African American Nonfiction

African American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. It begins with the works of such late 18th-century writers as Phillis Wheatley. Before the high point of enslaved people narratives, African-American literature was dominated by autobiographical spiritual narratives. The genre known as slave narratives in the 19th century were accounts by people who had generally escaped from slavery, about their journeys to freedom and ways they claimed their lives.

The Children is David Halberstam's brilliant and moving evocation of the early days of the civil rights movement, as seen through the story of the young people--the Children--who met in the 1960s and went on to lead the revolution. Magisterial in scope, with a strong you-are-there quality...

The uplifting story of a young Black scientist’s challenging journey to flourish outside the traditional confines of academia, inspired by her innate connection to nature’s most misunderstood animal—the shark. "Jasmin Graham has that winning combination of talent and grit needed to excel...

""Hell Put to Shame is a powerfully unsettling portrait of both the single most savage episode in the long decades of savagery inflicted by white southerners on their Black neighbors in the 20th century—and the methodical process that followed to erase those crimes from America’s collective...

This against-all-odds autobiography of gospel legend Kirk Franklin takes you through the life and trials of one of the most influential and bestselling artists in the music industry. From his difficult childhood on the poor side of town to his rise as a multiple Grammy-winning artist, Kirk...

The late Grammy-winning founder of the legendary pop/R&B/soul/funk/disco group tells his story and charts the rise of his legendary band in this sincere memoir that captures the heart and soul of an artist whose groundbreaking sound continues to influence music today. With a foreword by David...

From a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a devastating exploration of the racial disparities in violent death and injury in America and a blueprint for ending this fundamental social injustice About 170,000 black Americans have died in homicides just since the year 2000. Violence takes more years of life...

"A refreshingly funny and blisteringly unsentimental coming-of-age memoir." -John Green, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Turtles All The Way Down and The Fault in Our Stars In Akilah Hughes's world, family--and life--are often complicated, but always funny. Through intimate and hilarious...

In this groundbreaking book, Aldon D. Morris’ ambition is truly monumental: to help rewrite the history of sociology and to acknowledge the primacy of W. E. B. Du Bois’ work in the founding of the discipline. Calling into question the prevailing narrative of how sociology developed, Morris, a major scholar of social movements, probes the way in which the history of the discipline has traditionally given credit to Robert E. Park at the University of Chicago, who worked with the conservative Black leader Booker T. Washington to render Du Bois invisible.

The Plasma Pioneer reveals the remarkable true story of Charles Richard Drew, the African American physician whose scientific genius collided with the brutal realities of segregated America. When the U.S. military demanded that blood donations be segregated by race—despite Drew's own research proving the practice scientifically baseless—he made a decision that would define his legacy: he resigned from the program he created rather than compromise his principles.

In the 1930s, Black singer Marian Anderson was not allowed to perform at Constitution Hall. But with help from Eleanor Roosevelt, Anderson staged an amazing concert at the Lincoln Memorial and became an activist for civil rights.

Hear Nikki Giovanni read two extraordinary collections of her own work! A singular listening experience! The poetry of Nikki Giovanni has spurred movements, turned hearts and informed generations. She’s been hailed as a firebrand, a radical, a healer, and a sage; a wise and courageous voice...

Alex Kotlowitz's There Are No Children Here was more than a bestseller; it was a national event. His beautifully narrated, heartbreaking nonfiction account of two black boys struggling to grow up in a Chicago public housing complex spent eight weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, was a...

Discover more about Stevie Wonder, the music prodigy whose awards include 25 Grammy Awards and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Stevie Wonder is one of the most successful singer-songwriter-musicians of our time. Signing his first record deal when he was only eleven, he had his first No.1 hit...

Winner of the 2025 Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction and the 2025 GLCA New Writers Award By a prize-winning, young Black trans writer of outsized talent, a fierce and disciplined memoir about queerness, masculinity, and race. Even as it shines light on the beauty and toxicity...

Some stories just can’t be stopped. What Difference Do It Make? continues the hard-to-believe story of hope and reconciliation that began with the New York Times best seller Same Kind of Different as Me. Winner of the 2024 American Legacy Book Award in Inspirational Nonfiction Ron Hall...

A powerful biography of the influential civil rights leader and multitalented musician Coretta Scott King, with illustrations by Caldecott Honor winner Cozbi A. Cabrera. Young Coretta Scott was a gifted musician, learning multiple instruments and breaking barriers to study music in college...

As groundbreaking as Code Girls and Hidden Figures, this is the shocking true story of two segregated codebreaking units racing to unlock Stalin’s atomic secrets in the face of a rapidly expanding Soviet nuclear threat at the dawn of the Cold War. Facing the global threat of a rising Communist...

"Boys, let us get up a club." Six restless young men raided the linens at a friend's mansion, pulled pillowcases over their heads, hopped on horses, and cavorted through the streets of Pulaski, Tennessee. The six friends named their club the Ku Klux Klan, and, all too quickly, their club grew into the self-proclaimed Invisible Empire with secret dens spread across the South. This is the story of how a secret terrorist group took root in America's democracy.

When Ruby Bridges was just six years old, she became the first African American student to integrate an elementary school in the South. Based on the pivotal events that happened in 1960 and told from her own point of view for the first time, in a poetic reflection on her experience that changed the face of history and the trajectory of the civil rights movement. I Am Ruby Bridges offers hope and confidence to all children and is a perfect learning tool for schools and libraries to teach the story of Ruby Bridges as never before.