African American Young Adult

Ebony had a secret...an ill-advised relationship with a married man in the church sent Ebony down a path of regret, which led to an unplanned pregnancy. When the pressure of being the pastor's daughter and carrying a married man's child weighs upon her, emotions flare. Shortly afterwards, she threatens to publicize the entire affair, deciding to bear the consequences of the matter. After an untimely event, and unprecedented conviction, Ebony is forced to confess as she battles with thoughts of betrayal to God, the church, and herself.

Life in Harlem isn't easy, but Tippy and his grandmother are doing okay. Then Grandma Carrie gets sick, and Tippy goes to live with Lonnie, his father. Lonnie's got his own thing going on, and he doesn't have much room in his life for a son he barely knows - unless, that is, Tippy is willing to walk the far side of the fine line between right and wrong. Grandma Carrie always said if he had Jesus in his heart there wasn't anything to worry about, but sometimes it's not that simple. When the chips are down, will Tippy be able to call for help - and is there anyone who will listen?

Carol Anderson's White Rage took the world by storm, landing on the New York Times best seller list and best book of the year lists from New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, and Chicago Review of Books. It launched her as an in-demand commentator on contemporary race issues for national print and television media and garnered her an invitation to speak to the Democratic Congressional Caucus. This compelling young adult adaptation brings her ideas to a new audience.

After moving to America, Nick Wideman - son of a Greek sprinter and an American pole vaulter - is dumbfounded when he is criticized by the black community and ostracized by whites for transferring to all-black Central High School in an attempt to join a nationally acclaimed 400-meter relay team, whose runners are so fast they are called Rocket Men. A school-boy's crush on pretty brown Mia Hunter only adds fuel to the fire as Nick battles reverse discrimination and stiff competition to make the team.

From acclaimed author Patricia Hruby Powell comes the story of a landmark civil rights case, told in spare and gorgeous verse. In 1955, in Caroline County, Virginia, amidst segregation and prejudice, injustice and cruelty, two teenagers fell in love. Their life together broke the law, but their determination would change it. Richard and Mildred Loving were at the heart of a Supreme Court case that legalized marriage between races, and a story of the devoted couple who faced discrimination, fought it, and won.

Tosh Livingston, superstar student-athlete from small-town USA, thinks he's made it big as a rising freshman at Harvard University. Not so fast! Once on campus, he's ensnared in a frenzied competition to win a spot on Harvard's legendary humor magazine, the Harpoon. Tosh soon finds that joining the Harpoon is a weird and surprisingly dangerous pursuit. He faces off against a secret society of super-rich kids, gets schooled by a philosophy professor who loves flunking everyone, and teams up with a genius student-cartoonist with an agenda of her own.

The heartbreaking story of five generations of young people from a single African-and-American family pursuing an elusive dream of freedom. Dream Country begins in suburban Minneapolis at the moment when 17-year-old Kollie Flomo begins to crack under the strain of his life as a Liberian refugee. Then listeners travel back to Liberia and back in time, to the early 20th century and the point of view of Togar Somah, an 18-year-old indigenous Liberian on the run from government militias, and to America in 1827....

On a hot day in July 1919, five black youths went swimming in Lake Michigan, unintentionally floating close to the white beach. An angry white man began throwing stones at the boys, striking and killing one. Racial conflict on the beach erupted into days of urban violence that shook the city of Chicago to its foundations. This mesmerizing narrative draws on contemporary accounts as it traces the roots of the explosion that had been building for decades in race relations, politics, business, and clashes of culture.

In the early 1960s, tired of reprisals for attempting to register to vote, Selma's black community began to protest. The struggle received nationwide attention when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a voting rights march in January 1965 and was attacked by a segregationist. In February, the shooting of an unarmed demonstrator by an Alabama state trooper inspired a march from Selma to the state capital of Montgomery.

A coming of age story about a boy growing up in Jamaica with his grandmother and extended family members. The child observes and reports of what he witnesses, taking the listener through a day, a week, and a brief life in a rural Jamaican community where some Jews live outwardly as Christians.

Henry Brown came to be known as Box; he "entered the world a slave". He was put to work as a child and passed down from one generation to the next - as property. When he was an adult, his wife and children were sold away from him out of spite. Henry Brown watched as his family left bound in chains, headed to the deeper South. What more could be taken from him? But then hope - and help - came in the form of the Underground Railroad. Escape!

Throughout history, black women have blazed trails across the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Black Women in Science brings something special to black history books for kids, celebrating incredible black women in STEM who have used their brains, bravery, and ambition to beat the odds. Black Women in Science stands out amongst other black history books for kids - featuring 15 powerful stories of fearless female scientists that advanced their STEM fields and fought to build a legacy.

Clue, an exiled hypnotist from outer space, is in dire need to get back to her interstellar planet, Nubia, to rescue her parents from the insidious brainwashing agents: The Screens. Clue's obstacle...she's stuck on earth. Will Clue be tried and tested by the prim and proper boarding school, the School of the Unknown, or will earth's killer simulators get the best of Clue?

Here’s the whole, true story of Rosa Parks’ life - and the spark of change she helped light for the civil rights movement. Unlike other Rosa Parks books for kids, So Other People Would Be Also Free reveals how Rosa’s lifetime of experiences inspired her famous choice - when she stayed seated on a segregated bus to take a stand for racial equality.

Washington would rather be playing basketball in the tournament instead of traveling to East Texas for a family reunion. He hates to read, but takes off on his own with a book to satisfy his parents. Washington travels back to the past where he encounters his ancestor Square and witnesses the brutal punishment of a slave when he is caught reading.

The compelling saga of the Realm continues when a darkening sun threatens to destroy the world. Grand Wizard Kelm races to retrieve the Icon of Earth - an ancient relic with the magical power to counter the threat. However, mistrust and mishaps run rampant as he encounters unlikely allies and a technologically advanced enemy willing to stifle his efforts at all cost.

New York Times best-selling author Walter Dean Myers and renowned filmmaker Bill Miles deftly tell the true story of the unsung American heroes of the 369th Infantry Regiment of World War I in The Harlem Hellfighters: When Pride Met Courage. At a time of widespread bigotry and racism, the African American soldiers of the 369th Infantry Regiment put their lives on the line in the name of democracy.

Martin Rising is a stunning, poetic presentation of the final months of Martin Luther King Jr.’s life - told in a rich embroidery of visions, color, musical cadence, deep emotion, and multiple layers of meaning. Against a backdrop of the sanitation workers’ strike in Memphis, Tennessee, the book builds to its rousing crescendo as King delivers his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech - where his life’s commitment to peaceful activism and his dream of equality ascend to their highest peak.

In this incredible narrative, Erica Armstrong Dunbar reveals a fascinating and heartbreaking behind-the-scenes look at the Washingtons when they were the First Family and an in-depth look at their slave, Ona Judge, who dared to escape from one of the nation’s Founding Fathers. Born into a life of slavery, Ona Judge eventually grew up to be George and Martha Washington’s “favored” dower slave. When she was told she was going to be given as a wedding gift to Martha Washington’s granddaughter, Ona made the bold and brave decision to flee to the North, where she'd be a fugitive.

Still I Rise takes its title from a work by Maya Angelou, and it resonates with the same spirit of an unconquerable soul, a woman who is captain of her fate. This book embodies the strength of character of the inspiring women profiled within. Each chapter outlines the fall and rise of great women heroes who smashed all obstacles rather than let all obstacles smash them. Still I Rise offers hope to those undergoing their own Sisyphean struggles. Intrepid women heroes are the antithesis of the traditional damsels in distress; rather than waiting for the prince, they took salvation into their own hands.