African American Library

In the same style as the New York Times Best-Selling Who Was? series, What Was? focuses on compelling historical events, great battles, protests, and discoveries. Learn about a pivotal time in American history and its momentous effects on civil rights in America in this enlightening title about...

Kids will be inspired to embrace their inner weirdness and persevere through obstacles after reading this empowering collection of true stories from teenage Scripps National Spelling Bee champ and Guinness World Record holder Zaila Avant-garde! After Zaila Avant-garde became the first African...

A young artist is eager to share her colorful artwork but when the rainbow she creates causes confusion among her classmates, she must overcome self-doubt in this empowering picture book about embracing the artist in you! When Maya’s class is asked to draw something inspired by nature, she...

From the Newberry Honor-winning author of Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom comes a joyful audiobook set to “This Little Light of Mine.” It’s the perfect gift for all of life’s milestones. This little light reflects an everlasting flame: Hope that was passed down to you by those...

A young girl spends a magical day in her grandad's painting studio, discovering the joy of art, music, and the special bond they share. By the granddaughter of legendary Caldecott Medal-winning children's book illustrator Jerry Pinkney. Step into the warm, jazz-filled world of a young girl and...

This riveting novel in verse, perfect for fans of Jacqueline Woodson and Toni Morrison, explores American history and race through the eyes of a teenage boy embracing his newfound identity Connor’s grandmother leaves his dad a letter when she dies, and the letter’s confession shakes their...

Makena has a passion for fashion and clothes are a way for her to connect with others—especially when she shares her OOTD (outfit of the day). But some people don’t see Makena for who she is. They only see her as a Black girl and make unfair assumptions. When she experiences a racist...

Boom! Snap! Whiz! Zap! The Magnificent Makers chapter book series is filled with science, adventure, and characters kids will love! Every audiobook includes two science activities kids can do at home! This series is a modern day Magic School Bus for the chapter book listener! In class, Violet...

The story of how a girl born into slavery became an early leader in the civil rights movement and the most famous Black female journalist in nineteenth-century America. Born into slavery in 1862, Ida Bell Wells was freed as a result of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865. Yet she could see how...

From the world of Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls comes a historical novel based on the life of Dr. Wangari Maathai, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist and environmentalist from Kenya. Wangari lives in the lush, green, land of rural Kenya where the soil is perfect for planting, the trees...

The wife of Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King was a civil rights leader in her own right, playing a prominent role in the African American struggle for racial equality in the 1960s. Here's a gripping portrait of a smart, remarkable woman. Growing up in Alabama, Coretta Scott King...

From the world of Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls comes a story based on the life of Madam C.J. Walker, America’s first female self-made millionaire. Sarah is the first person in her family who wasn’t born into slavery in Delta, Louisiana. But being free doesn’t mean that Sarah...

Born a slave in Maryland, Harriet Tubman knew first-hand what it meant to be someone's property; she was whipped by owners and almost killed by an overseer. It was from other field hands that she first heard about the Underground Railroad which she travelled by herself north to Philadelphia...

Council on Interracial Books for Children award winner From the award-winning author of The Hundred Penny Box comes a sweet story about how one girl can make a difference. Lilly Etta didn't know the men, but she knew those yellow chairs. They were Tanya's, and they were being taken out of...

It's up, up, and away with the Tuskegee Airmen, a heroic group of African American military pilots who helped the United States win World War II. During World War II, black Americans were fighting for their country and for freedom in Europe, yet they had to endure a totally segregated military...

Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. won the world heavyweight championship at the age of 22, the same year he joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali. He would go on to become the first and only three-time (in succession) World Heavyweight Champion. Nicknamed “The Greatest,”...

There is only one QUEEN OF SOUL! Discover why Aretha Franklin garners so much R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Aretha Franklin was a musical and cultural icon whose legacy spanned six decades! Born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1942, Aretha got her start singing in front of her father's Baptist congregation and found...

BOOM! SNAP! WHIZ! ZAP! The Magnificent Makers series is filled with science, adventure, and characters that listeners will love! A modern-day Magic School Bus for chapter book listeners! This audiobook includes two science activities kids can do at home! These quick educational activities (30...

A powerful, impactful, eye-opening journey that explores through the Civil Rights Movement in 1950s-1960s America in spare and evocative verse. In stunning verse, Erica Martin's debut poetry collection walks readers through the Civil Rights Movement—from the well-documented events that shaped...

Discover more about Juneteenth, the important holiday that celebrates the end of chattel slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, a group of enslaved men, women, and children in Texas gathered around a Union solder and listened as he read the most remarkable words they would ever hear...