Celebrate Black History and Culture
Check out these books, movies and music by or about black Americans
1 - 40 of 141 titles
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Black leopard, red wolf2019
Summary: "Tracker is known far and wide for his skills as a hunter: 'He has a nose,' people say. Engaged to track down a mysterious boy who disappeared three years earlier, Tracker breaks his own rule of... more »- place hold (2)
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Heavy : an American memoir2018
Summary: In this powerful and provocative memoir, Kiese Laymon fearlessly explores what the weight of a lifetime of secrets, lies, and deception does to a black body, a black family, and a nation teetering on... more »- place hold (0)
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Staff PickBecoming2018
Summary: In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As First Lady of the United States of America, she helped... more »- place hold (13)
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The annotated African American folktales2018
Summary: Drawing from the great folklorists of the past while expanding African American lore with dozens of tales rarely seen before, this book revolutionizes the canon like no other volume. Following in the... more »- place hold (0)
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American sonnets for my past and future assassin2018
Summary: A powerful, timely, dazzling collection of sonnets from one of America's most acclaimed poets, Terrance Hayes, the National Book Award winning author of "Lighthead." In seventy poems bearing the same... more »- place hold (0)
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What truth sounds like : Robert F. Kennedy, James Baldwin, and our unfinished conversation about race in America2018
Summary: In 1963 Attorney General Robert Kennedy sought out James Baldwin to explain the rage that threatened to engulf black America. Baldwin brought along some friends, including playwright Lorraine... more »- place hold (0)
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The girl who smiled beads : a story of war and what comes after2018
Summary: Clemantine Wamariya was six years old when her mother and father began to speak in whispers, when neighbors began to disappear, and when she heard the loud, ugly sounds her brother said were thunder.... more »- place hold (0)
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Unseen : unpublished Black history from the New York Times Photo Archives2017
Summary: In February 2016, Rachel Swarms, Darcy Eveleigh, Damien Cave, and Dana Canedy discovered dozens of photographs -- and explored the history behind them -- and chronicled them in the popular blog... more »- place hold (0)
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Black. Book 12017
Summary: In a world that already hates and fears them, what if only Black people had superpowers? After miraculously surviving being gunned down by police, a young man learns that he is part of the biggest... more »- place hold (0)
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We were eight years in power : an American tragedy2017
Summary: "We were eight years in power" was the lament of Reconstruction-era black politicians as the American experiment in multiracial democracy ended with the return of white supremacist rule in the South.... more »- place hold (0)
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![Five-carat soul [CD book]](https://images.johnstonlibrary.com/174835@2x.jpg)
Five-carat soul2017
Summary: In this collection of stories, James McBride explores the ways we learn from the world and the people around us. An antiques dealer discovers that a legendary toy commissioned by Civil War General... more »- place hold (0)
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One last word : wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance2017
Summary: In this collection of poetry, Nikki Grimes looks afresh at the poets of the Harlem Renaissance -- including voices like Langston Hughes, Georgia Douglas Johnson, and many more writers of importance... more »- place hold (0)
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A colony in a nation2017
Summary: America likes to tell itself that it inhabits a postracial world, yet nearly every empirical measure -- wealth, unemployment, incarceration, school segregation -- reveals that racial inequality has... more »- place hold (0)
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Finding Gideon2017
Summary: "As a hit man from the time he was very young, money, women, and danger have always ruled Gideon's life; but for the first time, the job is taking its toll. Neither Gideon nor the city of Buenos... more »- place hold (0)
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Midnight without a moon2017
Summary: Rose Lee Carter, a thirteen-year-old African-American girl, dreams of life beyond the Mississippi cotton fields during the summer of 1955, but when Emmett Till is murdered and his killers are... more »- place hold (0)
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![Fences [DVD]](https://images.johnstonlibrary.com/163508@2x.jpg)
Fences2017
Summary: In 1950s Pittsburgh, a Black garbage collector named Troy Maxson -- bitter that baseball's color barrier was only broken after his own heyday in the Negro Leagues -- is prone to taking out his frustrations on his loved ones.- place hold (0)
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The hate u give2017
Summary: After witnessing her friend's death at the hands of a police officer, Starr Carter's life is complicated when the police and a local drug lord try to intimidate her in an effort to learn what happened the night Kahlil died.- place hold (0)
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The meaning of Michelle : 16 writers on the iconic first lady and how her journey inspires our own2017
Summary: "Michelle Obama is unlike any other First Lady in American History. From her first moments on the public stage, she has challenged traditional American notions about what it means to be beautiful, to... more »- place hold (0)
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White rage : the unspoken truth of our racial divide2016
Summary: As Ferguson, Missouri, erupted in August 2014, and media commentators across the ideological spectrum referred to the angry response of African Americans as "black rage," historian Carol Anderson... more »- place hold (0)
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The fire this time : a new generation speaks about race2016
Summary: In light of recent tragedies and widespread protests across the nation, The Progressive magazine republished one of its most famous pieces: James Baldwin's 1962 "Letter to My Nephew," which was later... more »- place hold (0)
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![Darkness and light [music CD]](https://images.johnstonlibrary.com/160330@2x.jpg)
Darkness and light2016
Summary: DARKNESS AND LIGHT is the new album from acclaimed, multi-platinum selling, Oscar, Golden Globe and 10x Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter John Legend. This new 12 song collection is produced by... more »- place hold (0)
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Born a crime : stories from a South African childhood2016
Summary: Noah's path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother, at the time such a union was... more »- place hold (0)
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Writing to save a life : the Louis Till file2016
Summary: "In The Louis Till File, John Edgar Wideman searches for Louis Till, a silent victim of American injustice. Wideman's personal interaction with the story began when he learned of Emmett|s murder in... more »- place hold (0)
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Swing time2016
Summary: "An ambitious, exuberant new novel moving from North West London to West Africa, from the multi-award-winning author of White Teeth and On Beauty Two brown girls dream of being dancers--but only one,... more »- place hold (0)
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Loving day : a novel2016
Summary: "Warren Duffy has returned to America for all the worst reasons: his marriage to a beautiful Welsh woman has come apart; his comic shop in Cardiff has failed; and his Irish-American father has died,... more »- place hold (0)
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The mothers : a novel2016
Summary: "A dazzling debut novel from an exciting new voice, The Mothers is a surprising story about young love, a big secret in a small community--and the things that ultimately haunt us most. Set within a... more »- place hold (0)
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Blood at the root : a racial cleansing in America2016
Summary: "A gripping tale of racial cleansing in Forsyth County, Georgia and ... testament to the deep roots of racial violence in America ... Patrick Phillips breaks the century-long silence of his hometown... more »- place hold (0)
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The underground railroad : a novel2016
Summary: Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. When Caesar, a recent arrival from Virginia, tells her about the Underground Railroad, they decide to take a terrifying risk and escape. Though they... more »- place hold (0)
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Behold the dreamers : a novel2016
Summary: At the intersection of "Americanah" and "The Help" comes a riveting debut novel about two marriages - one immigrant and working class, the other from the top 1% - both chasing their version of the... more »- place hold (0)
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Nelson Mandela2016
Summary: "This series will tell the amazing stories of inspiring people who have made a difference and changed the world, despite the odds stacked against them. They will detail the characters' humble... more »- place hold (0)
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![O.J. [DVD] : made in America](https://images.johnstonlibrary.com/154405@2x.jpg)
O.J. : made in America2016
Summary: An essential examination of the rise and fall of Orenthal James Simpson, and parallels between his incredible story with that of race in America. This critically-acclaimed documentary series reveals... more »- place hold (0)
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I almost forgot about you : a novel2016
Summary: Dr. Georgia Young's wonderful life--great friends, family, and successful career--aren't enough to keep her from feeling stuck and restless. When she decides to make some major changes in her life,... more »- place hold (0)
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Homegoing2016
Summary: "Two half sisters, Effia and Esi, unknown to each other, are born into two different tribal villages in 18th century Ghana. Effia will be married off to an English colonial, and will live in comfort... more »- place hold (0)
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![Lemonade [music CD]](https://images.johnstonlibrary.com/150247@2x.jpg)
Lemonade2016
Summary: LEMONADE, Beyonce's sixth studio album and her second visual album, features 12 new songs and a corresponding short film. It is a conceptual project based on every woman's journey of self knowledge and healing. - Amazon- place hold (0)
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![Anti [music CD]](https://images.johnstonlibrary.com/145954@2x.jpg)
Anti2016
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![Straight outta Compton [DVD]](https://images.johnstonlibrary.com/145206@2x.jpg)
Straight outta Compton2016
Summary: In 1987, five young men, using brutally honest rhymes and hardcore beats, put their frustration and anger about life in the most dangerous place in America into the most powerful weapon they had:... more »- place hold (0)
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Monster : a graphic novel2015
Summary: While on trial as an accomplice to a murder, sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon records his experiences in prison and in the courtroom in the form of a film script as he tries to come to terms with the course his life has taken.- place hold (0)
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March. Book two2015
Summary: After the success of the Nashville sit-in campaign, John Lewis is more committed than ever to changing the world through nonviolence -- but as he and his fellow Freedom Riders board a bus into the... more »- place hold (0)
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The book itch : freedom, truth & Harlem's greatest bookstore2015
Summary: Relates the story of the National Memorial African Bookstore, founded in Harlem by Louis Michaux in 1939, as seen from the perspective of Louis Michaux Jr., who met famous men like Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X while helping there.- place hold (0)
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![Between the world and me [CD book]](https://images.johnstonlibrary.com/144357@2x.jpg)
Between the world and me2015
Summary: "In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework... more »- place hold (0)
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