the questions World War II raised regarding race and democracy in America remains troubling, relevant and still unanswered, this meticulously researched retelling makes for urgently necessary reading"-- Provided by publisher.

This book is a collection of seventy oral histories, drawn from across the country, featuring interviews conducted by the author and his colleagues for their 2003 American Radio Works documentary, Korea: The Unfinished War, which examines the conflict as experienced by the approximately 600,000 Black men and women who served.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. Four Hundred Souls is a chronological account of four hundred years of Black America as told by ninety of America's leading Black writers.

In "Stony the road, Henry Louis Gates looks at the he terrorism and injustices of white supremacy that is swept under the rug. "Stony the Road" is also a story of resistance, bravery and determination.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER; his new book expands on the work of The 1619 Project by the The New York Times Magazine “ The 1619 Project,” combined eighteen essays that explore the legacy of slavery in present-day America with thirty-six poems and works of fiction. This book show how the inheritance of 1619 reaches into every part of contemporary American society, from politics, music, diet, traffic, and citizenship to capitalism, religion, and our democracy itself.

Pulitzer Prize–winning historian David Hackett Fischer draws on extensive research to show how enslaved Africans and their descendants enlarged American ideas of freedom in varying ways in different regions of the early United States.

100 Amazing Facts About the Negro With Complete Proof: A Short Cut to the World History of the Negro was published by Joel A. Rogers in 1934. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., gives us a corrective yet loving acknowledgement to Rogers’s work. For 100 questions, Gates provides a 100 answers to help educate about African Americans

"From acclaimed columnist and political commentator Michael Harriot, a searingly smart and bitingly hilarious retelling of American history that corrects the record and showcases the perspectives and experiences of Black Americans

Two longtime friends share an intimate and urgent conversation about life, music, and their enduring love of America, with all its challenges and contradictions. This book includes more than 350 photographs, exclusive bonus content, and never-before-seen archival material.

When Ed Goodwin moved with his parents to Greenwood, Tulsa, his family joined a growing community on the cusp of becoming the center of Black life in the West. But, just a few years later, on May 31, 1921, the teenaged Ed hid in a bathtub as a white mob descended on his neighborhood. They laid waste to 35 blocks and murdered as many as 300 people. The Tulsa Race Massacre was one of the worst acts of racist violence in United States history.Today, the newspaper remains, and Ed's granddaughter Regina represents the neighborhood in the Oklahoma state legislature, working alongside a new generation of local activists"-- Provided by publisher.

In this new autobiography, Muggsy Bogues delves deep into his life and career to write a candid and insightful memoir. He shares anecdotes from playoff runs in Charlotte, filming Space Jam, and even watching a young Steph Curry grow up.

This book is an inside look at one of the most captivating and consequential figures in our culture, Kobe Bryant. This is more than a basketball book. This is an exploration of the identity and the effect of the development of Kobe on those around him—the essence of the man before he truly became a man.

The first Black female CEO of a Fortune 500 company shares her life story. She tells of growing up poor and how her mother's teaching helped her to accomplish her dreams. She tells of the obstacles she faced and how she overcame to be the successful African American Women that she is and how you can too.

This is my story, from a crumbling apartment in Central Falls, Rhode Island, to the stage in New York City, and beyond. This is the path I took to finding my purpose but also my voice in a world that didn’t always see me.Finding Me is a deep reflection, a promise, and a love letter of sorts to self. My hope is that my story will inspire you to light up your own life with creative expression and rediscover who you were before the world put a label on you.

a definitive new biography on the 150th anniversary of the birth of a pivotal figure in American literary history. Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906) was one of the first African American writers to garner international recognition in the wake of emancipation.Gene Andrew Jarrett tells the fascinating story of how Dunbar excelled over the burden of race and catering to minstrel stereotypes to be a prolific and successful poet, novelist, essayist, playwright, and Broadway librettist

"Walking the halls of democracy as a Capitol Police officer, Harry Dunn was a man slowly experiencing an awakening. Dunn's ongoing story as a witness willing to meaningfully engage with the media, lawmakers, and the public provides a backdrop for examining the political and racial divide in this country-one that we must overcome in order to demand accountability and preserve our precious democracy"-- Provided by publisher.

A landmark biography by two prizewinning Washington Post reporters that reveals how systemic racism shaped George Floyd's life and legacy. This biography of George Floyd shows the athletic young boy raised in the projects of Houston's Third Ward who would become a father, a partner, a friend, and a man constantly in search of a better life. In retracing Floyd's story, Washington Post reporters Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa bring to light the determination Floyd carried as he faced the relentless struggle to survive as a Black man in America

A Black mother bumps up against the limits of everything she thought she believed—about science and medicine, about motherhood, and about her faith—in search of the truth about her son. What if her son’s challenges have saved her life? And how can she choose the best path forward—for herself and for her beautiful, unsolvable boy?

Presents a definitive biography of one of the greatest athletes of all time that chronicles not only LeBron James' meteoric rise to fame but also his solid family, political activism, and business empire.

In 2015, at the age of 97, Katherine Johnson became a global celebrity. For her pioneering work as a mathematician on NASA’s first flights into space President Barack Obama awarded her the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom. This is the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Cassandra Lane uses her imagination to tell her ancestors’ story as a backdrop for telling her own. This memoir is haunting an poetic,

"From one of South Africa's foremost nonfiction writers, a deeply researched, shattering new account of Nelson Mandela's relationship with Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Drawing on never-before-seen material, Steinberg reveals the fractures and stubborn bonds at the heart of a volatile and ground-breaking union, a very modern political marriage which was performed on the world stage." -- Provided by publisher.

"For the first time, legendary singer and songwriter and Grammy Hall-of-Famer Aaron Neville tells his personal story of overcoming poverty, racism, addiction, and loss through faith, family, and music"-- Provided by publisher.

A memoir from the six-time NBA Champion, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and Hall of Famer—revealing how Scottie Pippen, the youngest of twelve, overcame two family tragedies and universal disregard by college scouts to become an essential component of the greatest basketball dynasty of the last fifty years.

Before the United States Supreme Court ruled against segregation in public schools, and before Rosa Parks refused to surrender her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, Jackie Robinson walked onto the diamond on April 15, 1947, as first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers, making history as the first African American to integrate Major League Baseball. Many are familiar with Robinson as a baseball hero. Few, however, know of the inner turmoil that came with his historic status

This book is the inspiring story of Andre Rush, who became an overnight sensation in 2018, after a photograph of his now-famous twenty-four-inch biceps went viral. However, his journey to that moment could never be captured in a fleeting moment. Chef Rush has overcome tremendous obstacles, including battling stereotypes and racism

Bestselling author Senator Tim Scott shares a renewed vision for the United States--and invites all Americans to find themselves within this nation's redemptive story of opportunity, unity, and hope. Scott's message of hope for America grows from his own life--the challenges, the achievements, and the work he's currently doing to bring positive change to the people of the United States.

Will Smith tells the story in full of one of his life through the worlds of music and film. He opens up fully about his life, in this brave and inspiring book.

"A gripping, painfully honest, and ultimately inspirational memoir from global superstar and creator of the Red Table Talk series Jada Pinkett Smith. Worthy teaches us who Jada is, and how to embrace our most authentic lovable souls."-- Provided by publisher.

Pro wrestler and political commentator Tyrus goes deep into his wild but triumphant life story, from his painfully dysfunctional upbringing to bodyguarding for Snoop Dogg, to becoming a wrestling icon and one of the most provocative on-air voices today. Ferociously funny, blunt, and tenacious, Just Tyrus traces his unlikely and spectacular rise

I am a woman who has hurt as immeasurably as I have loved, a child of God divinely guided by His hand. And here in my ninth decade, I am a woman who, at long last, has something meaningful to say." --Cicely Tyson"--provided by publisher.

A photographic memoir from basketball superstar Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat. In this 4-color memoir, featuring more than 100 never-before-seen photos from Bob Metelus, who has been documenting Wade’s career for more than a decade.

In this profoundly moving and beautifully written memoir, the award-winning actor and activist provides an intimate view into both her public and private worlds as she chronicles her life's journey thus far, sharing how she discovered her truest self and, with it, a deeper sense of belonging.

A biography of Walter White, a little-known Black civil rights leader who passed for white in order to investigate racist murders, help put the NAACP on the map, and change the racial identity of America forever.

Chronicling her remarkable journey to definitively understand her heritage and reclaim it, a black descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings' family offers a compelling portrait to ensure the nation lives up to the ideals advocated by her legendary ancestor.

In Reclamation, White chronicles her remarkable journey to definitively understand her heritage and reclaim it, and offers a compelling portrait of what it means to be a black

David Zucchino,a pulitzer Prize-winner, has written an account of the Wilmington riot and coup of 1898. David Zucchino uses contemporary newspaper accounts, diaries, letters and official communications to create the stories of hate and fear and brutality that took place during this time.

Geeta N. Kapur, law professor and civil rights activist, provides analysis and commentary on the story of systemic racism at the University of North Carolina.The University of North Carolina, the oldest public university in the US, has been entwined with white supremacy and institutional racism throughout its history—and the struggle continues today.

Junaluska is one of the oldest African American communities in Western North Carolina and one of the few surviving today. After Emancipation slaves became sharecroppers. They were allowed to clear land and to keep a portion, or bought property outright in Watauga County on the hill overlooking the town of Boone, North Carolina. Land and home ownership has been crucial to the survival of this community. The residents are closely interconnected as extended families and neighbors, thus a segregated neighborhood developed. White Missionaries of the Krimmer Mennonites came to the community in the early twentieth century. The church that was founded is one of a handful of African American Mennonite Brethren churches in the United States. This book is based on three decades of research. The narratives are adapted from interviews with residents of the Junaluska community born between 1885 and 1993. This book offers a history of blacks in the southern mountains.

In this thoroughly researched study, LeRae Umfleet examines the actions that caused the coup; the details of what happened in Wilmington on November 10, 1898; and the long-term impact that day had on both North Carolina and the nation.