We are fans of all kinds of books, of course. But during Black History Month it’s worth spending a little extra time looking at some of the good books you can find to read about Black history and culture. Understanding more about a culture you may not be part of is valuable for everyone, in developing more empathy and a broader view of the world. And being able to share books with people, so they see themselves reflected in your collection, is the whole point of working in a library!
This excerpt from an article from BookRiot site shares some good suggestions. Look through this part, and read the whole article to get the full picture, and suggestions for more books to add to your collection.
“During Black History Month in the library, I’m always looking for titles to recommend to the teenagers at the high school where I work. Of course, I spend time highlighting books by Black YA authors — all Black authors, YA or not, to be perfectly honest — yet I wasn’t doing much to educate about the history itself. My focus has been on celebrating Black voices by amplifying living authors to show my students successful writers they can look up to presently. This is a good and noble aim, yet it’s leaving out a key facet of Black History Month. It’s in the name, even.
Ever the diligent librarian, I started to research nonfiction books we had on the subject of Black history. There were the normal biographies of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. We had copies of Four Hundred Souls and Stamped from the Beginning. While great books, they weren’t written with a teen audience in mind or in a way that’s accessible for younger readers. I wanted something history 101 level that I could get careful readers started on as a way to ease them up to the 400 level tomes currently on the shelves.
These titles, a mix of YA-specific editions and books that are written in a way that is accessible to teens, are added to my next book order. I wanted to share them with you all, too — just in case you have also been looking for YA nonfiction about Black history.
- And We Rise by Erica Martin
- Making Our Way Home: The Migration and the Black American Dream by Blair Imani, Illustrated by Rachelle Baker
- Victory. Stand! Raising my Fist for Justice by Tommie Smith and Derrick Barnes
- We Are Not Yet Equal: Understanding Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson, Tonya Bolden, and Nic Stone
- Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall
- Overground Railroad (the Young Adult Adaptation): The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America by Candacy Taylor
- Run: Book One by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin
- Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre by Brandy Colbert
- Stamped: Racism, Anti-racism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
Read the whole article here, and get the information about each of these books, so you can consider adding them to your collection!