Join Us in Celebrating Black History Month!

We March by Shane W. Evans

Illustrations and brief text portray the events of the 1963 march in Washington, D.C., where the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a historic speech.

The ABCs of Black History by Rio Cortez

“B is for Beautiful, Brave, and Bright! And for a Book that takes a Bold journey through the alphabet of Black history and culture. Letter by letter, The ABCs of Black History celebrates a story that spans continents and centuries, triumph and heartbreak, creativity and joy. It’s a story of big ideas–P is for Power, S is for Science and Soul. Of significant moments–G is for Great Migration. Of iconic figures–H is for Zora Neale Hurston, X is for Malcom X. It’s an ABC book like no other, and a story of hope and love. In addition to rhyming text, the book includes back matter with information on the events, places, and people mentioned in the poem, from Mae Jemison to W. E. B. Du Bois, Fannie Lou Hamer to Sam Cooke, and the Little Rock Nine to DJ Kool Herc.”–Provided by publisher.

Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed

When young Mae Jemison is asked by her teacher what she wants to be when she grows up, African American Mae tells her mostly white classmates that she wants to be an astronaut, a dream that her parents wholeheartedly support.

Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson

“For as long as ZJ can remember, his dad has been everyone’s hero. As a charming, talented pro football star, he’s as beloved to the neighborhood kids he plays with as he is to his millions of adoring sports fans. But lately life at ZJ’s house is anything but charming. His dad is having trouble remembering things and seems to be angry all the time. ZJ’s mom explains it’s because of all the head injuries his dad sustained during his career. ZJ can understand that–but it doesn’t make the sting any less real when his own father forgets his name. As ZJ contemplates his new reality, he has to figure out how to hold on tight to family traditions and recollections of the glory days, all the while wondering what their past amounts to if his father can’t remember it. And most importantly, can those happy feelings ever be reclaimed when they are all so busy aching for the past?”–Penguinrandomhouse.com.

This Promise of Change by Jo Ann Allen Boyce

“In 1956, one year before federal troops escorted the Little Rock 9 into Central High School, fourteen year old Jo Ann Allen was one of twelve African-American students who broke the color barrier and integrated Clinton High School in Tennessee. At first things went smoothly for the Clinton 12, but then outside agitators interfered, pitting the townspeople against one another. Uneasiness turned into anger, and even the Clinton Twelve themselves wondered if the easier thing to do would be to go back to their old school. Jo Ann–clear-eyed, practical, tolerant, and popular among both black and white students–found herself called on as the spokesperson of the group. But what about just being a regular teen? This is the heartbreaking and relatable story of her four months thrust into the national spotlight and as a trailblazer in history. Based on original research and interviews and featuring backmatter with archival materials and notes from the authors on the co-writing process”– Provided by publisher.

Revolution by Deborah Wiles

It’s 1964 in Greenwood, Mississippi, and Sunny’s town is being invaded by people from up north who are coming to help people register to vote. Her personal life isn’t much better, as a new stepmother, brother, and sister are crowding into her life, giving her little room to breathe.–From publisher description.

Escpaing Mr. Rochester by L.L. McKinney

“In this empowering Black queer romance reimagining of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel, Jane Eyre, the new governess at Thornfield Hall discovers her cruel employer has locked away his wife as revenge for withholding her inheritance and, as his dark plan unfolds, must find a way to save this woman she’s come to love”– Provided by publisher.

Everything I Learned About Racism I Learned in School by Tiffany Jewell

“From preschool to higher education and everything in between, Everything I Learned About Racism I Learned in School focuses on the experiences Black and Brown students face as a direct result of the racism built into school systems across the United States. The overarching nonfiction narrative follows author Tiffany Jewell from early elementary school through her time at college, unpacking the history of systemic racism in the American educational system along the way. Throughout the book, other writers of the Global Majority share a wide variety of personal narratives and stories based on their own school experiences … Everything I Learned About Racism I Learned in School provides young folks with the context to think critically about and chart their own course through their current schooling–and any future schooling they may pursue”–Dust jacket flap.

Poemhood: Our Black Revival

Featuring contributions from an award-winning, bestselling group of Black voices, past and present, this powerful poetry anthology elicits vital conversations about race, belonging, history and faith to highlight Black joy and pain.

Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts by Crystal Wilkinson

“A lyrical culinary journey that explores the hidden stories of Black Appalachians through powerful essays and forty comforting recipes from the Poet Laureate of Kentucky. Years ago, when O. Henry Prize-winning writer Crystal Wilkinson was baking a jam cake, she felt her late grandmother’s presence. She soon realized that she was not the only cook in her kitchen; There were an abundance of ancestors stirring, measuring, and braising with her. These are her kitchen ghosts, five generations of Black women who arrived in her region of Appalachia and made a life, a legacy, and a cuisine. Part food memoir, part cookbook, Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts weaves fiction with historical records, memories, and interviews to present a unique culinary portrait of Black Appalachians. Forty recipes rooted deep in the past yet full of contemporary flavor are brought to vivid life through stunning photography and beautiful illustrations. You’ll find delicious favorites such as Corn Pudding, Chicken and Dumplings, Jam Cake, and Praisesong Biscuits woven into the narrative of Crystal’s family, portraying the experience and history of Black Appalachians through their voice, spirit, and foodways. As the keeper of her family’s stories and treasured dishes, Crystal shares her inheritance in Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts. She found these stories woven into her apron pockets, floating inside the steam of hot mustard greens, and tucked into the sweet scent of clove and cinnamon in her kitchen. Crystal conjures up her ancestors every time she cooks, honoring the mothers who came before her, the land that housed generations of her family, and the untold heritage of Black Appalachia”– Provided by publisher.

Frederick Douglass by David W. Blight

“The definitive, dramatic biography of the most important African-American of the nineteenth century: Frederick Douglass, the escaped slave who became the greatest orator of his day and one of the leading abolitionists and writers of the era. As a young man Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) escaped from slavery in Baltimore, Maryland. He was fortunate to have been taught to read by his slave owner mistress, and he would go on to become one of the major literary figures of his time. He wrote three versions of his autobiography over the course of his lifetime and published his own newspaper. His very existence gave the lie to slave owners: with dignity and great intelligence he bore witness to the brutality of slavery. Initially mentored by William Lloyd Garrison, Douglass spoke widely, often to large crowds, using his own story to condemn slavery. He broke with Garrison to become a political abolitionist, a Republican, and eventually a Lincoln supporter. By the Civil War and during Reconstruction, Douglass became the most famed and widely travelled orator in the nation. He denounced the premature end of Reconstruction and the emerging Jim Crow era. In his unique and eloquent voice, written and spoken, Douglass was a fierce critic of the United States as well as a radical patriot. He sometimes argued politically with younger African-Americans, but he never forsook either the Republican party or the cause of black civil and political rights.”– Provided by publisher.

The Dead are Arising: The Life of Malcom X by Les Payne

            “An epic biography of Malcolm X finally emerges, drawing on hundreds of hours of the author’s interviews, rewriting much of the known narrative. Les Payne, the renowned Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist, embarked in 1990 on a nearly thirty-year-long quest to interview anyone he could find who had actually known Malcolm X–all living siblings of the Malcolm Little family, classmates, street friends, cellmates, Nation of Islam figures, FBI moles and cops, and political leaders around the world. His goal was ambitious: to transform what would become over a hundred hours of interviews into an unprecedented portrait of Malcolm X, one that would separate fact from fiction. Setting Malcolm’s life not only within the Nation of Islam but against the larger backdrop of American history, the book traces the life of one of the twentieth century’s most politically relevant figures “from street criminal to devoted moralist and revolutionary”– Provided by publisher.