Ongoing List of
African-American/African Descent
History Books
Please Note
- Ethnicity/Race/Nationality can be complex topics, especially for those with multi-ethnic backgrounds. In being culturally sensitive without having countless tables, I've categorized the books into 4 main categories, as can be seen below. (Books with asterisks are in multiple categories)
- Every family has different beliefs and values. Please make sure to preview titles to ensure they fit your family standards.
- Many of the books shared here are titles I'd either like to or have used for my own daughter, books that come highly recommended or books I think would be worth sharing. Therefore, I have not read every book. As mentioned above, please preview titles.
- Some books may use politically incorrect words. Use your own judgment to substitute them with more culturally sensitive terms or leave them as is if they convey the feel and message of the times to your student. (i.e. Indian vs Native American)
- The recommended ages are just that: recommended. You know your child best and whether or not a book may be appropriate for them.
- Picture books are often thought to be just for younger children. However, I can't tell you how many times the powerful words accompanied with beautiful imagery have moved me to tears or lead to rich discussion with my student. Please don't miss these opportunities just because it's labeled a "picture book".
The table below is interactive so you can filter
or sort by any category.
African American / African Descent History Books
| Amazon LINK | Title | Author |
|---|---|---|
  | Abby Takes a Stand (Scraps of Time) | Patricia C. McKissack |
  | Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass | Frederick Douglass |
  | Up from Slavery: An Autobiography (Sons of Liberty series) | Booker T Washington |
  | At Her Majesty's Request: An African Princess In Victorian England | Walter Dean Myers |
  | 10 True Tales: Young Civil Rights Heroes | Allan Zullo |
  | Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl | Harriet Jacobs |
  | The Drinking Gourd: A Story of the Underground Railroad | F.N. Monjo |
  | Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race | Margot Lee Shetterly |
  | Hidden Figures Young Readers' Edition | Margot Lee Shetterly |
  | Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race | Margot Lee Shetterly |
  | Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13 | Helaine Becker |
  | W.E.B. Du Bois : Writings : The Suppression of the African Slave-Trade / The Souls of Black Folk / Dusk of Dawn / Essays and Articles (Library of America) | W.E.B. Du Bois |
  | Courage to Run: A Story Based on the Life of Harriet Tubman (Daughters of the Faith Series) | Wendy Lawton |
  | Sojourner Truth: Ain't I a Woman? | Patricia C. McKissack |
  | Journey to Jo'Burg: A South African Story | Beverley Naidoo |
  | One Crazy Summer | Rita Williams-Garcia |
  | P.S. Be Eleven | Rita Williams-Garcia |
  | Gone Crazy in Alabama | Rita Williams-Garcia |
  | A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story | Linda Sue Park |
  | Nya's Long Walk: A Step at a Time | Linda Sue Park |
  | Wilma Rudolph (Sports Heroes And Legends) | Thomas Streissguth |
  | Wilma Rudolph (Little People, BIG DREAMS) | Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara |
  | Shaka: King of the Zulus | Diane Stanley |
  | The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 | Christopher Paul Curtis |
  | Bud, Not Buddy | Christopher Paul Curtis |
  | The Mighty Miss Malone | Christopher Paul Curtis |
  | The Journey of Little Charlie | Christopher Paul Curtis |
 | "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" | Mildred D. Taylor |
  | The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man | James Weldon Johnson |
  | Freedom Train: The Story of Harriet Tubman | Dorothy Sterling |
  | Sounder | William H. Armstrong |
  | Slave Dancer | Paula Fox |
  | Invisible Man | Ralph Ellison |
  | Their Eyes Were Watching God | Zora Neale Hurston |
  | Linda Brown, You Are Not Alone: The Brown vs. Board of Education Decision | Joyce Carol Thomas |
  | Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe | Harriet Beecher Stowe |
  | WITNESS: The Art of JERRY PINKNEY | Norman Rockwell Museum |
  | Mary McLeod Bethune | Eloise Greenfield |
  | Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman | Alan Schroeder |
  | A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech That Inspired a Nation | Barry Wittenstein |
  | God Bless the Child | Billie Holiday |
  | Childtimes, a Three Generation Memoir | Eloise Greenfield |
  | Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela | Nelson Mandela |
  | Nelson Mandela | Kadir Nelson |
  | Phillis Wheatley: Biography of a Genius in Bondage | Vincent Carretta |
  | Heav'nly Tidings From the Afric Muse: The Grace and Genius of Phillis Wheatley Poet Laureate of the American Revolution | Richard Kigel |
  | A Voice of Her Own: Candlewick Biographies: The Story of Phillis Wheatley, Slave Poet | Kathryn Lasky |
  | Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott | Russell Freedman |
  | Black Stars: African American Women Scientists and Inventors | Otha Richard Sullivan |
  | The Story of the Underground Railroad (Cornerstones of Freedom) | R. Conrad Stein |
  | Heroes in Black History: True Stories from the Lives of Christian Heroes | Neta Jackson |
  | Many Thousand Gone: African Americans from Slavery to Freedom | Virginia Hamilton |
  | Catching the Moon: The Story of a Young Girl's Baseball Dream | Crystal Hubbard |
  | The Beatitudes: From Slavery to Civil Rights | Carole Boston Weatherford |
  | Sojourner Truth's Step-Stomp Stride | Andrea Davis Pinkney |
  | Langston Hughes: American Poet | Alice Walker |
  | Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. | Doreen Rappaport |
  | 42 Is Not Just a Number: The Odyssey of Jackie Robinson, American Hero | Doreen Rappaport |
  | Pink and Say | Patricia Polacco |
  | Freedom School, Yes! | Amy Littlesugar |
  | Lift Your Light a Little Higher: The Story of Stephen Bishop: Slave-Explorer | Heather Henson |
  | A Band of Angels | Deborah Hopkinson |
  | Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt | Deborah Hopkinson |
  | Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad | Ellen Levine |
  | The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver | Gene Barretta |
  | Amos Fortune, Free Man | Elizabeth Yates |
  | Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom | Carole Boston Weatherford |
  | Buried Lives: The Enslaved People of George Washington's Mount Vernon | Carla Killough McClafferty |
  | Kamala Harris: Rooted in Justice | Nikki Grimes |
  | Shirley Chisholm Is a Verb | Veronica Chambers |
  | Reaching for the Moon: The Autobiography of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson | Katherine Johnson |