African American Biography

Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award A New York Times ""Editor's Pick"" and ""Notable Book of the Year"" * An Essence ""Most Anticipated"" * A Lit Hub's ""Most Anticipated"" * An Oprah Daily ""Best Book of Fall"" * An Esquire ""Best Memoir of the Year"" * A San Francisco Chronicle ""New Book for...

From award-winning author and creative writing professor at Tulane University comes an intimate and powerful memoir exploring inherited trauma, family secrets, and the enduring bonds of love between mothers and daughters. On her second birthday in 1967, Bernice McFadden died in a car crash near...

Mississippi, 1955: 14-year-old Emmett Till was murdered by a white mob after making flirtatious remarks to a white woman, Carolyn Bryant. Till's attackers were never convicted, but his lynching became one of the most notorious hate crimes in American history. It launched protests across the country, helped the NAACP gain thousands of members, and inspired famous activists like Rosa Parks to stand up and fight for equal rights for the first time.

FEATURED ON THE COVER OF TIME MAGAZINE AS A 2021 NEXT GENERATION LEADER “A once-in-a-generation voice.” – Vulture “One of our greatest living writers.” – Shondaland A full-throated and provocative memoir in letters from the New York Times bestselling author, “a dazzling literary...

An adoption expert and transracial adoptee herself examines the unique perspectives and challenges these adoptees have as they navigate multiple cultures “Your parents are so amazing for adopting you! You should be grateful that you were adopted.” Angela Tucker is a Black woman, adopted from...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the former national security advisor and secretary of state comes a “sharp and penetrating . . . reminder that foreign-policy choices facing the United States are complex and difficult, with no easy solutions” (The Washington Post). A native of...

A NATIONAL BESTSELLER! “Nicole Avant gives a raw and courageous look into how she found the light in her darkest moment. She reminds us that grief is different for everyone, and we have the power to move through it in our own unique way.” —Cleo Wade, New York Times Bestselling Author “A...

Step into the untold story of resilience, perseverance, and hope in The Son of a Sharecropper. Author Roger Leaks Jr. takes listeners on an intimate journey through the trials and triumphs of growing up Black in the rural South during the era of segregation, sharecropping, and systemic inequality. This deeply personal memoir captures the harsh realities of life in the early 20th century, including the struggles of sharecropping families, the impact of Jim Crow laws, and the unyielding spirit of a young boy determined to rise above his circumstances.

At age four, Phyllis Biffle Elmore was plucked off her front porch in Detroit and dropped on her grandmother Lula Horn's doorstep in rural Alabama. Phyllis felt utterly abandoned until Grandma Lula showed her both all-encompassing love and her intricate "Quilts of Souls." Phyllis listened intently as Lula told epic stories of folks who had passed on as she turned their clothing into breathtaking quilts for their families.

Explore the life and achievements of Wallace Amos, entrepreneur and founder of Famous Amos cookies.

In 2003, Jay-Z retired from making music. He had made award-winning albums, founded a record label, and had his own line of clothing. He walked away, but he couldn't stop writing songs. Three years later, he was back on the charts with a hit album and the title of greatest MC of all time. Track this hip hop hero as he makes it in the music world and becomes one of the best known rappers in the world.

Serena Williams is a standout professional tennis player. Learn about her childhood and her rise to becoming a tennis superstar.

In YOU GOTTA MEET MR. PIERCE, young listeners step back in time to visit with Pierce in his Columbus, Ohio barbershop, where, in between cutting customers’ hair, he crafted thousands of figures in wood. They’ll discover how this son of a former enslaved man taught himself to carve, and then went on to become one of the first famous black folk artists, gaining worldwide fame at the age of 81.

A soulful collection of illuminating essays and interviews that explore Black people’s spiritual and scientific connection to the land, waters, and climate, curated by the acclaimed author of Farming While Black Author of Farming While Black and co-founder of Soul Fire Farm, Leah Penniman...

Two heavy-hitters in children's literature deliver a critically acclaimed, bestselling biographical novel of cultural icon Muhammad Ali. "This utterly delightful story about Ali's childhood is a smash hit."—School Library Journal (starred review) Before he was a household name, Cassius Clay...

If not for a stint in reform school, young Louis Armstrong might never have become a musician. It was a teacher at the Colored Waifs' Home who gave him a cornet, promoted him to band leader, and saw talent in the tough kid from the even tougher New Orleans neighborhood called Storyville. But it...

Marian Anderson's majestic voice mesmerized the nation - but her courage in confronting racism was even more inspirational. She became the first African-American to record spirituals for a major recording company, and the first to appear on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House. Victoria Garrett Jones tells her remarkable story, from Philadelphia's poorest neighborhood to the world's finest concert stages.

Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Biography Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography A groundbreaking study of the first Black female novelist and her life as an enslaved woman, from the biographer who solved the mystery of her identity, with a foreword by...

Harry Belafonte is not just one of the greatest entertainers of our time; he has led one of the great American lives of the last century. Now, this extraordinary icon tells us the story of that life, giving us its full breadth, letting us share in the struggles, the tragedies, and, most of all...

Everybody knows about the Founding Fathers and the Declaration of Independence in 1776. But the founders weren't the only ones who believed that everyone had a right to freedom. Mumbet, a Massachusetts slave, believed it too. She longed to be free, but how? Would anyone help her in her fight for freedom? Could she win against her owner, the richest man in town? Mumbet was determined to try.