African American Library

Before May 31, 1921, the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was a thriving neighborhood of 10,000 Black residents. There, Black families found success and community. They ran their own businesses, including barbershops, clothing stores, jewelers, restaurants, movie theatres, and more. There also were Black doctors, dentists, and lawyers to serve the neighborhood. Then, in one weekend, all of this was lost. A racist mob tore through the streets, burning everything to the ground and killing scores of innocent residents.

This inspirational audiobook encapsulates African American history and invites conversations at all levels. Carole Boston Weatherford’s riveting text is an informative reminder of yesterday, a hopeful image for today, and an aspirational dream of tomorrow. Starting from 1619 and stretching more than four hundred years, this audiobook features such pivotal moments in history as the arrival of enslaved people in Jamestown, Virginia; Nat Turner's rebellion; the integration of the US military; and more.

Warm morning sunlight and love fill the Neal home. And on one quiet day, playtime leads to an important realization: Trinity wants long hair like her dolls. She needs it to express who she truly is. So her family decides to take a trip to the beauty supply store, but none of the wigs is the perfect fit. Determined, Mom leaves with bundles of hair in hand, ready to craft a wig as colorful and vibrant as her daughter is.

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 was Louis Armstrong's own passion and genius that pushed jazz into new and exciting realms with his amazing, improvisational trumpet playing. His 70-year life spanned a critical time in American music as well as black history.

Valerie Flournoy and Jerry Pinkney created a warmhearted intergenerational story that became an award-winning perennial. Since then children from all sorts of family situations and configurations continue to be drawn to its portrait of those bonds that create the fabric of family life.

Stevie Wonder is one of the most successful singer-songwriter-musicians of our time. Signing his first record deal when he was only 11, he had his first number one hit when he was 13. Since then he has had 30 US top 10 hits, won a range of awards for his music and his civil rights work, and created such iconic songs as "Isn't She Lovely" and "I Just Called to Say I Love You". Stevie Wonder is a beloved entertainer who continues to tour and perform around the world.

The American boxing champ and vocal civil rights activist Muhammad Ali is the 27th hero in the New York Times best-selling picture book biography series for ages 5 to 8. Muhammad Ali was the leading heavyweight boxer of the 20th century and a charismatic, beloved public figure. His objection to the military draft during the Vietnam War made him an icon for a generation, and his impact in sports and the Civil Rights movement is still felt today.

This friendly, fun biography series focuses on the traits that made our heroes great - the traits that kids can aspire to in order to live heroically themselves. Each book tells the story of an icon in a lively, conversational way that works well for the youngest nonfiction audiences and that always includes the hero's childhood influences. This book features critically acclaimed talk-show host Oprah Winfrey, who used her struggles in childhood as motivation to become "Queen of All Media".

Meet Shirley, a little girl who asks way too many questions! After spending her early years on her grandparents' farm in Barbados, she returns home to Brooklyn and immediately makes herself known. Shirley kicks butt in school; she breaks her mother's curfew; she plays jazz piano instead of classical. And as a young adult, she fights against the injustice she sees around her, against women and Black people. Soon she is running for state assembly...and winning in a landslide. Three years later, she is on the campaign trail again, as the first Black woman to run for Congress.

Discover how a young girl who was the star of her school's debate team became a federal jurist and the first Black woman to sit on the United States Supreme Court.

This book spotlights John Lewis, known for his role in the Civil Rights Movement, having helped organize the March on Washington and the Selma Voting Rights March, and for his lifelong dedication to public service as a member of the House of Representatives. John Lewis was never afraid to get in good trouble.

Shaquille O'Neal discovered his love of basketball while spending time in an afterschool program called the Boys & Girls Club of America. Standing over six feet tall by the time he turned 11 years old, Shaq—as he is affectionately known—continued to practice the game and stunned the country with his phenomenal skills. From leading his high-school team to its first-ever state title to becoming the first pick in the 1992 NBA draft and going on to win four NBA championships, Shaq proved that he could dominate almost any player.

On June 19, 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, a group of enslaved men, women, and children in Texas gathered. Order Number 3 was read, proclaiming that they were no longer enslaved—they were free. People danced, wept tears of joy, and began to plan their new lives. Juneteenth became an annual celebration that is observed by more and more Americans with parades, picnics, family gatherings, and reflection on the words of historical figures, to mark the day when freedom truly rang for all.

Georgia Gilmore was cooking when she heard the news Mrs. Rosa Parks had been arrested - pulled off a city bus and thrown in jail all because she wouldn't let a White man take her seat. To protest, the radio urged everyone to stay off city buses for one day: December 5, 1955. Throughout the boycott - at Holt Street Baptist Church meetings led by a young minister named Martin Luther King Jr. - and throughout the struggle for justice, Georgia served up her mouth-watering fried chicken, her spicy collard greens, and her sweet potato pie.

Mae had a dream to make one-of-a-kind hats. But the path for a Black female designer was unclear, so Mae made a way, leaving her home in the segregated South to study at the Chicago School of Millinery. Mae had the skills, but craved the independence to create her own styles. So Mae found a way. In Philadelphia, she became the first Black woman to own a business on South Street. Whether you were Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, Marian Anderson or a lady from the neighborhood, Mae wanted you to look good and feel special in one of her original hats.

When renowned classical singer Marian Anderson wasn't allowed to sing at a theater in Washington, DC, because she was Black, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt invited her to sing at the Lincoln Memorial, at a concert attended by thousands of people. Marian went on to sing around the world on behalf of the UN and the US State Department, and as a part of the Civil Rights Movement, she also performed at the March on Washington. She went on to win many awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award—and she inspired countless people along the way.

From NYT best-selling author Tracey Baptiste comes a singular picture book, adapted for audio, that is both a biography about Claudette Colvin, the teen whose activism launched the Montgomery bus boycott, and a celebration of collective action.

When Oprah Winfrey was growing up, her family expected her to become a maid like her grandmother. But she had different dreams. She went after them and turned her dreams into reality, becoming a media superstar and inspiring countless other people along the way. Complete with an introduction from Chelsea Clinton!

A compelling collection of words, with the talents of 13 major poets, including Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, and Walter Dean Myers.

On August 28, 1963, more than 200,000 people gathered in Washington, DC, to demand equal rights for all races. It was there that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech, and it was this peaceful protest that spurred the momentous civil rights laws of the mid-1960s.