African Heritage

She just wouldn't get up - and with that simple, courageous act Rosa Parks struck a blow against injustice. Parks showed what one person, without guns or violence, could do to change the course of history forever. Nelson Mandela claimed "she is who inspired us...to be fearless when facing our oppressors."

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.

The first African men, women, and children in colonial America did not arrive with dreams of freedom or hopes of a new, better life. They arrived after a torturous 90-day journey called the Middle Passage. And they arrived as slaves. Since that time, African-Americans have suffered, triumphed, despaired,and dreamed.

August Wilson grew up open to the creative inspiration in everything he encountered: in library books, in music, in artworks, in the lively conversations overheard in the restaurants and barbershops lining the Pittsburgh neighborhood of his childhood. August paid attention. He listened. And when he got older, he got ideas about what to do with everything he’d seen and heard—ideas that would make him one of the greatest playwrights in American history.

Once upon a time, children's music was just Mother Goose, nursery songs, and lullabies. And then came Ella Jenkins. Ella Jenkins is an American folk singer and living legend dubbed The First Lady of Children's Music. For nearly 70 years, she has been writing and performing music that has entertained and engaged generations of young listeners. In Make a Pretty Song, Ella's life and legacy are captured in vibrant sights, sounds, and stories that leap right out of the book.

Listen to the sound of survival, courage, and democracy—the soundtrack of America. Hear Billie Holiday's raspy, mournful voice, and tap your foot to Louis Armstrong's trumpet. Scream with James Brown and bop your head to Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Can you spot the 80+ references to artists like Robert Johnson, Ella Fitzgerald, Jimi Hendrix, Whitney Houston, Lauryn Hill, and Beyonce?

Montgomery, Alabama 1955. Fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin is tired. Tired of white people thinking they’re better than her. Tired of going to separate schools and separate bathrooms. Most of all, she’s tired of having to give up her seat on the bus whenever a white person tells her to. She wants freedom NOW! But what can one teenager do? On a bus ride home from school one day, young Claudette takes a stand for justice and refuses to get up from her seat—nine months before Rosa Parks will become famous for doing the same.

No one could have imagined that the frail seven-year-old slave girl who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1761 would become the first published African American, achieving fame for her poetry in both America and England. Upon her arrival, Phillis quickly learned to read the Bible and other classic literature, publishing her first poem in 1767 when she was thirteen and a book of poetry in 1773. Her poetry encouraged freedom for all people, and she proved to a doubting generation that intelligence and creativity are not limited to a particular race.

Here’s the whole, true story of Rosa Parks’ life - and the spark of change she helped light for the civil rights movement. Unlike other Rosa Parks books for kids, So Other People Would Be Also Free reveals how Rosa’s lifetime of experiences inspired her famous choice - when she stayed seated on a segregated bus to take a stand for racial equality.

A true story told from the perspectives of two heroes of the legendary Freedom Rides of the early 1960s Civil Rights Movement, this Robert F. Silbert Honor Book is a stunning testament to the struggle for social progress despite deeply entrenched racism in the American South. A vivid narration makes this important and inspiring history come alive for today's readers.

From the time their daughter was born, Ketanji Brown’s parents taught her that if she worked hard and believed in herself, she could do anything. As a child, Ketanji focused on her studies and excelled, eventually graduating from Harvard Law School. Years later, in 2016, when she was a federal judge, a seat opened on the United States Supreme Court. Although the timing didn’t work out then, it did in 2022, when President Joe Biden nominated her. At her confirmation, Ketanji Brown Jackson became the first Black female Supreme Court justice in the United States.

Motivated by her love for the game and inspired by the legendary Jackie Robinson, Mamie Johnson is determined to be a professional baseball pitcher. But in a sport that's determined by white men, there is no place for a black woman. Mamie doesn't give up - from the time she insists on trying out for the all-male, all-white Police Athletic League until she realizes her dream and becomes one of three women to play in the Negro Leagues. Mamie Johnson's life shows that with courage and perseverance one can overcome even the greatest challenges.

"I have a dream." Those rousing words, spoken by Martin Luther King, Jr. at an historic civil rights rally in Washington, D.C., brought hope to those who listened: hope that in the future there might not be two Americas - one black and one white - but instead a country united, with justice for all. Here is King's inspiring story, which began in Atlanta, Georgia in 1929 and came to a tragic end on April 4, 1968 when an assassin fatally shot him.

What is looked upon as an American dream for white people has long been an American nightmare for black people. Malcolm X - born Malcolm Little - experienced that nightmare firsthand even as a small boy, when white supremacists firebombed his family home. Such terrifying moments, along with years of daily racist insults and barriers, shaped Malcolm's life, transforming him into one of the most articulate and rousing black nationalist leaders of all time.

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be the best basketball player who ever lived, then Legends in Sports: Michael Jordan is the audiobook for you. In this exciting biography, Matt Christopher, the number one children’s sportswriter in America, puts you on the basketball court with the legendary superstar. Take an inside look at the triumphs, struggles, and statistics of one of the most determined players in National Basketball Association history.

Madam C. J. Walker was beloved within her community for her philanthropy and expanding the local black YMCA, but she couldn't have done that if she weren't the first female self-made millionaire and one of the most successful African American business owners ever. Born Sarah Breedlove, she was the first person born free in her family. She married Charles Joseph Walker and became known as Madam C. J. Walker, the name she would later use on her haircare products.

Meet 44 of America's most impressive heroes in this collective biography of African American figures authored by the team at ESPN's TheUndefeated.com. From visionaries to entrepreneurs, athletes to activists, the Fierce 44 are beacons of brilliance, perseverance, and excellence. Bringing household names like Serena Williams and Harriet Tubman together with lesser-known but highly deserving figures such as Robert Abbott and Dr. Charles Drew, this collection is a celebration of all that African Americans have achieved, despite everything they have had to overcome.

Matthew Henson’s destiny was set when he met naval officer Robert Edwin Peary, in 1887. An African American son of poor farmers, Henson shared Peary’s desire to be the first person to reach the North Pole. In 1909, the men set out one one of their many voyages together. They battled sub-zero temperatures, deadly ice formations, and bone-chilling winds. Many times it was Henson who saved the expedition with his knowledge of Inuit language and culture. But when the men finally achieved their goal, few people believed them.

Ernest Everett Just was not like other scientists of his time. He saw the whole, where others saw only parts. He noticed details others failed to see. He persisted in his research despite the discrimination and limitations imposed on him as an African American. His keen observations of sea creatures revealed new insights about egg cells and the origins of life.

Frederick Douglass was a self-educated slave in the South who grew up to become an icon. He was a leader of the abolitionist movement, a celebrated writer, an esteemed speaker, and a social reformer, proving that, as he said, "Once you learn to read, you will be forever free."

The story of one of America's most revered figures is brought to life by the text of award-winning author Walter Dean Myers.