Black History

Black in Blues

Imani Perry showed her ability to weave historical research with sharp, sparkling analysis in 2022’s National Book Award-winning South to America. In Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People, she explores how the color blue has been intertwined with Black life: in the dyeing of indigo, the religious traditions of various African cultures, the literature of Zora Neale Hurston, the revolutionary politics of Black freedom fighters and much more.

In Open Contempt

By Irvin Weathersby Jr.

Irvin Weathersby Jr.’s indispensable In Open Contempt examines how we bear witness to sites and perpetrators of racial trauma.

Resist

By Rita Omokha

Rita Omokha’s Resist is a must-read for anyone looking to dive into the history of Black youth activism and its immense impact on America.

Night Flyer

By Tiya Miles

With the exquisite Night Flyer, Tiya Miles looks at Harriet Tubman from an entirely new perspective: her spirituality.

My Black Country

By Alice Randall

Combee

By Edda L. Fields-Black

Edda L. Fields-Black’s revelatory Combee narrates the 1863 Combahee River Raid, in which Harriet Tubman led Black soldiers to liberate more than 700 enslaved people.

Medgar and Myrlie

By Joy-Ann Reid

Page by page, Joy-Ann Reid’s Medgar and Myrlie paints unforgettable portraits of Medgar and Myrlie Evers, two American heroes who faced American racism with unimaginable courage.

The War Before the War

By Andrew Delbanco

In The War Before the War, Andrew Delbanco shares the stories of freedom seekers and shows how they were instrumental in bringing attention to the horrors of slavery.

The Survivors of the Clotilda

By Hannah Durkin

Hannah Durkin’s authoritative The Survivors of the Clotilda cuts through the myths around the notorious last slave ship to dock in the United States.

The Black Box

By Henry Louis Gates

Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s passionate and compelling The Black Box documents the ways in which American writers have illustrated the rich diversity of the Black experience.