A variety of recently published African American nonfiction titles recommended by our librarians.
African American Nonfiction, updated 2023
View African American Nonfiction, updated 2023The Black Church
In this book, his tender and magisterial reckoning with the meaning of the Black church in American history, Gates takes us from his own experience onto a journey across more than four hundred years and spanning the entire country.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
View The Black ChurchBallad of An American
The first-ever graphic biography of Paul Robeson, Ballad of an American, charts Robeson's career as a singer, actor, scholar, athlete, and activist who achieved global fame.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
View Ballad of An AmericanBlack Women, Black Love
Stewart begins her investigative analysis in the earliest years of the slave state, showing that American slavery could only flourish if its stakeholders strategically disrupted and even extinguished Black love.
Format: eBook
View Black Women, Black LoveThe Chiffon Trenches
Despite racism, illicit rumors, and all the other challenges of this notoriously cutthroat industry Tally became one of the most renowned voices and faces in fashion.
Format: eBook
View The Chiffon TrenchesThe Compton Cowboys
A group of African-American men and women defy stereotypes and continue the proud, centuries-old tradition of black cowboys in the heart of one of America's most notorious cities.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
View The Compton CowboysFour Hundred Souls
A chorus of extraordinary voices comes together to tell one of history's great epics: the four-hundred-year journey of African Americans from 1619 to the present.
Format: Book
Availability: No Longer Available
View Four Hundred SoulsGirl Gurl Grrrl
A provocative, humorous, and, at times, heartbreaking collection of essays on what it means to be black, a woman, a mother, and a global citizen in today's ever-changing world.
Format: Downloadable Audiobook
View Girl Gurl GrrrlThe Golden Thirteen
Until 1942, black men in the Navy could hold jobs only as cleaners and cooks. The Navy reluctantly decided to select the first black men to undergo officer training in 1944, after enormous pressure from ordinary citizens and civil rights leaders.
Format: Downloadable Audiobook
View The Golden Thirteen