Black History Month for Teens
Recommended Reads
Books, Movies & Music
The Black Flamingo by Call Number: FIC (YA) ATTA, D.Michael is a mixed-race gay teen growing up in London. All his life, he's navigated what it means to be Greek-Cypriot and Jamaican-but never quite feeling Greek or Black enough. As he gets older, Michael's coming out is only the start of learning who he is and where he fits in. When he discovers the Drag Society, he finally finds where he belongs-and the Black Flamingo is born. Told with raw honesty, insight, and lyricism, this debut explores the layers of identity that make us who we are-and allow us to shine.
Black Enough : stories of being young & Black in America by Call Number: FIC (YA) BLACKBlack is...sisters navigating their relationship at summer camp in Portland, Oregon, as written by Renee Watson. Black is...three friends walking back from the community pool talking about nothing and everything, in a story by Jason Reynolds. Black is...Nic Stone's high-class beauty dating a boy her momma would never approve of. Black is...two girls kissing in Justina Ireland's story set in Maryland. Black is urban and rural, wealthy and poor, mixed race, immigrants, and more--because there are countless ways to be Black enough.
Color Me In by Call Number: FIC (YA) DIAZ, N.Fifteen-year-old Nevaeh Levitz is torn between two worlds, passing for white while living in Harlem, being called Jewish while attending her mother's Baptist church, and experiencing first love while watching her parents' marriage crumble.
Spin by Call Number: FIC (YA) GILES, L.When DJ ParSec (Paris Secord), rising star of the local music scene, is found dead over her turntables, the two girls who found her, Kya (her pre-fame best friend) and Fuse (her current chief groupie) are torn between grief for Paris and hatred for each other--but when the lack of obvious suspects stalls the investigation, and the police seem to lose interest, despite pressure from social media and ParSec's loyal fans, the two girls unite, determined to find out who murdered their friend.
Every Body Looking by Call Number: FIC (YA) ILOH, C.When Ada leaves home for her freshman year at a Historically Black College, it's the first time she's ever been so far from her family-and the first time that she's been able to make her own choices and to seek her place in this new world. As she stumbles deeper into the world of dance and explores her sexuality, she also begins to wrestle with her past-her mother's struggle with addiction, her Nigerian father's attempts to make a home for her. Ultimately, Ada discovers she needs to brush off the destiny others have chosen for her and claim full ownership of her body and her future.
Trigger Warnings: sexual assault, parental neglect, addiction
Monday's Not Coming by Call Number: FIC (YA) JACKSON, T.Monday Charles is missing, and only Claudia seems to notice. Claudia and Monday have always been inseparable--more sisters than friends. So when Monday doesn't turn up for the first day of school, Claudia's worried. When she doesn't show for the second day, or second week, Claudia knows that something is wrong. Monday wouldn't just leave her to endure tests and bullies alone. Not after last year's rumors and not with her grades on the line. Now Claudia needs her best--and only--friend more than ever. But Monday's mother refuses to give Claudia a straight answer, and Monday's sister April is even less help. As Claudia digs deeper into her friend's disappearance, she discovers that no one seems to remember the last time they saw Monday. How can a teenage girl just vanish without anyone noticing that she's gone?
Grown by Call Number: FIC (YA) JACKSON, T.When legendary R&B artist Korey Fields spots Enchanted Jones at an audition, her dreams of being a famous singer take flight. Until Enchanted wakes up with blood on her hands and zero memory of the previous night. Who killed Korey Fields? Before there was a dead body, Enchanted's dreams had turned into a nightmare. Because behind Korey's charm and star power was a controlling dark side. Now he's dead, the police are at the door, and all signs point to Enchanted.
Trigger Warnings: sexual abuse, rape, assault, kidnapping, addiction
White Smoke by Call Number: FIC (YA) JACKSON, T.Marigold is running from ghosts. The phantoms of her old life keep haunting her, but a move with her newly blended family from their small California beach town to the embattled Midwestern city of Cedarville might be the fresh start she needs. Her mom has accepted a new job with the Sterling Foundation that comes with a free house, one that Mari now has to share with her bratty ten-year-old stepsister, Piper. The renovated picture-perfect home on Maple Street, sitting between dilapidated houses, surrounded by wary neighbors has its . . . secrets. That's only half the problem: household items vanish, doors open on their own, lights turn off, shadows walk past rooms, voices can be heard in the walls, and there's a foul smell seeping through the vents only Mari seems to notice. Worse: Piper keeps talking about a friend who wants Mari gone. But "running from ghosts" is just a metaphor, right? As the house closes in, Mari learns that the danger isn't limited to Maple Street. Cedarville has its secrets, too. And secrets always find their way through the cracks.
Trigger Warnings: drug addiction
Me (Moth) by Call Number: FIC (YA) MCBRIDE, A.Moth has lost her family in an accident. Though she lives with her aunt, she feels alone and uprooted. Until she meets Sani, a boy who is also searching for his roots. If he knows more about where he comes from, maybe he'll be able to understand his ongoing depression. And if Moth can help him feel grounded, then perhaps she too will discover the history she carries in her bones.Moth and Sani take a road trip that has them chasing ghosts and searching for ancestors. The way each moves forward is surprising, powerful, and unforgettable. Here is an exquisite and uplifting novel about identity, first love, and the ways that our memories and our roots steer us through the universe.
Home and Away by Call Number: FIC (YA) MONTGOMERY, C.Tasia Quirk is young, Black, and fabulous. She's a senior, she's got great friends, and a supportive and wealthy family. She even plays football as the only girl on her private high school's team. But when she catches her mamma trying to stuff a mysterious box in the closet, her identity is suddenly called into question. Now Tasia's determined to unravel the lies that have overtaken her life. Along the way, she discovers what family and forgiveness really mean, and that her answers don't come without a fee. An artsy bisexual boy from the Valley could help her find them--but only if she stops fighting who she is, beyond the color of her skin.
Slay by Call Number: FIC (YA) MORRIS, B.An honors student at Jefferson Academy, seventeen-year-old Keira enjoys developing and playing Slay, a secret, multiplayer online role-playing game celebrating black culture, until the two worlds collide.
Who Put This Song On? by Call Number: FIC (YA) PARKER, M.17-year-old Morgan is a black teen triumphantly figuring out her identity when her conservative town deems depression as a lack of faith, and blackness as something to be politely ignored.
Trigger Warnings: attempted suicide
The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Call Number: FIC (YA) PHILIPPE, B.When Norris, a Black French Canadian, starts his junior year at an Austin, Texas, high school, he views his fellow students as cliches from "a bad 90s teen movie."
Concrete Rose by Call Number: FIC (YA) THOMAS, A.International phenomenon Angie Thomas revisits Garden Heights seventeen years before the events of The Hate U Give in this searing and poignant exploration of Black boyhood and manhood. If there's one thing seventeen-year-old Maverick Carter knows, it's that a real man takes care of his family. As the son of a former gang legend, Mav does that the only way he knows how: dealing for the King Lords. With this money he can help his mom, who works two jobs while his dad's in prison. Life's not perfect, but with a fly girlfriend and a cousin who always has his back, Mav's got everything under control. Until, that is, Maverick finds out he's a father. Suddenly he has a baby, Seven, who depends on him for everything. But it's not so easy to sling dope, finish school, and raise a child. So when he's offered the chance to go straight, he takes it. In a world where he's expected to amount to nothing, maybe Mav can prove he's different. When King Lord blood runs through your veins, though, you can't just walk away. Loyalty, revenge, and responsibility threaten to tear Mav apart, especially after the brutal murder of a loved one. He'll have to figure out for himself what it really means to be a man.
On the Come Up by Call Number: FIC (YA) THOMAS, A.Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least make it out of her neighborhood one day. As the daughter of an underground rap legend who died before he hit big, Bri’s got big shoes to fill. But now that her mom has unexpectedly lost her job, food banks and shutoff notices are as much a part of Bri’s life as beats and rhymes. With bills piling up and homelessness staring her family down, Bri no longer just wants to make it—she has to make it. On the Come Up is an homage to hip-hop, the story of fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you; of the struggle to become who you are and not who everyone expects you to be; and of the desperate realities of poor and working-class black families.
The Chosen One: a first-generation ivy league odyssey by Call Number: FIC (YA) BROWN, E.Despite graduating high school in Cleveland as valedictorian, Echo immediately struggles to keep up in her demanding freshman classes at Dartmouh College. Dartmouth made many promises it couldn't keep. The campus is not a rainbow-colored utopia where education lifts every voice. Nor is it a paradise of ideas, an incubator of inclusivity, or even an exciting dating scene. But it might be a portal to different dimensions of time and space--only accessible if Echo accepts her calling as a Chosen One and takes charge of her future by healing her past. This remarkable challenge demands vulnerability, humility, and the conviction to ask for help without sacrificing self-worth. In mesmerizing personal narrative and magical realism, Echo Brown confronts mental illness, grief, racism, love, friendship, ambition, self-worth, and belonging as they steer the fates of first-generation college students on Dartmouth's campus.
Vinyl Moon by Call Number: FIC (YA) BROWNE, M.A teen girl reeling from the scars of a past relationship finds healing and hope in the words of strong Black writers and the new community she builds in Brooklyn, New York.
You Truly Assumed by Call Number: FIC (YA) SABREEN, L.In this compelling and thought-provoking debut novel, after a terrorist attack rocks the country and anti-Islamic sentiment stirs, three Black Muslim girls create a space where they can shatter assumptions and share truths.
Ain't Burned All the Bright by Call Number: FIC (YA) REYNOLDS, J.A smash up of art and text that viscerally captures what it means to not be able to breathe, and how the people and things you love most are actually the oxygen you most need.
Required Reading for the Disenfranchised Freshman by Call Number: FIC (YA) LEE, K.Upon arriving at the prestigious Wooddale University, seventeen-year-old Savannah Howard comes face-to-face with microaggressions and outright racism--but if she stands up for justice, will she endanger her future?
We Weren't Looking to Be Found by Call Number: FIC (YA) KUEHN, S.Dani comes from the richest, most famous Black family in Texas and seems to have everything a girl could want. So why does she keep using and engaging in other self-destructive behaviour? Camila's Colombian-American family doesn't have much, but she knows exactly what she wants out of life and works her ass off to get it. So why does she keep failing, and why does she self-harm every time she does? When Dani and Camila find themselves rooming together at Peach Tree Hills, a treatment facility in beautiful rural Georgia, they initially think they'll never get along - and they'll never get better. But then they find a mysterious music box filled with letters from a former resident of PTH, and together they set out to solve the mystery of who this girl was... and who she's become. The investigation will bring them together, and what they find at the end might just bring them hope. From award-winning author Stephanie Kuehn comes a breath-taking tale of friendship and healing.
Trigger Warnings: self-harm, substance abuse, suicide attempt
Turning by Call Number: FIC (YA) SMITH, J.Before the "accident" Genie was an aspiring ballerina, a star pupil at her exclusive New York dance school, now she is a bitter teenager, permanently confined to a wheelchair, shutting herself off from her friends, her beloved teacher, and even her mother; but at physical therapy she meets Kyle, a gymnast whose traumatic brain injury has landed him in therapy--and through their growing friendship Genie realizes that she has to confront the things around her: like the booze her mother is hiding, or the fact that maybe her fall was not entirely accidental.
Never Look Back by Call Number: Available on CloudLibraryIn Never Look Back, Lilliam Rivera depicts the diverse culture of the Bronx and its people through the nascent romance of Eury and Pheus. This retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice evokes the smooth sounds of bachata, joys of Caribbean heritage, and the trauma caused by grief and loss.
Tags: Afro-Latinx, Puerto Rican American
Blackout by Call Number: FIC (YA) BLACKOUTPublication Date: 2021-06-22A summer heatwave blankets New York City in darkness. But as the city is thrown into confusion, a different kind of electricity sparks... A first meeting. Long-time friends. Bitter exes. And maybe the beginning of something new. When the lights go out, people reveal hidden truths. Love blossoms, friendship transforms, and new possibilities take flight.
Tags: Black / African American, LGBTQ+, BIPOC
The Voting Booth by Call Number: FIC (YA) COLBERT, B.The first year they are eligible to vote, Marva and Duke meet at their polling place and, over the course of one crazy day, fall in love.
Tags: Black / African American, Biracial
Izzy + Tristan by Call Number: FIC (YA) DUNLAP, S.In this modern retelling of the tragic romance of Tristan and Iseult, a two teenagers fall in love even though family, friends, and society threaten to keep them apart.
Tags: Black / African American, Trinidadian American, Irish American, Mental Illness
Not So Pure and Simple by Call Number: FIC (YA) GILES, L.High school junior Del Rainey unwittingly joins a Purity Pledge class at church, hoping to get closer to his long-term crush, Kiera.
Tags: Black / African American, Toxic Masculinity
This Is My Brain in Love by Call Number: FIC (YA) GREGORIO, I.Told in dual narrative, I.W. Gregorio’s second YA novel is an own voices story exploring mental illness stigma, race and culture, and relationships. Rising high school juniors Jocelyn Wu and Will Domenici find romance while trying to keep Jocelyn’s family restaurant from failing and fight to save it all, including their relationship.
Tags: Black / African American, Nigerian American, biracial, Chinese American, Biracial, Mental Health, Anixety, Depression
You Should See Me in a Crown by Call Number: FIC (YA) JOHNSON, L.Liz Lighty has always done her best to avoid the spotlight in her small, wealthy, and prom-obsessed midwestern high school, after all, her family is black and rather poor, especially since her mother died; instead she has concentrated on her grades and her musical ability in the hopes that it will win her a scholarship to elite Pennington College and their famous orchestra where she plans to study medicine--but when that scholarship falls through she is forced to turn to her school's scholarship for prom king and queen, which plunges her into the gauntlet of social media which she hates and leads her to discoveries about her own identity and the value of true friendships.
Tags: Black / African American, bisexual
Heart or Mind by Call Number: FIC (YA) JONES, P.In this remake of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, long standing tension between African American and Somali students at Northeast High School in Minneapolis makes love difficult between Rodney, who is on probation, and Jawahir.
Tags: Black / African American, Somali American
For All Time by Call Number: FIC (YA) MILES, S.Publication Date: 2021-09-28Through countless lives, seventeen-year-olds Tamar and Fayard have fallen in love, fought to be together, and died but when they discover what it will take to break the cycle, will they be able to make the sacrifice?
Tags: Black / African American
The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Call Number: FIC (YA) PETRUS, J.Told in two voices, sixteen-year-old Audre and Mabel, both young women of color from different backgrounds, fall in love and figure out how to care for each other as one of them faces a fatal illness.
Tags: Black / African American, Trinidadian, lesbian, bisexual, terminal illness, poetry
Simone Breaks All the Rules by Call Number: FIC (YA) RIGAUD, D.ISBN: 9781338681727Publication Date: 2021-06-01At seventeen Simone Thibodeaux is fed up with her over-protective mother's insistance on micro-managing her life, like picking her prom date from a "nice" Haitian immigrant family, and anyway she is determined to attend with Gavin Stackhouse (even if he does not know that yet); so together with her fellow late-bloomer friends Simone comes up with a bucket list of rule-breaking (like cutting classes, and sneaking out of the house)--but soon things get complicated, and Simone has to decide which rules are worth breaking, and which should just be left alone.
Tags: Black / African American, Haitian
All the Things We Never Knew by Call Number: FIC (YA) TAMANI, L.Carli and Rex have an immediate connection, an understanding that must mean first love, but family secrets, disappointments--and basketball, which holds center stage in both their lives--all create complications.
Tags: Black / African American
Instructions for Dancing by Call Number: FIC (YA) YOON, N.Publication Date: 2021-06-01After picking up a book from the library, Yvette--who has given up on love--gains the ability to see how other people's romantic relationships will end.
Tags: Black / African American
One True Loves by Call Number: FIC (YA) BRYANT, E.Lenore Bennett has always been a force. A star artist and style icon at her high school, she's a master in the subtle art of not giving a . . . well, you know what. But now that graduation is here, she's a little less sure. She's heading to NYU in the fall with a scarlet U (for "undeclared") written across her chest. Her parents always remind her that Black kids don't have the luxury of figuring it out as they go--they have to be 110 percent prepared. But it's a lot of pressure to be her ancestors' wildest dreams when Lenore's not even sure what her dreams are yet. When her family embarks on a post-graduation Mediterranean cruise, her friend Tessa is sure Lenore's in for a whirlwind romance. But Lenore knows that doesn't happen to girls like her. Then she meets Alex Lee. After their parents bond over the Cupid Shuffle, she ends up stuck with him for the remainder of the cruise. He's a hopeless romantic and a golden boy with a ten-year plan. In short, he's irritating as hell. But as they get to know each other during the picturesque stops across Europe, Alex may be able to help Lenore find something else she's been looking for, even if she doesn't want to admit it to herself: love.
Happily Ever Afters by Call Number: FIC (YA) BRYANT, E.Sixteen-year-old Tessa Johnson has never felt like the protagonist in her own life. She's rarely seen herself reflected in the pages of the romance novels she loves. The only place she's a true leading lady is in her own writing-in the swoony love stories she shares only with Caroline, her best friend and #1 devoted reader. When Tessa is accepted into the creative writing program of a prestigious art school, she's excited to finally let her stories shine. But when she goes to her first workshop, the words are just...gone. Fortunately, Caroline has a solution: Tessa just needs to find some inspiration in a real-life love story of her own. And she's ready with a list of romance novel-inspired steps to a happily ever after.
Things We Couldn't Say by Call Number: FIC (YA) COLES, J.From one of the brightest and most acclaimed new lights in YA fiction, a fantastic new novel about a bi Black boy finding first love . . . and facing the return of the mother who abandoned his preacher family when he was nine.
Right Where I Left You by Call Number: FIC (YA) WINTERS, J.The summer before he leaves for college, eighteen-year-old Isaac Martin makes big plans with his best friend Diego that only the reappearance of an old crush can derail.
Zyla and Kai by Call Number: FIC (YA) FOREST, K.The story of how a cynic and a hopeless romantic become friends, fall in love, and break up unfolds from their different perspectives.
Finding Jupiter by Call Number: FIC (YA) ROWE, K.Sparks fly when teens Orion and Ray meet for the first time at a roller rink in Memphis, but these star-crossed souls have a past filled with secrets that threaten to tear them apart before their love story even begins.
Love Radio by Call Number: FIC (YA) LADELLE, E.Prince Jones, a self-professed teen love doctor known for his radio segment on the local hip-hop station, believes he can get the bookish, anti-romance Dani Ford to fall in love with him in three dates.
Love Times Infinity by Call Number: FIC (YA) CLARKE, L.As high school junior Michie plans for her future and explores a new relationship, she tries to reconcile with some uncomfortable truths about her life which becomes more complicated when she is contacted by her estranged mother.
That Summer Night on Frenchmen Street by Call Number: FIC (YA) CLARKSON, C.Two teens from vastly different worlds discover that sharing their strengths, including the love of their friends and family, may just be the path to finding wholeness within themselves.
Inventing Victoria by Call Number: FIC (YA) BOLDEN, T.Essie, a young black woman in 1880s Savannah, is offered the opportunity to leave her shameful past and be transformed into an educated, high-society woman in Washington, D.C.
Tags: Black / African American, Victorian era
Crossing Ebenezer Creek by Call Number: FIC (YA) BOLDEN, T.Freed from slavery, Mariah and her young brother Zeke join Sherman's march through Georgia, where Mariah meets a free black named Caleb and dares to imagine the possibility of true love, but hope can come at a cost.
Tags: Black / African American, Civil War era
Black Was the Ink by Call Number: FIC (YA) COLES, M.Publication Date: 2021-10-12Through the help of a ghostly ancestor, sixteen-year-old Malcolm is sent on a journey through Reconstruction-era America to find his place in modern-day Black progress.
Tags: Black / African American
Dream Country by Call Number: FIC (YA) GIBNEY, S.Spanning two centuries and two continents, Dream Country is the story of five generations of young people caught in a spiral of death and exile between Liberia and the United States.
Tags: Black / African American, Liberian American
The Black Kids by Call Number: FIC (YA) HAMMONDS REED, C.With the 1992 Rodney King riots closing in on high school senior Ashley and her family, the privileged bubble she has enjoyed, protecting her from the difficult realities most black people face, begins to crumble.
Tags: Black / African American, Black history
Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Call Number: FIC (YA) JACKSON, T.Brooklyn, 1998. Biggie Smalls was right: Things done changed. But that doesn't mean that Quadir and Jarrell are cool letting their best friend Steph's music lie forgotten under his bed after he's murdered--not when his rhymes could turn any Bed Stuy corner into a party. With the help of Steph's younger sister Jasmine, they come up with a plan to promote Steph's music under a new rap name: the Architect. Soon, everyone wants a piece of him. When his demo catches the attention of a hotheaded music label rep, the trio must prove Steph's talent from beyond the grave. As the pressure of keeping their secret grows, Quadir, Jarrell, and Jasmine are forced to confront the truth about what happened to Steph. Only, each has something to hide. And with everything riding on Steph's fame, they need to decide what they stand for or lose all that they've worked so hard to hold on to--including each other.
Tags: Black / African American
Dreamland Burning by Call Number: FIC (YA) LATHAM, J.When Rowan finds a skeleton on her family's property, investigating the brutal, century-old murder leads to painful discoveries about the past. Alternating chapters tell the story of William, another teen grappling with the racial firestorm leading up to the 1921 Tulsa race riot, providing some clues to the mystery.
Tags: Black / African American, Black history
So Many Beginnings: a Little Women Remix by Call Number: FIC (YA) MORROW, B.Publication Date: 2021-09-07North Carolina, 1863. As the American Civil War rages on, the Freedpeople's Colony of Roanoke Island is blossoming, a haven for the recently emancipated. Black people have begun building a community of their own, a refuge from the shadow of the "old life." It is where the March family has finally been able to safely put down roots with four young daughters: Meg, a teacher who longs to find love and start a family of her own. Jo, a writer whose words are too powerful to be contained. Beth, a talented seamstress searching for a higher purpose.Amy, a dancer eager to explore life outside her family's home. As the four March sisters come into their own as independent young women, they will face first love, health struggles, heartbreak, and new horizons. But they will face it all together.
Tags: Black / African American, Civil War era, remixed classic
A Wreath for Emmett Till by Call Number: FIC (YA) NELSON, M.In 1955, people all over the United States knew that Emmett Louis Till was a fourteen-year-old African American boy lynched for supposedly whistling at a white woman in Mississippi. The brutality of his murder, the open-casket funeral, and the acquittal of the men tried for the crime drew wide media attention. Award-winning poet Marilyn Nelson reminds us of the boy whose fate helped spark the civil rights movement. This martyr's wreath, woven from a little-known but sophisticated form of poetry, challenges us to speak out against modern-day injustices, to "speak what we see."
Tags: Black / African American, Black history, racism, poetry
The Awakening of Malcolm X (Sequel to X: A Novel) by Call Number: FIC (YA) SHABAZZ, I.Publication Date: 2021-01-05While in Charlestown Prison in the 1940s, young Malcolm Little reads all the books in the library, joins the debate team and the Nation of Islam, and emerges as Malcolm X.
Tags: Black / African American, Black history
X: a Novel by Call Number: FIC (YA) SHABAZZ, I.What starts as a desperate attempt to defy the white world that killed his father and locked his mother away turns dangerous as Malcolm Little immerses himself in the world of reefer, jazz, and women, heading down an increasingly violent path that will guarantee him a place in civil rights history.
Tags: Black / African American, Black history, civil rights
Cane Warriors by Call Number: FIC (YA) WHEATLE, A.Cane Warriors follows the true story of Tacky's War in Jamaica in 1760. A powerful young adult tale told through the eyes of Moa, a fourteen-year-old slave, this fictionalized account of the most significant rebellion of the time is rarely mentioned in history books or taught in schools. The story begins as Moa is awoken in the middle of the night by one of the rebels, who informs him that the revolt will begin on Easter Sunday. Moa's father doesn't like the idea of his son joining the rebellion, but his mother gives Moa her blessing. Together, Moa and his sixteen-year-old best friend Keverton take up arms, learning about brotherhood, courage, faith, and sacrifice along the way.
Tags: Black, Jamaican
Mirror Girls by Call Number: FIC (YA) MCWILLIAMS, K.Biracial twin sisters--one who presents as black and the other as white--are determined to put the ghosts of the past to rest and to uncover the truth behind their parents' murders in the Jim Crow South.
Children of Blood and Bone (Orïsha #1) by Call Number: FIC (YA) ADEYEMI, T.They killed my mother. They took our magic. They tried to bury us. Now we rise. Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls. But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good. Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy.
Tags: Black, West African-inspired
Kingdom of Souls (Kingdom of Souls #1) by Call Number: FIC (YA) BARRON, R.A girl with no gifts must bargain for the power to fight her own mother’s dark schemes—even if the price is her life. Heir to two lines of powerful witchdoctors, Arrah yearns for magic of her own. Yet she fails at bone magic, fails to call upon her ancestors, and fails to live up to her family’s legacy. Under the disapproving eye of her mother, the Kingdom’s most powerful priestess and seer, she fears she may never be good enough. But when the Kingdom’s children begin to disappear, Arrah is desperate enough to turn to a forbidden, dangerous ritual. If she has no magic of her own, she’ll have to buy it—by trading away years of her own life. Arrah’s borrowed power reveals a nightmarish betrayal, and on its heels, a rising tide of darkness that threatens to consume her and all those she loves. She must race to unravel a twisted and deadly scheme… before the fight costs more than she can afford.
Tags: Black, West African-inspired
Cinderella Is Dead by Call Number: FIC (YA) BAYRON, K.It's 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girl's display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again. Sixteen-year-old Sophia would much rather marry Erin, her childhood best friend, than parade in front of suitors. At the ball, Sophia makes the desperate decision to flee, and finds herself hiding in Cinderella's mausoleum. There, she meets Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella and her step sisters. Together they vow to bring down the king once and for all--and in the process, they learn that there's more to Cinderella's story than they ever knew . . .This fresh take on a classic story will make readers question the tales they've been told, and root for girls to break down the constructs of the world around them.
Tags: Black, lesbian, queer
This Poison Heart by Call Number: FIC (YA) BAYRON, K.Publication Date: 2021-06-29Teenaged Briseis, who possesses a supernatural power over plants, even poisonous ones, inherits a dilapidated estate in rural New York and must protect herself and her family from centuries-old secrets that threaten their lives.
Tags: Black / African American, Greek mythology-inspired
Within These Wicked Walls by Call Number: FIC (YA ) BLACKWOOD, L.Publication Date: 2021-10-19What the heart desires, the house destroys... Andromeda is a debtera-an exorcist hired to cleanse households of the Evil Eye. She would be hired, that is, if her mentor hadn't thrown her out before she could earn her license. Now her only hope of steady work is to find a Patron-a rich, well-connected individual who will vouch for her abilities. When a handsome young heir named Magnus Rochester reaches out to hire her, she takes the job without question. Never mind that he's rude and demanding and eccentric, that the contract comes with a number of outlandish rules and that almost a dozen debtera had quit before her. If Andromeda wants to earn a living, she has no choice. But she quickly realizes this is a job like no other, with horrifying manifestations at every turn, and that Magnus is hiding far more than she has been trained for. Death is the most likely outcome if she stays, the reason every debtera before her quit. But leaving Magnus to live out his curse alone isn't an option because-heaven help her-she's fallen for him. Stunningly romantic, Lauren Blackwood's heartstopping debut, Within These Wicked Walls, ushers in an exciting new fantasy voice.
Tags: Black, Ethiopian-inspired
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin (Wraiths & Ruin #1) by Call Number: FIC (YA) BROWN, R.For Malik, the Solstasia festival is a chance to escape his war-stricken home and start a new life with his sisters in the prosperous desert city of Ziran. But when a vengeful spirit abducts his younger sister, Nadia, as payment to enter the city, Malik strikes a fatal deal-kill Karina, Crown Princess of Ziran, for Nadia's freedom. But Karina has deadly aspirations of her own. Her mother, the Sultana, has been assassinated; her court threatens mutiny; and Solstasia looms like a knife over her neck. Grief-stricken, Karina decides to resurrect her mother through ancient magic . . . requiring the beating heart of a king. And she knows just how to obtain one: by offering her hand in marriage to the victor of the Solstasia competition. When Malik rigs his way into the contest, they are set on a heart-pounding course to destroy each other. But as attraction flares between them and ancient evils stir, will they be able to see their tasks to the death?
Tags: Black, West African-inspired
Daughters of Jubilation by Call Number: FIC (YA) CORTHRON, K.In the Jim Crow South, white supremacy reigns and tensions are high. But Evalene Deschamps has other things to worry about. She has two little sisters to look after, an overworked single mother, and a longtime crush who is finally making a move. On top of all that, Evvie's magic abilities are growing stronger by the day. Her family calls it jubilation-a gift passed down from generations of black women since the time of slavery. And as Evvie's talents waken, something dark comes loose and threatens to resurface... And when the demons of Evvie's past finally shake free, she must embrace her mighty lineage, and summon the power that lies within her.
Tags: Black / African American
Legendborn by Call Number: FIC (YA) DEONN, T.After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus. A flying demon feeding on human energies. A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down. And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw. The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates. She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.
Tags: Black / African American, LGBTQIA+, Gay, Bisexual
The Gilded Ones by Call Number: FIC (YA) FORNA, N.Publication Date: 2021-02-09The start of a bold and immersive West African-inspired, feminist fantasy series for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and Black Panther. In this world, girls are outcasts by blood and warriors by choice.
Tags: Black, West African-inspired
Raybearer (Raybearer #1) by Call Number: FIC (YA) IFUEKO, J.Raised in isolation, Tarisai yearns for the closeness she could have as one of the Crown Prince's Council of 11, but her mother, The Lady, has magically compelled Tarisai to kill the Crown Prince.
Tags: Black, Nigerian folklore-inspired
Bad Witch Burning by Call Number: FIC (YA) LEWIS, J.Publication Date: 2021-08-24Katrell can talk to the dead. And she wishes it made more money. She's been able to support her unemployed mother-and Mom's deadbeat-boyfriend-of-the-week-so far, but it isn't enough. Money's still tight, and to complicate things, Katrell has started to draw attention. Not from this world-from beyond. And it comes with a warning- STOP or there will be consequences. Katrell is willing to call the ghosts on their bluff; she has no choice. What do ghosts know of having sleep for dinner? But when her next summoning accidentally raises someone from the dead, Katrell realizes that a live body is worth a lot more than a dead apparition. And, warning or not, she has no intention of letting this lucrative new business go. Only magic isn't free, and dark forces are coming to collect. Now Katrell faces a choice- resign herself to poverty, or confront the darkness before it's too late.
Tags: Black / African American
A Blade So Black (The Nightmare-verse #1) by Call Number: FIC (YA) MCKINNEY, L.he first time the Nightmares came, it nearly cost Alice her life. Now she's trained to battle monstrous creatures in the dark dream realm known as Wonderland with magic weapons and hardcore fighting skills. Yet even warriors have a curfew. Life in real-world Atlanta isn't always so simple, as Alice juggles an overprotective mom, a high-maintenance best friend, and a slipping GPA. Keeping the Nightmares at bay is turning into a full-time job. But when Alice's handsome and mysterious mentor is poisoned, she has to find the antidote by venturing deeper into Wonderland than she?s ever gone before. And she'll need to use everything she's learned in both worlds to keep from losing her head . . . literally.
Tags: Black / African American, Latinx, East Asian, LGBTQ+
A Song Below Water (A Song Below Water #1) by Call Number: FIC (YA) MORROW, B.Tavia is already at odds with the world, forced to keep her siren identity under wraps in a society that wants to keep her kind under lock and key. Nevermind she's also stuck in Portland, Oregon, a city with only a handful of black folk and even fewer of those with magical powers. At least she has her bestie Effie by her side as they tackle high school drama, family secrets, and unrequited crushes. But everything changes in the aftermath of a siren murder trial that rocks the nation; the girls' favorite Internet fashion icon reveals she's also a siren, and the news rips through their community. Tensions escalate when Effie starts being haunted by demons from her past, and Tavia accidentally lets out her magical voice during a police stop. No secret seems safe anymore- soon Portland won't be either.
Tags: Black / African American
Akata Witch (Akata Witch #1) by Call Number: FIC (YA) OKORAFOR, N.Twelve-year-old Sunny Nwazue, an American-born albino child of Nigerian parents, moves with her family back to Nigeria, where she learns that she has latent magical powers which she and three similarly gifted friends use to catch a serial killer.
Tags: Black/African-American, Nigerian American, albino
A Phoenix First Must Burn : sixteen stories of Black girl magic, resistance, and hope by Call Number: FIC (YA) PHOENIXBlack girls, including gender non-conforming individuals, star in this collection of sixteen stories of fantasy, science fiction, and magic.
Tags: Black / African American, African diaspora, LGBTQ+, gender nonconforming
Blood Like Magic by Call Number: FIC (YA) SAMBURY, L.Publication Date: 2021-06-15After failing to come into her powers, sixteen-year-old Voya--a Black witch living in near-future Toronto--is forced to choose between losing her family's magic forever, a heritage steeped in centuries of blood and survival, or murdering her first love, a boy who is supposedly her genetic match.
Tags: Black / African American
Given by Call Number: FIC (YA) TAYLOR, N.Yenni has never been this far from home. With only her wits, her strength, and her sacred runelore, the fierce Yirba warrior princess is alone in the Empire of Cresh. It's a land filled with strange magics and even stranger people-all of whom mistrust anyone who's different. But Yenni will prove herself, and find the cure for her father's wasting illness. She will not fail. No one warned her about the dragons. Especially not about him. Yet there is something powerful and compelling about the violet-black dragon known as Weysh. In human form he's muscular, beautiful-and completely infuriating. What kind of arrogant creature claims a stranger as his Given; as his destined mate? Yenni is no man's-or dragon's-plaything. But other magics must be at work here, because Weysh might just be her best hope at finding the answers she seeks. Only now Yenni can't tell if she's fighting an attraction to a dragon . . . or fighting fate itself.
Tags: Black, African-inspired, Caribbean mythology
Wings of Ebony (series) by Call Number: FIC (YA) ELLE, J.Half-god, half-human Rue is snatched from her Houston home to Ghazan, a secret land of gods, by her estranged father, then must face an evil determined to steal everything from her.
Almost There (a Twisted Tale) by Call Number: FIC (YA) ROCHON, F."What if Tiana made a deal with the Shadow Man?"
A year after Tiana makes a deal with Dr. Facilier, she has her restaurant, her friends are safe, and her father is still alive, but soon shadows begin to gather and Tiana must work with Naveen and Charlotte to set things right or risk losing her soul.
- A Phoenix First Must Burn : sixteen stories of Black girl magic, resistance, and hope by Call Number: FIC (YA) PHOENIXBlack girls, including gender non-conforming individuals, star in this collection of sixteen stories of fantasy, science fiction, and magic.
Tags: Black / African American, African diaspora, LGBTQ+, gender nonconforming 
Shuri: a Black Panther Novel by Call Number: FIC (YA) STONE, N.Publication Date: 2020-05-05For centuries, the Chieftain of Wakanda (the Black Panther) has gained his powers through the juices of the Heart-Shaped Herb. Much like Vibranium, the Heart-Shaped Herb is essential to the survival and prosperity of Wakanda. But something is wrong. The plants are dying. No matter what the people of Wakanda do, they can't save them. And their supply is running short. It's up to Shuri to travel from Wakanda in order to discover what is killing the Herb, and how she can save it, in the first volume of this all-new, original adventure.
Tags: Black, African
Rebel Sisters (Sequel to War Girls) by Call Number: FIC (YA) ONYEBUCHI, T.Living a comfortable life in the Space Colonies, Ify, now nineteen and a medical administrator, must return to wartorn Nigeria, where she last saw her sister, to investigate why young refugees from that nation are carrying a deadly virus.
Tags: Black, Nigerian, Chinese, refugees
War Girls by Call Number: FIC (YA) ONYEBUCHI, T.In 2172, when much of the world is unlivable, sisters Onyii and Ify dream of escaping war-torn Nigeria and finding a better future together but are, instead, torn apart.
Tags: Black, Nigerian, Muslim, LGBTQIA+, Lesbian, Queer, refugees
Survive the DomeCall Number: FIC (YA) JACKSON, K.A high school junior teams up with a hacker during a police brutality protest to shut down a device that creates an impenetrable dome around Baltimore that is keeping the residents in and information from going out...
Burn down, Rise UpCall Number: FIC (YA) TIRADO, V.When an urban legend rumored to trap people inside subway tunnels seems to be behind mysterious disappearances in the Bronx, sixteen-year-old Raquel and her friends team up to save their city--and confront a dark episode in its history in the process.
The Undead Truth of Us by Call Number: FIC (YA) LEWIS, B.After her mother's sudden death, sixteen-year-old dancer Zharie Young begins seeing zombies, and when she meets an undead boy, he helps her understand how love can change someone--for good or for dead.
The Getaway by Call Number: FIC (YA) GILES, L.Jay discovers that mountain resort where he lives and works with his friends and family is also a doomsday oasis for the rich and powerful who expect top-notch customer service even as the world outside the resort's walls disintegrates...
Quincredible Vol. 1 by Call Number: FIC (YA VL) BARNES, R.Publication Date: 2021-02-23Invulnerability is a pretty useless superpower if you ve only got a one-hundred-pound frame to back it up. That's what Quinton West's life became when he went from "small guy who got beat up to "small guy who can't get hurt" after the meteor shower dubbed "The Event" gifted him the power of invulnerability, but no other powers to compliment it.
Tags: Black / African American
Sundiata : a legend of Africa by Call Number: FIC (YA VL) EISNER, W.A retelling in comic strip form of the African epic in which an ugly, crippled child grows up to become the liberator and founder of the great empire of old Mali.
Tags: Black, Mali, African folklore
Ironheart: Meant to Fly by Call Number: FIC (YA VL) EWING, E.Riri Williams steps boldly out of Tony Stark's shadow to forge her own future! When one of Spider-Man's old foes holds a group of world leaders hostage, Ironheart must step up her game. Luckily, Riri has a will of steel, a heart of iron and a new A.I. on her side! Unluckily, the search for a kidnapped friend will send her stumbling into an ancient power - and it's deadly! Plus, when Miles Morales goes missing, who better to search for him than his fellow Champion Riri? And more amazing friends join the fun - including Nadia Van Dyne, the unstoppable Wasp! The Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange! And Princess Shuri of Wakanda! But can Riri and her allies stop the sinister Ten Rings and their plans for destruction?
Tags: Black / African American
The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor by Call Number: FIC (YA VL) GARRITY, S.Publication Date: 2021-07-20After she saves a man from drowning, Haley wakes up in a pocket universe that appears as a gothic estate and helps three brothers whose job it is to protect her world against a penultimate evil.
Tags: Black / African American
Pitch Black by Call Number: FIC (YA VL) LANDOWNE, Y.Antony Horton, an African-American homeless man living in a subway tunnel, describes his life on the streets.
Tags: Black / African American, unhoused
Bayou, Volume One by Call Number: FIC (YA VL) LOVE, J.Lee Wagstaff is the daughter of a black sharecropper in the depression-era town of Charon, Mississippi. When Lily Westmoreland, her white playmate, is snatched by agents of an evil creature known as Bog, Lee's father is accused of kidnapping. Lee's only hope is to follow Lily's trail into this fantastic and frightening alternate world. Along the way she enlists the help of a benevolent, blues singing, swamp monster called Bayou. Together, Lee and Bayou trek across a hauntingly familiar Southern Neverland, confronting creatures both benign and malevolent, in an effort to rescue Lily and save Lee's father from being lynched.
Tags: Black / African American
Luke Cage: Everyman by Call Number: FIC (YA VL) LUKE CAGEWith Harlem in the grips of an unprecedented heat wave, the people look to their hero -- the unbreakable man, Luke Cage! But the heat wave turns out to be the least of Harlem's worries. Someone has their sights set on the city's 1%, and the rich and powerful are dropping dead from mysterious illnesses. It's up to Luke Cage to stop the Everyman killer -- even though he's just received a grim diagnosis of his own. By the time Luke discovers the true identity of the Everyman killer, he's too late to stop them from abducting one of the most important people in his life. Can Luke neautralize the killer in time to save his beloved city?
Tags: Black / African American
Nubia: Real One by Call Number: FIC (YA VL) MCKINNEY, L.Publication Date: 2021-02-23Nubia has always stood out because of her Amazonian strength, but even though she uses her ability for good she is seen as a threat, so when her best friend Quisha is threatened by a boy who thinks he owns the town, Nubia risks everything to become the hero society tells her she is not.
Tags: Black / African American
I Am Alfonso Jones by Call Number: FIC (YA VL) MEDINA, T.The ghost of fifteen-year-old Alfonso Jones travels in a New York subway car full of the living and the dead, watching his family and friends fight for justice after he is killed by an off-duty police officer while buying a suit in a Midtown department store. In the first graphic novel for young readers to focus on police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement, as in Hamlet, the dead shall speak--and the living yield even more surprises.
Tags: Black / African American, Black Lives Matter, antiracism
Miles Morales: Ultimate End by Call Number: FIC (YA VL) MILES MORALESPublication Date: 2021-07-06Miles Morales, the Ultimate Universe's newest Spider-Man, must face with the worst nightmare of the Spider-Man legacy: Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin--the man who killed Peter Parker! Or did he? Even as new villains start coming out of the woodwork, Miles finds himself with--a girlfriend! Her name is Katie Bishop, but she has a secret - and it's bad news for Spider-Man! As Miles makes a life-changing decision, he discovers a mind-blowing truth about his family! But what does it have to do with S.H.I.E.L.D.? Doctor Doom steps from the shadows and Spider-Man gathers the mighty Ultimates--but no matter what happens next, this might be the end of the world for Miles Morales!
Tags: Black / African American, Puerto Rican, biracial
Monster: a Graphic Novel by Call Number: FIC (YA VL) MYERS, W.While on trial as an accomplice to a murder, sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon records his experiences in prison and in the courtroom in the form of a film script as he tries to come to terms with the course his life has taken.
Tags: Black / African American
Shuri: Wakanda Forever by Call Number: FIC (YA VL) OKORAFOR, N.T'Challa has disappeared, and Wakanda expects Shuri to lead their great nation in his absence! But she's happiest in a lab surrounded by her inventions. She'd rather be testing gauntlets than throwing them down! So it's time for Shuri to rescue her brother yet again - with a little help from Storm, Rocket Raccoon and Groot! But what happens when her outer-space adventure puts Africa at risk from an energy-sapping alien threat? Then, Shuri heads to America to investigate a lead, with Ms. Marvel and Miles 'Spider-Man' Morales along for the ride! But with her people in peril, will Shuri embrace her reluctant destiny and become the Black Panther once more? Prepare for a hero like you've never seen before!
Tags: Black, African
Malika: Warrior Queen Volume 1 by Call Number: FIC (YA VL) OKUPE, R.Publication Date: 2021-09-07Growing up as a prodigy, Malika inherits the crown from her father in an incredibly unusual way, splitting the kingdom of Azzaz in half. After years of civil war, Malika finally unites all of Azzaz, expanding it into one of the largest empires in all of West Africa - but expansion will not come without its costs. Enemies begin to rise within her council, and Azzaz catches the attention of one of the most feared superpowers the world has ever known: the Ming Dynasty!
Tags: Black, West African-inspired
Iyanu: Child of Wonder Volume 1 by Call Number: FIC (YA VL) OKUPE, R.Publication Date: 2021-09-21Iyanu, a teenage orphan with no recollection of her past, suddenly discovers that she has abilities that rival the ancient deities told in the folklore of her people. It is these abilities that are the key to bringing back an 'age of wonders,' as Iyanu begins her journey to save a world on the brink of destruction! The Corrupt - cursed wildlife and strange, divine beast - are determined to destroy humanity, unless Iyanu can stop them.
Tags: Black, African folklore-inspired
Long Way Down : the graphic novel by Call Number: FIC (YA VL) REYNOLDS, J.As Will, fifteen, sets out to avenge his brother Shawn's fatal shooting, seven ghosts who knew Shawn board the elevator and reveal truths Will needs to know.
Tags: Black / African American
Beyonce by Call Number: YA 92 BEYONCEBiography about the singer and actress Beyonce.
Tags: Black / African American
The Beautiful Struggle : a memoir by Call Number: YA 92 COATES, T.Publication Date: 2021-01-12A memoir from Ta-Nehisi Coates, in which he details the challenges on the streets and within one's family, especially the eternal struggle for peace between a father and son and the important role family plays in such circumstances.
Tags: Black / African American
Laverne Cox by Call Number: YA 92 COX, L.In 2013, Orange Is the New Black began captivating audiences with its cast of female characters representing diverse strata of society. Perhaps no star on the show has inspired as much as Laverne Cox, who plays the black transgender inmate Sophia Burset. Cox's work, both as an actor and off-screen, has brought attention to the risks faced by vulnerable populations, particularly racial minority transgender individuals. This biography documents Cox's triumphant life and work as an activist, documenting her own growth from troubling times she recalls as a teenager to becoming the first openly transgender actor nominated for an Emmy.
Tags: Black / African American, Transgender
Taking Flight: from War Orphan to Star Ballerina by Call Number: YA 92 DEPRINCE, M.Michaela DePrince was known as girl Number 27 at the orphanage, where she was abandoned at a young age and tormented as a "devil child" for a skin condition that makes her skin appear spotted. But it was at the orphanage that Michaela would find a picture of a beautiful ballerina en pointe that would help change the course of her life. At the age of four, Michaela was adopted by an American family, who encouraged her love of dancing and enrolled her in classes. She went on to study at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at the American Ballet Theatre and is now the youngest principal dancer with the Dance Theatre of Harlem. In this engaging, moving, and unforgettable memoir, Michaela shares her dramatic journey from an orphan in West Africa to becoming one of ballet's most exciting rising stars.
Tags: Black / African American, West African, Sierra Leonean
Sean Combs by Call Number: YA 92 DIDDYBiography of record producer, rapper, and actor Sean "P. Diddy" Combs.
Tags: Black / African American
Walk Toward the Rising Sun : from child soldier to ambassador of peace : a memoir by Call Number: YA 92 DUANY, G.The amazing autobiography of a young Sudanese boy who went from a child soldier to an international peace activist, a struggling refugee to a Hollywood actor. Sudan, 1980s: Ger Duany knew what he wanted out of life--make his family proud, play with his brothers and sisters, maybe get an education like his brother Oder suggested, and become a soldier for his people when he's old enough. But then his village was attacked by the North Sudanese military, death kept taking his loved ones away, and being a child soldier was not what he thought it would be. Amid heartbreak, death, and violence, can this lost boy find his way to safety? America, 1990s: After boarding a flight without his family to seek refuge in a foreign country, Ger worked tirelessly to adjust to a new life. It wasn't long before he was thrown into the spotlight, as people discovered his talents for basketball, modeling, and acting. Yet the spotlight wasn't the only thing following him, as he battled the effects of PTSD, resisted the siren call of the excesses of fame, and endured a new kind of racism in America. Amid fame, trauma, and the memory of home, can this lost boy find himself?
Tags: Black, Sudanese, refugees
Fights : one boy's triumph over violence by Call Number: YA 92 GILL, J.Propelled into a world filled with uncertainty and desperation, young Joel is pushed toward using violence to solve his problems by everything and everyone around him. But fighting doesn't always yield the best results for a confused and sensitive kid who yearns for a better, more fulfilling life than the one he was born into, as Joel learns in a series of brutal conflicts that eventually lead him to question everything he has learned about what it truly means to fight for one's life. Fights is the visceral and deeply affecting memoir of artist/author Joel Christian Gill, chronicling his youth and coming of age as a Black child in a chaotic landscape of rough city streets and foreboding backwoods.
Tags: Black / African American
Defiant: Growing Up in the Jim Crow South by Call Number: YA 92 HUDSON, W.Publication Date: 2021-10-12As the fight for equal rights continues, Defiant takes a critical look at the strides and struggles of the past in this revelatory and moving memoir about a young Black man growing up in the South during the heart of the Civil Rights Movement.
Tags: Black / African American, race relations, antiracism
Obviously : stories from my timeline by Call Number: YA 92 HUGHES, A.Comedian and activist Akilah Hughes shares everything about her journey from a childhood in the south to the big screen while dispensing invaluable big-sister-style advice to a generation of future YouTubers.
Tags: Black / African American
Call Me American : the extraordinary true story of a young Somali immigrant by Call Number: YA 92 IFTIN, A.Abdi Nor Iftin grew up amidst a blend of cultures, far from the United States. At home in Somalia, his mother entertained him with vivid folktales and bold stories detailing her rural, nomadic upbrinding. As he grew older, he spent his days following his father, a basketball player, through the bustling street of the capital city of Mogadishu. But when the threat of civil war reached Abdi's doorstep, his family was forced to flee to safety. Through the turbulent years of war, young Abdi found solace in popular American music and films. Nicknamed Abdi the American, he developed a proficiency for English that connected him-and his story-with news outlets and radio shows, and eventually gave him a shot at winning the annual U.S. visa lottery.
Tags: Black, Somali American, Muslim, immigrants
Reach for the Skai : how to inspire, empower, and clapback by Call Number: YA 92 JACKSON, S.Actress and activist Skai Jackson shares her lessons on life and her rise to stardom in this vibrant memoir about self-acceptance, girl empowerment, and the classy clapback.
Tags: Black / African American
All Boys Aren't Blue : a memoir-manifesto by Call Number: YA 92 JOHNSON, G.In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. From the memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea marketing with his loving grandmother, to his first sexual relationships, this young-adult memoir weaves together the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys. Both a primer for teens eager to be allies as well as a reassuring testimony for young queer men of color, All Boys Aren't Blue covers topics such as gender identity, toxic masculinity, brotherhood, family, structural marginalization, consent, and Black joy.
Tags: Black / African American, LGBTQIA+, Gay
Seen: Edmonia Lewis by Call Number: YA 92 LEWIS, E.Meet Edmonia Lewis, the woman who changed America during the Civil War by becoming the first sculptor of African-American and Native American heritage to earn international acclaim.
Tags: Black / African American, Native American, graphic nonfiction
Outcasts United : the story of a refugee soccer team that changed a town by Call Number: YA 92 MUFLEH, L.A complex and inspirational story about the Fugees, a youth soccer team made up of diverse refugees from around the world, and their formidable female coach, Luma Mufleh. Clarkston, Georgia, was a typical southern town until it became a refugee resettlement center. The author explores how the community changed with the influx of refugees and how the dedication of Lumah Mufleh and the entire Fugees soccer team inspired an entire community.
Tags: Kosovan, Mozambican, Liberian, Ethiopian, Afghan, Sudanese
It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime : stories from a South African childhood by Call Number: YA 92 NOAH, T.Trevor Noah, host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central, shares his remarkable story of growing up in South Africa with a black South African mother and a white European father at a time when it was against the law for a mixed-race child to exist. But he did exist--and from the beginning, the often-misbehaved Trevor used his keen smarts and humor to navigate a harsh life under a racist government. In a country where racism barred blacks from social, educational, and economic opportunity, Trevor surmounted staggering obstacles and created a promising future for himself thanks to his mom's unwavering love and indomitable will. This honest and poignant memoir adapted from the #1 New York Times bestseller Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood will astound and inspire readers as well as offer a fascinating perspective on South Africa's tumultuous racial history.
Tags: Black, South African, biracial
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Call Number: YA 92 OBAMA, B.Publication Date: 2021-10-05This is a compelling journey tracing the future 44th president's odyssey through family, race, and identity. A revealing portrait of a young Black man asking questions about self-discovery and belonging long before he became one of the most important voices in America. The son of a white American mother and a Black Kenyan father, Obama brings readers along as he faces the challenges of high school and college, living in New York, becoming a community organizer in Chicago, and traveling to Kenya. Through these experiences, he forms an enduring commitment to leadership and justice. Told through the lens of his relationships with his family the mother and grandparents who raised him, the father he knows more as a myth than as a man, and the extended family in Kenya he meets for the first time, Obama confronts the complicated truth of his father's life and legacy and comes to embrace his divided heritage. On his journey to adulthood from a humble background, he forges his own path through trial and error while staying connected to his roots. This powerful memoir will inspire readers to examine both where they come from and where they are capable of going.
Tags: Black / African American, Kenyan, Biracial
Condoleezza Rice: a Memoir of My Extraordinary, Ordinary Family and Me by Call Number: YA 92 RICE, C.A look at the life of Condoleezza Rice, from her childhood to foreign affairs to Secretary of State under George Bush.
Tags: Black / African American
They Better Call Me Sugar : my journey from the hood to the hardwood by Call Number: YA 92 RODGERS, S.Publication Date: 2021-05-04Growing up in dire poverty in Suffolk, Virginia, Sugar (born Ta'Shauna) Rodgers never imagined that she would become an all-star player in the WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association). She mastered her three-point shot on a net her brother put up just outside their home, eventually becoming so good that she could hustle local drug dealers out of money in one-on-one contests. With the love and support of her family and friends, Sugar's performance on her high school basketball team led to her recruitment by the Georgetown Hoyas, and her eventual draft into the WNBA in 2013 by the Minnesota Lynx. The first of her family to attend college, Sugar speaks of her struggles both academically and as an athlete with raw honesty.
Tags: Black / African American
Make It Messy : my perfectly imperfect life by Call Number: YA 92 SAMUELSSON, M.Marcus Samuelsson's life and his journey to the top of the food world have been anything but typical. Orphaned in Ethiopia, he was adopted by a loving couple in Sweden, where his new grandmother taught him to cook and inspired in him a lifelong passion for food. In time, that passion would lead him to train and cook in some of the finest, most demanding kitchens in Europe. Samuelsson's talent and ambition eventually led him to fulfill his dream of opening his own restaurant in New York City: Red Rooster Harlem, a highly acclaimed, multicultural dining room, where presidents rub elbows with jazz musicians, aspiring artists, and bus drivers. A place where anyone can feel at home.
Tags: Black, Ethiopian, Swedish
Neil DeGrasse Tyson by Call Number: YA 92 TYSON, N.Learn about the life and career of astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.
Tags: Black / African American
How Dare the Sun Rise : memoirs of a war child by Call Number: YA 92 UWIRINGIYIMANA, S.This profoundly moving memoir is the remarkable and inspiring true story of Sandra Uwiringyimana, a girl from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who tells the tale of how she survived a massacre, immigrated to America, and overcame her trauma through art and activism.
Tags: Black, Congolese, immigrants
Pharrell by Call Number: YA 92 WILLIAMS, P.Biography about the life and music career of record producer Pharrell who also is into fashion design and acting.
Tags: Black / African American
One Earth by Call Number: YA 920 RAOOne Earth profiles Black, Indigenous and People of Color who live and work as environmental defenders. Through their individual stories, the book shows that the intersection of environment and ethnicity is an asset to achieving environmental goals. The twenty short biographies introduce readers to diverse activists from all around the world, who are of many ages and ethnicities. From saving ancient trees on the West Coast of Canada, to protecting the Irrawaddy dolphins of India, to uncovering racial inequalities in the food system in the United States, these environmental heroes are celebrated by author and biologist Anuradha Rao, who outlines how they went from being kids who cared about the environment to community leaders in their field. One Earth is full of environmental role models waiting to be found.
Tags: Black / African American, Native American / Indigenous, Hispanic / Latinx, Asian American, Pacific Islander, People of Color
Black Internet Effect by Call Number: YA 92 CHARLES, S.Musician and technology phenom Shavone Charles explores how curiosity and nerve led her from a small college in Merced, California, to some of the most influential spaces in the tech world: from Google to Twitter to eventually landing a spot on the coveted Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Grateful for being the first in many spaces, but passionate about being neither the last nor the only, Charles tells her story in the hopes of guiding others and shaping a future where people, particularly women of color, feel empowered to make space for themselves and challenge society's status quos.
The Sun Does Shine : an innocent man, a wrongful conviction, and the long path to justice by Call Number: YA 92 HINTON, A.In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in Alabama. Stunned, confused, and only 29 years old, Hinton knew that it was a case of mistaken identity and believed that the truth would prove his innocence and ultimately set him free. But with a criminal justice system with the cards stacked against Black men, Hinton was sentenced to death . He spent his first three years on Death Row in despairing silence-angry and full of hatred for all those who had sent an innocent man to his death. But as Hinton realized and accepted his fate, he resolved not only to survive, but find a way to live on Death Row. For the next twenty-seven years he was a beacon-transforming not only his own spirit, but those of his fellow inmates. With the help of civil rights attorney and bestselling author of Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson, Hinton won his release in 2015.
Don't Look Back : a memoir of war, survival, and my journey from Sudan to America by Call Number: YA 92 DENG, A.For ten years, Achut Deng surrived at Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya after her family was ripped apart by the Second Sudanese Civil War. But Achut wanted to do more than merely survive. She wanted to live. The twenty-two-year civil war essentially orphaned over 20,000 children and drove them from their villages in southern Sudan. Some of these children walked over a thousand miles, through dangerous war zones and across unforgiving deserts. They are often referred to as The Lost Boys. But there were girls, too. Achut Deng was one of them. This is her story. It's a story of unimaginable hardship and selfless bravery, of tormenting physical pain and amazing emotional resilience, of unbreakable bonds of friendship and family. It's a story about what happens when your dream comes true, only to give way to a new nightmare. It's about how hard you will fight to save your own life.
Star Child : a biographical constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler by Call Number: YA 92 BUTLER, O.Acclaimed novelist Ibi Zoboi illuminates the young life of the visionary storyteller Octavia E. Butler in poems and prose. Born into the Space Race, the Red Scare, and the dawning Civil Rights Movement, Butler expereinced an American childhood that shaped her into the groundbreaking science-fiction storyteller whose novels continue to challenge and delight readers fifteen years after her death.
Notes from a Young Black Chef by Call Number: YA 92 ONWUACHI, K.This inspiring memoir chronicles Top Chef star and Forbes and Zagat 30 Under 30 phenom Kwame Onwuachi's incredible--and odds-defying--rise to fame in the food world after a tough childhood in the Bronx and Nigeria.
Empowered Black Girl : joyful affirmations and words of resilience by Call Number: YA 305.235 FIEEven strong, fearless, and badass Black girls and Black women need affirmations. Now more than ever, we need to practice the art of self-care and give our minds and bodies the TLC they deserve. Author of Badass Black Girl and Happy, Okay? M.J Fievre brings you inspirational words of wisdom through fabulous Black female trailblazers who have changed the world, including Audre Lorde, Lupita Nyong'o and Angela Davis.
Feminist AF: A Guide to Crushing Girlhood by Call Number: YA 305.42 COOLoud and rowdy girls, quiet and nerdy girls, girls who rock naturals, girls who wear weave, outspoken and opinionated girls, girls still finding their voice, queer girls, trans girls, and gender nonbinary young people who want to make the world better: Feminist AF uses the insights of feminism to address issues relevant to today's young womxn. What do you do when you feel like your natural hair is ugly, or when classmates keep touching it? How do you handle your self-confidence if your family or culture prizes fair-skinned womxn over darker-skinned ones? How do you balance your identities if you're an immigrant or the child of immigrants? How do you dress and present yourself in ways that feel good when society condemns anything outside of the norm? Covering colorism and politics, romance and pleasure, code switching, and sexual violence, Feminist AF is the empowering guide to living your feminism out loud.
The self-love revolution : radical body positivity for girls of color by Call Number: YA 158.1 TOVIt's time to ditch harmful, outdated beauty standards and build real, lasting body positivity. It's time for a self-love revolution! Every day we see movies, magazines, and social media that make us feel like we need to change how we look. This takes a toll on how we think about ourselves-and how we allow others to treat us. And while many teens feel shame about their body, being a teen girl of color can be hard in unique ways. Maybe you feel alienated by the mainstream image of beauty, which is still thin, white and able-bodied. In addition to that, you may also feel pressure from within your community to measure up to a different-but equally unfair-beauty standard. So, how can you start feeling good about yourself when you're surrounded by these unrealistic-and problematic-ideas about your body? In The Self-Love Revolution, leading body image expert and creator of #LoseHateNotWeight Virgie Tovar offers an unapologetic guide to help you question popular culture and cultivate radical body positivity. With this groundbreaking book, you'll identify and challenge mainstream beliefs about beauty; understand the unique tools girls of color have to counter negative body image; and build real, lasting body empowerment. You'll also learn how to call out diet culture, and discover ways to move beyond your own inner critic and start building the unconditional love for yourself that you deserve. It's time to explode society's beauty standards, stop messing with diets, wear what you want, and recognize that your body is your business. This book will help you find your way to radical body positivity, one step at a time.
I Will Always Write Back by Call Number: YA 305.235 ALIThe true story of an American girl and a boy from Zimbabwe and the letter that changed both of their lives forever. It started as an assignment. Everyone in Caitlin's class wrote to an unknown student somewhere in a distant place. Martin was lucky to even receive a pen-pal letter. There were only ten letters, and fifty kids in his class. But he was the top student, so he got the first one. That letter was the beginning of a correspondence that spanned six years and changed two lives. In this compelling dual memoir, Caitlin and Martin recount how they became best friends--and better people--through their long-distance exchange. Their story will inspire you to look beyond your own life and wonder about the world at large and your place in it.
Can't Stop Won't Stop : a hip-hop history by Call Number: YA 306.484 CHAFrom award-winning author Jeff Chang, Can't Stop Won't Stop is the story of hip-hop, a generation-defining movement and the music that transformed American politics and culture forever. Hip hop is one of the most dominant and influential cultures in America, giving new voice to the younger generation. It defines a generation's worldview. Exploring hip hop's beginnings up to the present day, Jeff Chang and Dave "Davey D" Cook provide a provocative look into the new world that the hip hop generation has created. Based on original interviews with DJs, b-boys, rappers, activists, and gang members, with unforgettable portraits of many of hip hop's forebears, founders, mavericks, and present day icons, this book chronicles the epic events, ideas and the music that marked the hip hop generation's rise.
This Is What I Know about Art by Call Number: YA 701.03 DREArts writer and co-editor of Black Futures Kimberly Drew shows us that art and protest are inextricably linked. Drawing on her personal experience through art toward activism, Drew challenges us to create space for the change that we want to see in the world. Because there really is so much more space than we think.
Tags: Black / African American
Letters to a Young Athlete by Call Number: YA 796.323 BOSPublication Date: 2021-06-01Chris Bosh, NBA Hall of Famer, eleven-time All-Star, two-time NBA champion, Olympic gold medalist, and the league's Global Ambassador, had his playing days cut short at their prime by a freak medical condition. His extraordinary career ended not at a time of his choosing but "in a doctor's office in the middle of the afternoon." Forced to reckon with how to find meaning to carry forward, he found himself looking back over his path, from a teenager in Dallas who balanced basketball with the high school robotics club to the pinnacle of the NBA and beyond. Reflecting on all he learned from a long list of basketball legends, from LeBron and Kobe to Pat Riley and Coach K, he saw that his important lessons weren't about basketball so much as the inner game of success--right attitude, right commitment, right flow within a team. Now he shares that journey, giving us a fascinating view from the inside of what greatness feels like and what it takes, formulated as a series of letters to younger people coming up and to all wisdom seekers. A timeless gift for anyone in pursuit of excellence, Letters to a Young Athlete offers a proven path for taming your inner voice and making it your ally, through the challenges of failure and the challenges of success alike.
Tags: Black / African American
Light for the World to See by Call Number: YA 811.6 ALEA powerful and provocative collection of poems that cut to the heart of the entrenched racism and oppression in America and eloquently explores ongoing events. A book in the tradition of James Baldwin's "A Report from Occupied Territory," Light for the World to See is a rap session on race. A lyrical response to the struggles of Black lives in our world . . . to America's crisis of conscience . . . to the centuries of loss, endless resilience, and unstoppable hope.
Tags: Black / African American, antiracism, poetry
Say Her Name by Call Number: YA 811.6 ELLInspired by the #SayHerName campaign launched by the African American Policy Forum, these poems pay tribute to victims of police brutality as well as the activists insisting that Black Lives Matter. Elliott engages poets from the past two centuries to create a chorus of voices celebrating the creativity, resilience, and courage of Black women and girls. This collection features forty-nine powerful poems, four of which are tribute poems inspired by the works of Lucille Clifton, Audre Lorde, Nikki Giovanni, and Phillis Wheatley.
Tags: Black / African American, antiracism, poetry
Concrete Kids by Call Number: YA 811.6 LEOIn Concrete Kids, playwright, musician, and educator Amyra Leon uses free verse to challenge us to dream beyond our circumstances -- and sometimes even despite them. Concrete Kids is an exploration of love and loss, melody and bloodshed. Musician, playwright, and educator Amyra Leon takes us on a poetic journey through her childhood in Harlem, as she navigates the intricacies of foster care, mourning, self-love, and resilience. In her signature free-verse style, she invites us all to dream with abandon--and to recognize the privilege it is to dream at all.
Tags: Black / African American, biracial, poetry
Ordinary Hazards : a memoir by Call Number: YA 811.54 GRIGrowing up with a mother suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and a mostly absent father, Nikki Grimes found herself terrorized by babysitters, shunted from foster family to foster family, and preyed upon by those she trusted. At the age of six, she poured her pain onto a piece of paper late one night - and discovered the magic and impact of writing. For many years, Nikki's notebooks were her most enduing companions. In this accessible and inspiring memoir that will resonate with young readers and adults alike, Nikki shows how the power of those words helped her conquer the hazards - ordinary and extraordinary - of her life.
Tags: Black / African American, poetry
Ink Knows No Borders by Call Number: YA 811.608 INKWith authenticity, integrity, and insight, this collection of poems addresses the many issues confronting first- and second- generation young adult immigrants and refugees, such as cultural and language differences, homesickness, social exclusion, human rights, racism, stereotyping, and questions of identity. Poems by Elizabeth Acevedo, Erika L. Sanchez, Samira Ahmed, Chen Chen, Ocean Vuong, Fatimah Asghar, Carlos Andres Gomez, Bao Phi, Kaveh Akbar, Hala Alyan, and Ada Limon, among others, encourage readers to honor their roots as well as explore new paths, offering empathy and hope for those who are struggling to overcome discrimination. Many of the struggles immigrant and refugee teens face head-on are also experienced by young people everywhere as they contend with isolation, self-doubt, confusion, and emotional dislocation. Ink Knows No Borders is the first book of its kind and features 65 poems and a foreword by poet Javier Zamora, who crossed the border, unaccompanied, at the age of nine, and an afterword by Emtithal Mahmoud, World Poetry Slam Champion and Honorary Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Brief biographies of the poets are included, as well. It's a hopeful, beautiful, and meaningful book for any reader.
Tags: Diverse perspectives, Nigerian, Filipino, Korean, Pakistani, Guyanese, Mexican, Syrian, Sudanese, Guamanian, Russian, Turkish, poetry
Limelight by Call Number: YA 821.92 RAPLimelight is a unique collection of slam poetry paired with inspirational writing techniques. With over 30 original poems in different forms, Raphael's work tackles current social concerns for his generation, such as sustainability and social equality, all while amplifying his uplifting message of hope. Solli's book also contains 5 chapters on how to write and read poetry, how to manage stage fright and writer's block, and encouraging tips on how we can all make tomorrow better than today. As a voice of his generation, and at a time when youth movements worldwide hold much importance, Raphael is taking on the world...one word at a time.
Tags: Black, Australian, poetry
Inheritance : a visual poem by Call Number: YA 811.6 ACEIn her most famous spoken-word poem, author of the Pura Belpre-winning novel-in-verse The Poet X Elizabeth Acevedo embraces all the complexities of Black hair and Afro-Latinidad-the history, pain, pride, and powerful love of that inheritance.
Walk Boldly : empowerment toolkit for young black men by Call Number: YA 155.518 FIEAffirmations for Black teen boys. This black teen book is full of wisdom from Black male trailblazers who accomplished remarkable things in sports, literature, entertainment, education, STEM, business, military and government services, politics and law, activism, and more. This black teen book is designed to help you facilitate your creative drive, promote positive self-awareness, and boost your inner strength. Explore the many facets of your identity through hundreds of big and small questions and affirmations.
Becoming Kareem by Call Number: YA 92 ABDUL-JABBAR, K.An autobiography about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his life growing up in New York, becoming the basketball star he's known to be, and getting involved in the world around him as an activist for social change.
The Many Faces of Josephine Baker : dancer, singer, activist, spy by Call Number: YA 92 BAKER, J.With determination and audacity, Josephine Baker turned her comic and musical abilities into becoming a worldwide icon of the Jazz Age. Following Baker's life from her childhood in the depths of poverty to her comedic rise in vaudeville and fame in Europe, this lively biography covers her outspoken participation in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, espionage work for the French Resistance during World War II, and adoption of 12 children--her "rainbow tribe."
Singled Out: the true story of Glenn Burke by Call Number: YA 92 BURKE, G.The true story of Glenn Burke, a "hidden figure" in the history of sports: the inventor of the high five and the first openly gay MLB player.
Bessie Coleman by Call Number: YA 92 COLEMAN, B.Inspired by soldiers returning from World War I, Bessie Coleman decided to become a pilot, but in 1916 American flight schools did not admit women. This book examines the challenging times and amazing accomplishments of Coleman on her journey to not only become the first woman of African American and Native American descent to earn an international aviation pilot's license, but also a successful civilian pilot and famous stunt flyer.
Black Ballerinas : my journey to our legacy by Call Number: YA 92 COPELAND, M.As a young girl living in a motel with her mother and her five siblings, Misty Copeland didn't have a lot of exposure to ballet or prominent dancers. She was sixteen when she saw a Black ballerina on a magazine cover for the first time. The experience emboldened Misty and told her that she wasn't alone--and her dream wasn't impossible. In the years since, Misty has only learned more about the trailblazing women who made her own success possible by pushing back against repression and racism with their talent and tenacity. Misty brings these women's stories to a new generation of readers and gives them the recognition they deserve. With an introduction from Misty about the legacy these women have had on dance and on her career itself, this book delves into the lives and careers of women of color who fundamentally changed the landscape of American ballet from the early twentieth century to today.
Man Called Horse : John Horse and the Black Seminole Underground Railroad by Call Number: YA 92 HORSE, J.A daring account of Black Seminole warrior, chief, and diplomat John Horse and the route he forged on the Underground Railroad to gain freedom for his people. John Horse (also known as Juan Caballo) was a famed chief, warrior, tactician, and diplomat who played a dominant role in Black Seminole affairs for half a century. His story is central to that of the Black Seminoles--descendants of Seminole Indians, free Blacks, and escaped slaves who formed an alliance in Spanish Florida. A political and military leader of mixed Seminole and African heritage, Horse defended his people from the U.S. government, other tribes, and slave hunters.
Maybe an Artist: a Graphic Memoir by Call Number: YA 92 MONTAGUE, E.A heartfelt and funny graphic novel memoir by one of the first Black female cartoonists to be published in the New Yorker, at the age of 22!
The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks by Call Number: YA 92 PARKS, R.Rosa Parks is one of the most well-known Americans today, but much of what is known and taught about her is incomplete, distorted, and just plain wrong. Adapted for young people from the NAACP Image Award-winning The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks, Jeanne Theoharis and Brandy Colbert shatter the myths that Parks was meek, accidental, tired, or middle class. They reveal a lifelong freedom fighter whose activism began two decades before her historic stand that sparked the Montgomery bus boycott and continued for 40 years after.
Paul Robeson : no one can silence me by Call Number: YA 92 ROBESON, P.Publication Date: 2021-03-09Paul Robeson was destined for greatness. The son of an ex-slave who upon his college graduation ranked first in his class, Robeson was proclaimed the future "leader of the colored race in America." Although a graduate of Columbia Law School, he abandoned his law career (and the racism he encountered there) and began a hugely successful career as an internationally celebrated actor and singer. The predictions seemed to have been correct--Paul Robeson's triumphs on the stage earned him esteem among white and Black Americans across the country, although his daring and principled activism eventually made him an outcast from the entertainment industry, and his radical views made many consider him a public enemy.
Call Him Jack : the story of Jackie Robinson, Black freedom fighter by Call Number: YA 92 ROBINSON, J.According to Martin Luther King, Jr., Jackie Robinson was "a sit-inner before the sit-ins, a freedom rider before the Freedom Rides." According to Hank Aaron, Robinson was a leader of the Black Power movement before there was a Black Power movement. According to his wife, Rachel Robinson, he was always Jack, not Jackie--the diminutive form of his name bestowed on him in college by white sports writers. This electrifying biography recovers the real person behind the legend in an enthralling, eye-opening portrayal of this barrier-breaking American hero as a lifelong, relentlessly proud fighter for Black justice and civil rights.
Troublemaker for Justice : the story of Bayard Rustin, the man behind the march on Washington by Call Number: YA 92 RUSTIN, B.Bayard Rustin was a major figure in the Civil Rights movement. He was arrested on a bus 13 years before Rosa Parks and he participated in integrated bus rides throughout the South 14 years before the Freedom Riders. He was a mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., teaching him the techniques and philosophy of Gandhian nonviolent direct action. He organized the March on Washington in 1963, one of the most impactful mobilizations in American history. Despite these contributions, few Americans recognize his name, and he is absent from most history books, in large part because he was gay. This biography traces Rustin's life, from his childhood and his first arrest in high school for sitting in the "whites only" section of a theater, through a lifetime of nonviolent activism.
Augusta Savage : the shape of a sculptor's life by Call Number: YA 92 SAVAGE, A.A powerful biography in poems about Augusta Savage, the trailblazing artist and pillar of the Harlem Renaissance. Arguably the most influential American artist of the 1930s, Augusta was a gifted sculptor, the first ever-recorded Black gallerist, and a champion for equal rights in the arts. And yet popular history has forgotten her name. Deftly written and brimming with photographs of Savage's stunning sculpture, this is an important portrait of an exceptional artist who, despite the limitations she faced, was compelled to forge a life through art and creativity.
Bessie Stringfield by Call Number: YA 92 STRINGFIELD, B.Imagine a five-foot-two-inch-tall woman riding a Harley eight times across the continental United States. Now imagine she is black and is journeying across the country in the pre-Civil Rights era of the 1930s and '40s. That is the amazing true story of Bessie Stringfield, the woman known today as The Motorcycle Queen of Miami and the first black woman to be inducted into the American Motorcyclist Association Hall of Fame and the Harley Davidson Hall of Fame. Stringfield was a pioneer in motorcycling during her lifetime; she rode as a civilian courier for the US military and founded the Iron Horse Motorcycle Club in Miami, all while confronting and overcoming Jim Crow in every ride.
Separate No More: the Long Road to Brown V. Board of Education by Call Number: YA 323.119 GOLSince 1896, in the landmark outcome of Plessy v. Ferguson, the doctrine of "separate but equal" had been considered acceptable under the United States Constitution. African American and white populations were thus segregated, attending different schools, living in different neighborhoods, and even drinking from different water fountains -- so long as the separated facilities were deemed of comparable quality. However, as African Americans found themselves lacking opportunity, barred from the educational, legal, and personal resources readily available to white people, and living under the constant menace of lawless mob violence, it was becoming increasingly apparent that segregation was not only unjust, but dangerous. Fighting to turn the tide against racial oppression, revolutionaries rose up all over America, from Booker T. Washington to W. E. B. Du Bois. They formed coalitions of some of the greatest legal minds and activists, who carefully strategized how to combat the racist judicial system, picking and choosing which cases to take on and how to tackle them. These activists would not always win, in some instances suffering great setbacks, but, ever resilient, they continued to push forward. These efforts would be rewarded in the groundbreaking cases of 1952-1954 known collectively as Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, in which the U. S. Supreme Court would decide, once and for all, the legality of segregation -- and on which side of history the United States would stand. In this thrilling examination of the path to Brown v. Board of Education, Constitutional law scholar Lawrence Goldstone highlights the key trials and players in the fight for integration. Written with a deft hand, this story of social justice will remind readers, young and old, of the momentousness of the segregation hearings.
In the Name of Emmett Till: How the Children of the Mississippi Freedom Struggle Showed Us Tomorrow by Call Number: YA 323.119 MAYThe killing of Emmett Till is widely remembered today as one of the most famous examples of lynchings in America. African American children in 1955 personally felt the terror of his murder. These children, however, would rise up against the culture that made Till's death possible. From the violent Woolworth's lunch-counter sit-ins in Jackson to the school walkouts of McComb, the young people of Mississippi picketed, boycotted, organized, spoke out, and marched, working to reveal the vulnerability of black bodies and the ugly nature of the world they lived in. These children changed that world. In the Name of Emmett Till: How the Children of the Mississippi Freedom Struggle Showed Us Tomorrow weaves together the riveting tales of those young women and men of Mississippi, figures like Brenda Travis, the Ladner sisters, and Sam Block who risked their lives to face down vicious Jim Crow segregation. Readers also discover the adults who guided the young people, elders including Medgar Evers, Robert Moses, and Fannie Lou Hamer. This inspiring new book of history for young adults from award-winning author Robert H. Mayer is an unflinching portrayal of life in the segregated South and the bravery of young people who fought that system. As the United States still reckons with racism and inequality, the activists working In the Name of Emmett Till can serve as models of activism for young people today.
Freedom Summer for Young People by Call Number: YA 323.119 WATIn the summer of 1964, as the Civil Rights movement boiled over, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) sent more than seven hundred college students to Mississippi to help black Americans already battling for democracy, their dignity and the right to vote. The campaign was called "Freedom Summer." But on the evening after volunteers arrived, three young civil rights workers went missing, presumed victims of the Ku Klux Klan. The disappearance focused America's attention on Mississippi. In the days and weeks that followed, volunteers and local black activists faced intimidation, threats, and violence from white people who didn't believe African Americans should have the right to vote. As the summer unfolded, volunteers were arrested or beaten. Black churches were burned. More Americans came to Mississippi, including doctors, clergymen, and Martin Luther King. A few frightened volunteers went home, but the rest stayed on in Mississippi, teaching in Freedom Schools, registering voters, and living with black people as equals. Freedom Summer brought out the best and the worst in America. The story told within these pages is of everyday people fighting for freedom, a fight that continues today.
Stolen Justice : the struggle for African-American voting rights by Call Number: YA 324.62 GOLFollowing the Civil War, the Reconstruction era raised a new question to those in power in the US: Should African Americans, so many of them former slaves, be granted the right to vote? In a bitter partisan fight over the legislature and Constitution, the answer eventually became yes, though only after two constitutional amendments, two Reconstruction Acts, two Civil Rights Acts, three Enforcement Acts, the impeachment of a president, and an army of occupation. Yet, even that was not enough to ensure that African American voices would be heard, or their lives protected. White supremacists loudly and intentionally prevented black Americans from voting -- and they were willing to kill to do so. In this vivid portrait of the systematic suppression of the African American vote, critically acclaimed author Lawrence Goldstone traces the injustices of the post-Reconstruction era through the eyes of incredible individuals, both heroic and barbaric, and examines the legal cases that made the Supreme Court a partner of white supremacists in the rise of Jim Crow. Though this is a story of America's past, Goldstone brilliantly draws direct links to today's creeping threats to suffrage in this important and timely book.
Run by Call Number: YA 328.73 LEWPublication Date: 2021-08-03From the #1 New York Times bestselling, graphic novel series March comes the continuation of the life story of John Lewis and the struggles seen across the United States after the Civil Rights Movement. For John Lewis, the Civil Rights Movement as he knew it ended with the signing of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, but his struggle in the following years echo many of the same questions of civil rights and equality that are being asked today. The movement secured the right to sit at a lunch counter, but what about the right to earn a dollar to pay for your meal? Ousted from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee due to internal disorder, Lewis went on to work on Robert F. Kennedy's campaign, to be shocked by the events of 1968. Struggling with the larger question of how to rebuild the movement, Lewis had an idea: someone should run for the 5th Congressional district seat in Georgia. Starting with the tragic death of Martin Luther King Jr., Run tells the story of how John Lewis entered politics, working within the community, and organizing a campaign that has taken him to one of the most important seats in Congress.
Finding a Way Home by Call Number: YA 346.73 BRIRichard Perry Loving and Mildred Jeter Loving wanted to live out their married life near family in Virginia. However, the state refused to let them--because Richard was white and Mildred was black. After being arrested and charged with a crime, the Lovings were forced to leave their home--until they turned to the legal system. In one of the country's most prominent legal battles, Loving v. Virginia, the Lovings secured their future when the court struck down all state laws prohibiting mixed marriage.
Getting Away with Murder : the true story of the Emmett Till case by Call Number: YA 364.152 CROThe kidnapping and violent murder of fourteen-year-old Emmett Till in 1955 was and is a uniquely American tragedy. Till, a black teenager from Chicago, was visiting family in a small town in Mississippi, when he allegedly whistled at a white woman. Three days later, his brutally beaten body was found floating in the Tallahatchie River. In clear, vivid detail Chris Crowe investigates the before-and-aftermath of Till's murder, as well as the dramatic trial and speedy acquittal of his white murderers, situating both in the context of the nascent Civil Rights Movement. Newly reissued with a new chapter of additional material--including recently uncovered details about Till's accuser's testimony--this book grants eye-opening insight to the legacy of Emmett Till.
Attucks! : Oscar Robertson and the basketball team that awakened a city by Call Number: YA 796.323 HOOA rousing rags-to-riches episode, a tale of youth power, and a scarcely told chapter in African-American history, Attucks! charts the rise of the legendary Crispus Attucks High School Tigers in the 1950s. By winning the Indiana state high school basketball boys' championship in 1955, ten teens from a school meant to be the centerpiece of racially segregated education in Indiana shattered the myth of their own inferiority. Their brilliant coach had fashioned an unbeatable team from a group of boys born in the South and raised in poverty, anchored by the astonishing player Oscar "The Big O" Robertson. The Crispus Attucks Tigers went down in history as the first state champions from the city of Indianapolis and the first all-black team in U.S. history to win a racially open championship tournament.
In the Shadow of Liberty by Call Number: YA 920.009 DAVDid you know that many of America's Founding Fathers--who fought for liberty and justice for all--were slave owners? Through the powerful stories of five enslaved people who were "owned" by four of our greatest presidents, this book helps set the record straight about the role slavery played in the founding of America. From Billy Lee, valet to George Washington, to Alfred Jackson, faithful servant of Andrew Jackson, these dramatic narratives explore our country's great tragedy--that a nation "conceived in liberty" was also born in shackles.These stories help us know the real people who were essential to the birth of this nation but traditionally have been left out of the history books. Their stories are true--and they should be heard.
Strange Fruit, Volume II by Call Number: YA 973.049 GILLike all legends, people fade away, but not before leaving an incredible legacy. Strange Fruit, Volume II: More Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History is a collection of stories from early African American history that represent the oddity of success in the face of great adversity. Joel Christian Gill offers historical and cultural commentary on heroes whose stories are not often found in history books, such as Cathay Williams, the only known female Buffalo Soldier, and Eugene Bullard, a fighter pilot who flew for France during World War I. These beautifully illustrated stories offer a refreshing look at remarkable African Americans.
Across the Tracks by Call Number: YA 976.686 BALPublication Date: 2021-05-04Also known as Black Wall Street, Greenwood was a community whose importance is often overshadowed by the atrocious massacre that took place there in 1921. Across the Tracks introduces the reader to the businesses and townsfolk who flourished in this unprecedented time of prosperity for Black Americans. We learn about Greenwood and why it is essential to remember the great achievements of the community as well as the tragedy which nearly erased it. However, Ball is careful to recount the eventual recovery of Greenwood. Across the Tracks offers a thorough examination of the rise, fall, and rebirth of Black Wall Street.
The Burning : Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 by Call Number: YA 976.686 BEAPublication Date: 2021-05-11On the morning of June 1, 1921, a white mob numbering in the thousands marched across the railroad tracks dividing black from white in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and obliterated a black community then celebrated as one of America's most prosperous. 34 square blocks of Tulsa's Greenwood community, known then as the Negro Wall Street of America, were reduced to smoldering rubble. And now, 80 years later, the death toll of what is known as the Tulsa Race Riot is more difficult to pinpoint. Conservative estimates put the number of dead at about 100 (75% of the victims are believed to have been black), but the actual number of casualties could be triple that. The Tulsa Race Riot Commission, formed two years ago to determine exactly what happened, has recommended that restitution to the historic Greenwood Community would be good public policy and do much to repair the emotional as well as physical scars of this most terrible incident in our shared past. With chilling details, humanity, and the narrative thrust of compelling fiction, The Burning will recreate the town of Greenwood at the height of its prosperity, explore the currents of hatred, racism, and mistrust between its black residents and neighboring Tulsa's white population, narrate events leading up to and including Greenwood's annihilation, and document the subsequent silence that surrounded the tragedy.
Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre by Call Number: YA 976.686 COLPublication Date: 2021-10-05A searing new work of nonfiction from award-winning author Brandy Colbert about the history and legacy of one of the most deadly and destructive acts of racial violence in American history: the Tulsa Race Massacre. Colbert contextualizes the Tulsa Race Massacre which had its hundredth year anniversary in 2021 to commemorate the harrowing events using her skillful writing for teen audiences. A well-researched accounting of the racial violence that cannot be forgotten.
And We Rise : the Civil Rights Movement in poems by Call Number: YA 323.119 MARA powerful, impactful, eye-opening journey that explores through the Civil Rights Movement in 1950s-1960s America in spare and evocative verse, with historical photos interspersed throughout. In stunning verse and vivid use of white space, Erica Martin's debut poetry collection walks readers through the Civil Rights Movement-from the well-documented events that shaped the nation's treatment of Black people, beginning with the "Separate but Equal" ruling-and introduces lesser-known figures and moments that were just as crucial to the Movement and our nation's centuries-long fight for justice and equality. A poignant, powerful, all-too-timely collection that is both a vital history lesson and much-needed conversation starter in our modern world.
Overground Railroad : the Green book and the roots of black travel in America by Call Number: YA 305.8 TAYChronicles the history of the Green Book, which was published from 1936 to 1966 and was the "Black travel guide to America." For years, it was dangerous for African Americans to travel in the United States. Because of segregation, Black travelers couldn't eat, sleep, or even get gas at most white-owned businesses. The Green Book listed hotels, restaurants, department stores, gas stations, recreational destinations, and other businesses that were safe for Black travelers. It was a resourceful and innovative solution to a horrific problem. It took courage to be listed in the Green Book, and the stories from those who took a stand against racial segregation are recorded and celebrated. Includes the author's own photographs of Green Book sites, as well as archival photographs and interviews with people who owned and used these facilities.
Call and Response by Call Number: YA 323.119 CHAPublication Date: 2021-08-17Call and Response: The Story of Black Lives Matter is a broad and powerful exploration of the history of Black Lives Matter told through photographs, quotes, and informative text by New York Times best-selling authors Veronica Chambers and Jennifer Harlan.
Tags: Black / African American, Black history, antiracism
Kneel by Call Number: FIC (YA) BUFORD, C.Publication Date: 2021-09-14The system is rigged. For guys like Russell Boudreaux, football is the only way out of their small town. As the team's varsity tight end, Rus has a singular goal: to get a scholarship and play on the national stage. But when his best friend is unfairly arrested and kicked off the team, Rus faces an impossible choice: speak up or live in fear. Desperate for change, Rus kneels during the national anthem. In one instant, he falls from local stardom and becomes a target for hatred. But he's not alone. With the help of his best friend and an unlikely ally, Rus will fight for his dreams, and for justice.
Tags: Black / African American
When You Look Like Us by Call Number: FIC (YA) HARRIS, P.Publication Date: 2021-01-05A timely, gripping teen novel about a boy who must take up the search for his sister when she goes missing from a neighborhood where black girls' disappearances are too often overlooked, from debut author Pamela Harris. Perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds and Tiffany D. Jackson.
Tags: Black / African American
This Is My America by Call Number: FIC (YA) JOHNSON, K.While writing letters to Innocence X, a justice-seeking project, asking them to help her father, an innocent black man on death row, teenaged Tracy takes on another case when her brother is accused of killing his white girlfriend.
Tags: Black / African American, antiracism
I'm Not Dying with You Tonight by Call Number: FIC (YA) JONES, K.Told from two viewpoints, Atlanta high school seniors Lena and Campbell, one black, one white, must rely on each other to survive after a football rivalry escalates into a riot.
Tags: Black / African American, race relations
Light It Up by Call Number: FIC (YA) MAGOON, K.Told from multiple viewpoints, Shae Tatum, an unarmed, thirteen-year-old black girl, is shot by a white police officer, throwing their community into upheaval and making it a target of demonstrators.
Tags: Black / African American, race relations
The Cost of Knowing by Call Number: FIC (YA) MORRIS, B.Publication Date: 2021-04-06Sixteen-year-old Alex Rufus's curse of seeing the future distracts him from being and doing his best, but when he sees his little brother Isaiah's imminent death, he races against time, death, and circumstances to save him.
Tags: Black / African American, Mental Health
Trigger Warnings: Self Harm
One of the Good Ones by Call Number: FIC (YA) MOULITE, M.Publication Date: 2021-01-05A shockingly powerful exploration of the lasting impact of prejudice and the indomitable spirit of sisterhood that will have readers questioning what it truly means to be an ally.
Tags: Black / African American, LGBTQ+
Dear Justyce (Dear Martin #2) by Call Number: FIC (YA) STONE, N.Incarcerated teen Quan Banks writes letters to Justyce McCallister, with whom he bonded years before over family issues, about his experiences in the American juvenile justice system.
Tags: Black / African American, Incarcerated Teens
Dear Martin by Call Number: FIC (YA) STONE, N.Writing letters to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., seventeen-year-old college-bound Justyce McAllister struggles to face the reality of race relations today and how they are shaping him.
Tags: Black / African American
The Hate U Give by Call Number: FIC (YA) THOMAS, A.Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this is a powerful and gripping YA novel about one girl's struggle for justice.
Tags: Black / African American, race relations, antiracism
Punching the Air by Call Number: FIC (YA) ZOBOI, I.From award-winning, bestselling author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam of the Exonerated Five comes a powerful YA novel in verse about a boy who is wrongfully incarcerated.
Tags: Black / African American, Muslim, Incarcerated Teens, Novel in Verse
Rise Up! : How You Can Join the Fight Against White Supremacy by Call Number: YA 305.8 FLEThis urgent book explores the roots of racism and its legacy in modern day, all while empowering young people with actionable ways they can help foster a better world and become antiracists.
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Boy by Call Number: YA 305.8 ACHYoung people have the power to affect sweeping change, and the key to mending the racial divide in America lies in giving them the tools to ask honest questions and take in the difficult answers. Approaching every awkward, taboo, and uncomfortable question with openness and patience, Emmanuel Acho connects his own experience with race and racism--from attending majority-white prep schools to his time in the NFL playing on majority-black football teams--to insightful lessons in black history and black culture.
The Black Friend: on Being a Better White Person by Call Number: YA 305.896 JOSWriting from the perspective of a friend, Frederick Joseph offers candid reflections on his own experiences with racism and conversations with prominent artists and activists about theirs-creating an essential read for white people who are committed anti-racists and those newly come to the cause of racial justice.
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Call Number: YA 305.8 REYA timely, crucial, and empowering exploration of racism--and antiracism--in America. The construct of race has always been used to gain and keep power, to create dynamics that separate and silence. This remarkable reimagining of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning reveals the history of racist ideas in America, and inspires hope for an antiracist future. It takes you on a race journey from then to now, shows you why we feel how we feel, and why the poison of racism lingers. It also proves that while racist ideas have always been easy to fabricate and distribute, they can also be discredited. Through a gripping, fast-paced, and energizing narrative written by beloved award-winner Jason Reynolds, this book shines a light on the many insidious forms of racist ideas--and on ways readers can identify and stamp out racist thoughts in their daily lives.
Into the Streets : a young person's visual history of protest in the United States by Call Number: YA 303.484 BIEWhat does it mean to resist? Throughout our nation's history, discrimination and unjust treatment of all kinds have prompted people to make their objections and outrage known. Some protests involve large groups of people, marching or holding signs with powerful slogans. Others start with quotes or hashtags on social media that go viral and spur changes in behavior. People can make their voices heard in hundreds of different ways. Join author Marke Bieschke on this visual voyage of resistance through American history. Discover the artwork, music, fashion, and creativity of the activists. Meet the leaders of the movements, and learn about the protests that helped to shape the United States from all sides of the political spectrum. Examples include key events from women's suffrage, the civil rights movement, occupations by Indigenous people, LGBTQ demands for equality, Tea Party protests, Black Lives Matter protests, and more, including the George Floyd protests in the summer of 2020. Into the Streets introduces the personalities and issues that drove these protests, as well as their varied aims and accomplishments, from spontaneous hashtag uprisings to highly planned strategies of civil disobedience. Perfect for young adult audiences, this book highlights how teens are frequently the ones protesting and creating the art of the resistance.
The Talk : conversations about race, love & truth by Call Number: YA 305.8 TALIn the powerful follow-up to "We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices," thirty diverse and award-winning authors and illustrators capture frank discussions about racism, identity, and self-esteem. Here is an invitation to all families to be advocates and allies for change.
Victory. Stand! : raising my fist for justice by Call Number: YA 92 SMITH, T.A groundbreaking and timely graphic memoir from one of the most iconic figures in American sports-and a tribute to his fight for civil rights. On October 16, 1968, during the medal ceremony at the Mexico City Olympics, Tommie Smith, the gold medal winner in the 200-meter sprint, and John Carlos, the bronze medal winner, stood on the podium in black socks and raised their black-gloved fists to protest racial injustice inflicted upon African Americans. Both men were forced to leave the Olympics, received death threats, and faced ostracism and continuing economic hardships. In his first-ever memoir for young readers, Tommie Smith looks back on his childhood growing up in rural Texas through to his stellar athletic career, culminating in his historic victory and Olympic podium protest. Cowritten with Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Honor recipient Derrick Barnes and illustrated with bold and muscular artwork from Emmy Award-winning illustrator Dawud Anyabwile, Victory. Stand! paints a stirring portrait of an iconic moment in Olympic history that still resonates today.
Things That Make White People Uncomfortable : adapted for young adults by Call Number: YA 92 BENNETT, M.Michael Bennett is a Super Bowl Champion, a three-time Pro Bowl defensive end, a fearless activist, a feminist, an organizer, and a change maker. He's also one of the most humorous athletes on the planet, and he wants to make you uncomfortable. Bennett adds his voice to discussions of racism and police violence, Black athletes and their relationship to powerful institutions like the NCAA and the NFL, the role of protest in history, and the responsibilities of athletes as role models to speakout against injustice. Following in the footsteps of activist-athletes from Muhammad Ali to Colin Kaepernick, Bennett demonstrates his outspoken leadership both on and off the field. Written with award-winning sportswriter and author Dave Zirin,Things That Make White People Uncomfortable is a sports book for young people who want to make a difference, a memoir, and a book as hilarious and engaging as it is illuminating.
When They Call You a Terrorist : a story of Black Lives Matter and the power to change the world by Call Number: YA 92 KHAN-CULLORS, P.This is the story of how the movement that started with a hashtag--#BlackLivesMatter--spread across the nation and then across the world and the journey that led one of its co-founders, Patrisse Khan-Cullors, to this moment. Patrisse Khan-Cullors grew up in an over-policed United States where incarceration of Black people runs rampant. Surrounded by police brutality, she gathered the tools and lessons that would lead her on to found one of the most powerful movements in the world. This is her story. Necessary and timely, 'When They Call You a Terrorist' reminds us that protest in the interest of the most vulnerable comes from love: that love is the push to search for justice for those victimized by the powerful. With journal entries, photos and notes that show the formation of an activist from a very young age, this meaningful, empowering account of survival, strength, and resilience seeks to change the culture that declares innocent Black life expendable.
Unequal : a story of America by Call Number: YA 323.119 DYSInterconnected stories present a picture of racial inequality in America, showing systemic discrimination in all areas of society and showing the unbroken line of Black resistance to this inequality.
One Person, No Vote : how not all voters are treated equally by Call Number: YA 324.62 ANDIn her New York Times bestseller White Rage, Carol Anderson laid bare an insidious history of policies that have systematically impeded black progress in America, from 1865 to our combustible present. With One Person, No Vote, she chronicles a related history: the rollbacks to African American participation in the vote since the 2013 Supreme Court decision that eviscerated the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Known as the Shelby ruling, this decision effectively allowed districts with a demonstrated history of racial discrimination to change voting requirements without approval from the Department of Justice. Focusing on the aftermath of Shelby, Anderson follows the astonishing story of government-dictated racial discrimination unfolding before our very eyes as more and more states adopt voter suppression laws. In gripping, enlightening detail she explains how voter suppression works, from photo ID requirements to gerrymandering to poll closures. And with vivid characters, she explores the resistance: the organizing, activism, and court battles to restore the basic right to vote to all Americans as the nation gears up for the 2020 presidential election season.
Tags: Black / African American, Black history, antiracism
Real Justice: Jailed for Life for Being Black by Call Number: YA 365.6 SWARubin Carter was in and out of reformatories and prisons from the age of twelve. At twenty-four, he became a winning professional boxer and was turning his life around. But Carter was also very vocal about racism in the local New Jersey police force. In 1966, local policemen arrested Carter and a friend for a triple murder. The two were convicted and sent to jail for life. Carter spent nearly twenty years in jail, proclaiming his innocence. A teen from Brooklyn, Lesra Martin, heard Carter's story and believed he was innocent. He and a small group of Canadians contacted Carter and began working with Carter's lawyers in New York to get the boxer exonerated. In 1985, a judge released Carter, ruling that Carter's conviction had been based not on evidence, but on racism.
Tags: Black / African American, Black history, antiracism
42Call Number: DVD : DRAMARating: PG-13
History was made in 1947, when Jackie Robinson broke the professional baseball race barrier to become the first African American MLB player of the modern era. 42 tells the life story of Robinson and his history-making signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers under the guidance of team executive Branch Rickey.
BelleCall Number: BRAY : DRAMARating: PG
Belle is loosely based on the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the daughter of West African slave Mara Belle and high-ranking British naval officer Sir John Lindsay. Born in the West Indes, Belle was raised free and aristocratic by her wealthy aunt and uncle in Hampstead, London, and became heiress to a large sum of land and fortune upon their deaths. In this fictionalized version, although Dido Elizabeth Belle is raised in privilege by her aristocratic great-uncle and his wife, she is denied a proper social standing because of her skin color. But when Dido falls in love with a young idealist lawyer who aspires to create positive change, she finds herself caught between two worlds.
HarriettCall Number: DVD : DRAMARating: PG-13
Based on the thrilling and inspirational life of an iconic American freedom fighter, the movie tells the extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman's escape from slavery and transformation into one of America2s greatest heroes. Her courage, ingenuity, and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history.
The Hate U GiveCall Number: DVD : DRAMARating: PG-13
Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Now, facing pressures from all sides of the community, Starr tries to find her voice in order to stand up for what's right. Based on the bestselling YA novel by Angie Thomas.
Hidden FiguresCall Number: DVD : DRAMARating: PG
As the United States raced against Russia to put a man in space, NASA found untapped talent in a group of African-American female mathematicians that served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in U.S. history. Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Katherine Johnson crossed all gender, race, and professional lines while their brilliance and desire to dream big, beyond anything ever accomplished before by the human race, firmly cemented them in U.S. history as true American heroes.
John Lewis: Good TroubleCall Number: Stream for free with your library card on KanopyRating: PG
This intimate account of legendary U.S. Representative John Lewis’s life and legacy takes us through his more than 60 years of activism—from the bold teenager on the front lines of the Civil Rights’ movement to the legislative powerhouse he is today.
Just MercyCall Number: DVD : DRAMARating: PG-13
A powerful and thought-provoking true story follows young lawyer Bryan Stevenson and his history-making battle for justice. After graduating from Harvard, Bryan had his pick of lucrative jobs. Instead, he heads to Alabama to defend those wrongly condemned or who were not afforded proper representation, with the support of local advocate Eva Ansley. One of his first and most incendiary cases is that of Walter McMillian.
Princess and the FrogCall Number: DVD : CHILDREN'SRating: PG
The Princess and the Frog highlights the richness of Black and Cajun culture in New Orleans with great music, fantastic humor and a lot of heart. Heroine Tiana has a natural gift for cooking, and she aspires to fulfill her father's dream of opening a restaurant right on the water. After voodoo magic turns her and a spoiled prince into frogs, the duo bands together to set things right and, along the way, discover that dreams really can come true.
SelmaCall Number: DVD : DRAMARating: PG-13
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s historical struggle to secure voting rights for all people. A dangerous and terrifying campaign that culminated with an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1964.
Spider-Man : Into the Spider-VerseCall Number: DVD : SCIENCE FICTIONRating: PG
Breaking from the traditional Spider-Man “superhero narrative,” Spider-Verse follows Miles Morales, a black teen from Brooklyn, who is bitten by a radioactive spider and gains superpowers overnight. The story plays out as Miles learns how to navigate becoming a hero, holding together his family, and saving the universe from certain destruction – all at the same time. This movie is all around fantastic and won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature after it was released. However, its animation design esthetic isn’t the only winning aspect about it. In this film, Spider-Man’s origin story comes to life from the perspective of a person of color, providing a fresh viewpoint to the traditional character and opening the narrative to unique struggles and hardships.
Summer of Soul (...Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)Call Number: DVD : 782.421 SUMRating: PG-13
In his acclaimed debut as a filmmaker, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson presents a powerful and transporting documentary, part music film, part historical record, created around an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture, and fashion. Over the course of six weeks in the summer of 1969, just one hundred miles south of Woodstock, The Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park). The footage was largely forgotten, until now. This documentary shines a light on the importance of history to our spiritual well-being and stands as a testament to the healing power of music during times of unrest, both past, and present. Includes concert performances by Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly & the Family Stone, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Mahalia Jackson, B.B. King, The 5th Dimension, and more.
Social Media
Follow us on social media!
