African American Young Adult

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.

Amid the scholars, poets, authors, and artists of the Harlem Renaissance stood an Afro-Puerto Rican named Arturo Schomburg. This law clerk's life's passion was to collect books, letters, music, and art from Africa and the African diaspora and to bring to light the achievements of people of African descent throughout the ages. When Schomburg's collection became so big that it began to overflow his house, he turned to the New York Public Library, where he created and curated a collection that was the cornerstone of a new Negro Division.

Motivated by her love for the game and inspired by the legendary Jackie Robinson, Mamie Johnson is determined to be a professional baseball pitcher. But in a sport that's determined by white men, there is no place for a black woman. Mamie doesn't give up - from the time she insists on trying out for the all-male, all-white Police Athletic League until she realizes her dream and becomes one of three women to play in the Negro Leagues. Mamie Johnson's life shows that with courage and perseverance one can overcome even the greatest challenges.

In the 1930s, Black singer Marian Anderson was not allowed to perform at Constitution Hall. But with help from Eleanor Roosevelt, Anderson staged an amazing concert at the Lincoln Memorial and became an activist for civil rights.

"I have a dream." Those rousing words, spoken by Martin Luther King, Jr. at an historic civil rights rally in Washington, D.C., brought hope to those who listened: hope that in the future there might not be two Americas - one black and one white - but instead a country united, with justice for all. Here is King's inspiring story, which began in Atlanta, Georgia in 1929 and came to a tragic end on April 4, 1968 when an assassin fatally shot him.

Marian Anderson's majestic voice mesmerized the nation - but her courage in confronting racism was even more inspirational. She became the first African-American to record spirituals for a major recording company, and the first to appear on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House. Victoria Garrett Jones tells her remarkable story, from Philadelphia's poorest neighborhood to the world's finest concert stages.

What is looked upon as an American dream for white people has long been an American nightmare for black people. Malcolm X - born Malcolm Little - experienced that nightmare firsthand even as a small boy, when white supremacists firebombed his family home. Such terrifying moments, along with years of daily racist insults and barriers, shaped Malcolm's life, transforming him into one of the most articulate and rousing black nationalist leaders of all time.

Pattie Mae adores and admires Uncle Buddy. He unsettles the dust and brings fresh ideas to Rehobeth Road. But when Buddy's deliberate inattention to the protocol of 1947 North Carolina lands him in jail for a crime against a white woman that he didn't commit, Pattie Mae and her family are suddenly set to journeying on the long, hard road that leads from loss and rage to forgiveness and pride.

Crystal Jackson is surrounded by drama. Her parents are constantly arguing and fighting. To escape the drama at home, she befriends Tyreek "Ty" Davis, known on the streets as Doughboy. Crystal ignores her two BFFs, Dena and Sade, warning about Ty and her crush leads her into a full blown relationship with him. Ty's dreams of being a football star are threatened to be crushed when he finds himself mixed up in his older brother's drama.

For African American women, the fight for the right to vote was only one battle. An eye-opening book that tells the important, overlooked story of black women as a force in the suffrage movement - when fellow suffragists did not accept them as equal partners in the struggle.

Rod Brown and Julius Lester bring history to life in this profoundly moving exploration of the slave experience. From the Middle Passage to the auction block, from the whipping post to the fight for freedom, this audiobook presents not just historical facts, but the raw emotions of the people who lived them. Inspired by Rod Brown's vivid paintings, Julius Lester has written a story that places each of us squarely inside the skin of both slave and slave owner. It will capture the heart of every listener, black or white, young or old.

Andre Anderson is a Black teenager with a dream. Although he loves to play basketball and laugh with his friends, he also loves to write and wants to make his mark on the world. One summer when he is assigned to do a magazine article about race, he creates a passionate and explosive piece. Soon, he is the target of racists who brutally attack him, putting him in the hospital. With his hand and dream broken, he must figure out how to put his life back together in spite of the anger and injustice he now sees around him.

Black Americans who have shaped their country and beyond: We are familiar with a handful of African Americans who are mentioned in American history books, but there are also countless others who do not get recognized in mainstream media. Their actions may not have appeared to shake the world, but their contributions to shifting American culture were just as groundbreaking.

In the world of children's literature, Louise Fitzhugh's Harriet the Spy and The Long Secret are widely recognized as epoch-making. They have been received by young learners, year after year, with excitement and love. Nobody's Family Is Going to Change - the story of an African American family in New York in the 1970s - shares the vigorous sense of comedy and unflinching fidelity to the real world that has made Fitzhugh's other books into classics.

What if the last hope to save your family is the person who broke it up to begin with? Michelle and her little siblings Cass and Denny are African-American and living on the poverty line in urban Baltimore, struggling to keep it together with their mom in jail and only Michelle’s part-time job at the Taco Bell to sustain them. Leah and her stepbrother Tim are White and middle class from suburban Maryland, with few worries beyond winning lacrosse games and getting college applications in on time.

Which One Are You? is a collection of 19 short stories that deal with a variety of topics, including family, life, friends, and making choices. The stories are told from a variety of perspectives, and they offer insights into the human condition that are both thought-provoking and inspiring.

Tobyn Wolfe knows she's destined to be a rock star. She sings, she dances, and she's got that "It" factor. Her dreams are even closer within her reach when she meets Maybe Someday - an incredible all-female band - during a night out with her older sister, Devyn. Joining their band would be the perfect way to show off her amazing vocals. It's too bad her mom can't see this.

When modern baseball fans think of African-American players, they may think of Ken Griffey Jr. or Derek Jeter. But what about the Black stars who didn't play Major League Baseball? In the early 1900s, Black players were not allowed in the Major Leagues. The Negro Leagues provided an alternative for African-American players. Discover the Negro Leagues in this book packed full of facts and stories. Learn about the biggest games and wildest moments of the Negro Leagues era, as well as some of the greatest (and least well-known) players.