African American Biography

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF TIME’S 100 MOST INFLUENTUAL PEOPLE IN GLOBAL HEALTH “This book is more than a memoir—it also serves as a call to action to create a more equitable healthcare system for patients of color, particularly Black women.” —Essence One of NPR’s 11...

Provocative, inspiring, and unflinchingly honest, My Grandfather's Son is the story of one of America's most remarkable and controversial leaders, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, told in his own words. Thomas speaks out, revealing the pieces of his life he holds dear, detailing the...

Nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literature ""An absolute must-read"" – Shondaland “[Rabbit] tells how it went down with brutal honesty and outrageous humor” – New York Times They called her Rabbit. Patricia Williams (aka Ms. Pat) was born and raised in Atlanta at the...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “Dapper Dan is a legend, an icon, a beacon of inspiration to many in the Black community. His story isn’t just about fashion. It’s about tenacity, curiosity, artistry, hustle, love, and a singular determination to live our dreams out loud.”—Ava DuVernay...

All throughout history, Black men have made important contributions to scientific discovery. This collection of biographies for kids explores 15 of these intelligent men and the extraordinary scientific accomplishments they achieved—even when they faced huge challenges. You’ll learn how they stood up against racism and inequality and never stopped following their passions for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

By the acclaimed biographer of Abraham Lincoln, Nat Turner, and John Brown, Stephen B. Oates' prizewinning Let the Trumpet Sound is the definitive one-volume life of Martin Luther King Jr. This brilliant examination of the great civil rights icon and the movement he led provides a lasting portrait of a man whose dream shaped American history.

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...

Read by the author. Though many today accuse Christianity of being a white, imperialistic religion, it is actually the source for cherished Western ideals of racial and gender equality. In More Than a White Man's Religion, author and speaker Abdu Murray shares stories from the Bible and his own...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER THE BASIS FOR THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE A “riveting” (USA Today) true tale of courage during America’s “forgotten war” in Korea, from the author of A Higher Call and Spearhead “In the spirit of Unbroken and The Boys in the Boat comes Devotion...

Harriet Tubman is one of the giants of American history - a fearless visionary who led scores of her fellow slaves to freedom and battled courageously behind enemy lines during the Civil War. And yet in the century since her death, next to nothing has been written about this extraordinary woman aside from juvenile biographies. The truth about Harriet Tubman has become lost inside a legend woven of racial and gender stereotypes.

From National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize­–winning author Alice Walker and edited by critic and writer Valerie Boyd, comes an unprecedented compilation of Walker’s fifty years of journals drawing an intimate portrait of her development over five decades as an artist, human rights and...

A leading voice for social justice reveals how he stopped arguing with white people who deny the ongoing legacy of racism—and offers a proven path forward for Black people and people of color based on the history of nonviolent struggle. “A moving personal journey that lends practical insight...

New York Times Bestseller “A clarion call, not to arms but to empathy. . . a profound and original book.”—Wall Street Journal Attempting to break the agonizing impasse between Israelis and Palestinians, the Israeli commentator and award-winning author of Like Dreamers directly addresses...

The charming real-life fairy tale of an American secretary who discovers she has been chosen king of an impoverished fishing village on the west coast of Africa. King Peggy has the sweetness and quirkiness of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series and the hopeful sense of possibility of Half...

Discover the untold story of how freed African American slaves and Black pioneers helped establish Liberia—the first independent Black republic in West Africa. Coming to Africa explores the Back-to-Africa movement and the role of the American Colonization Society in resettling freed slaves on African soil. Through vivid accounts of leaders like Paul Cuffe, Robert Finley, Bushrod Washington, James Monroe, John Kizell, and Zolu Duma (“King Peter”), this book reveals the struggles, resilience, and vision that shaped the birth of a nation.

Now a Netflix series starring Octavia Spencer, Self Made (formerly titled On Her Own Ground) is the first full-scale biography of “one of the great success stories of American history” (The Philadelphia Inquirer), Madam C.J. Walker—the legendary African American entrepreneur and...

“An absolutely essential addition to the history of the Catholic Church, whose involvement in New World slavery sustained the Church and, thereby, helped to entrench enslavement in American society.”—Annette Gordon-Reed, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Hemingses of Monticello and On...

Sophisticated Giant presents the life and legacy of tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon (1923-1990), one of the major innovators of modern jazz. In a context of biography, history, and memoir, Maxine Gordon has completed the book that her late husband began, weaving his “solo” turns with her voice and a chorus of voices from past and present. Reading like a jazz composition, the blend of research, anecdote, and a selection of Dexter’s personal letters reflects his colorful life and legendary times.

Winner of the 2024 American Legacy Book Award in Christian Inspirational A critically acclaimed #1 New York Times bestseller with more than one million copies in print and a major motion picture! Gritty with pain, betrayal, and brutality, this incredible true story also shines with an...

More than 50 years ago, John Coltrane drew the 12 musical notes in a circle and connected them with straight lines, forming a five-pointed star. Inspired by Einstein, Coltrane had put physics and geometry at the core of his music. Physicist and jazz musician Stephon Alexander returns the favor, using jazz to answer physics' most vexing questions about the past and future of the universe.