African American Nonfiction
Enjoy these recent African American nonfiction titles published within the last two years and recommended by our librarians. (January 2024)
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Why Fathers Cry at Night
A poetic and epistolary collage focused on familial, romantic, and nourishing love. This magnanimous hybrid-form memoir is rich with solace and wisdom. (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Black Liturgies
For years, Cole Arthur Riley was desperate for a spirituality she could trust. Amid ongoing national racial violence, the isolation of the pandemic, and a surge of anti-Black rhetoric in many Christian spaces, she began dreaming of a more human, more liberating expression of faith. She went on to create Black Liturgies, a digital project that connects spiritual practice with Black emotion, Black memory, and the Black body. (Publisher copy)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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Black Punk Now
With graphics, short stories, poems, lyrics, conversations, commentary, and notes on how capitalism naturally tries to co-opt cultural scenes and how Black punks naturally resist it, the anthology is a cornucopia of righteous resistance, both fun to read and energetically provocative. (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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A Renaissance of Our Own
A vulnerable look at one activist’s long journey of deconstruction, healing, and reimagining of the toxic societal structure meant to oppress marginalized identities. (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Art of Ruth E. Carter
This definitive work makes visible the thought, care, and skill required of a successful film costumer. Carter is perhaps best known today for designing standouts for the Black Panther films, which made her the first Black woman to win two Oscars. (Library Journal)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Better Living Through Birding
This remarkable story will resonate with birders, nature lovers, and everyone who has been made to feel as though they’re outside the mainstream. (Booklist)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Black Joy Project
A beautiful love letter to Black joy, as a source of self-preservation and survival as well as a form of resistance. (Publisher description)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Ode to Hip-hop
Music journalist Fitzgerald curates an eclectic list of albums for this respectable tribute to hip-hop. As a bonus, the book's illustrator, also known as Yay Abe, provides vibrant artwork that flows throughout and jumps off the page. (Library Journal)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Book of (more) Delights
In this follow-up to The Book of Delights, the esteemed poet catalogs more quiet pleasures and causes for gratitude. Keenly observed and delivered with deftness, these essays are a testament to the artfulness of attention and everyday joy. (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Grimkes
A multigenerational history of an American family that grappled with racism and reform. A sweeping, insightful, richly detailed family and American history. (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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