North African History

This book is an examination of how my family's history is interwoven with that of the history of the United States, in general, and that of North Carolina in particular. Three major 20th century players and historical events are highlighted. These players are my late father, Rev. Dr. Whalen Samuel Jones, as a young participant of the Great Migration; Sergeant Louis Franklin and the Second World War in Europe; and Gastonia Mayor Thebaud Jeffers and the Modern Civil Rights Movement. The 19th century predecessors laid the groundwork, and their roles will be examined in detail.

Set in New York City in the ’90s, Angela Shanté’s poems and stories paint a mosaic of childhood that is shaped by the past and reverberates into the present. As Shanté navigates the city through memory, this timeless book illuminates the places where Black girls are nurtured or boxed in, through stories and poems about expectations, exploitation, love, loss, and self-realization.

Activist, motivational speaker, and daughter of Malcolm X Ilyasah Shabazz celebrates her mother's idealism and strength of character in a touching new YA audiobook. Betty Before X is the story of Dr. Betty Shabazz before she became a figurehead for the Civil Rights Movement.

Through the telling of events from his own life, Wes Moore (author of the best-selling adult title The Other Wes Moore) explores the issues that separate success and failure. He also counterpoints his story with another man, someone who shared the same name, was almost the same age, grew up fatherless in a similar Baltimore neighborhood, but is serving a life sentence for murder. Compelled to write to the other Wes, the author was surprised to receive a reply. And so began a friendship, as letters turned into visits and the two men got to know one another.

Ophelia DeVore boldly overcame tragedy and hardship to become the first Black model in the United States of America. She possessed grace, finesse, intelligence, natural beauty, and courage. Being the first black graduate of the Vogue Modeling School, she eventually became a powerful business mogul, an exuberant entrepreneur, and a respected leader in her field. Her story is unique because she redefined "beauty" in America. Throughout her life, she sought to prove to the world beauty could be found in every shade of color.

Resilient Black Girl is a must-listen in young-adult nonfiction books for Black girls. As a social justice book for teens and a book about racism, it provides Black teen girls a better understanding of the effects of racism and equips them with skills for navigating spaces in their daily lives.

Essays of bullying, heartbreak, racism, and confidence, Ashley taps into her own past and shares those stories that made her who she is today as she seamlessly weaves in parallel experiences that both she and Mrs. Obama have faced in their separate childhoods as well as their adult lives. Open, searing, and honest, these are stories listeners will feel seen with. listeners who are growing and learning as they move forward through life's triumphs and pitfalls will undoubtedly gravitate to and find comfort within its audio.

Augusta Savage was arguably the most influential American artist of the 1930s. A gifted sculptor, Savage was commissioned to create a portrait bust of W.E.B. Du Bois for the New York Public Library. She flourished during the Harlem Renaissance, and became a teacher to an entire generation of African American artists, including Jacob Lawrence, and would go on to be nationally recognized as one of the featured artists at the 1939 World’s Fair. She was the first-ever recorded Black gallerist, and worked to advance equal rights in the arts. And yet popular history has forgotten her name.

Millions of Africans were enslaved during the transatlantic slave trade, but few recorded their personal experiences. Olaudah Equiano's The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano is perhaps the most well known of the autobiographies that exist. Using this narrative as a primary source text, authors Monica Edinger and Lesley Younge share Equiano's life story in "found verse," supplemented with annotations to give listeners historical context.

Into a memoir that is gripping, funny, heartbreaking, and unforgettable, Walter Dean Myers richly weaves the details of his Harlem childhood in the 1940s and 1950s: a loving home life with his adopted parents, Bible school, street games, and the vitality of his neighborhood. Although Walter spent much of his time either getting into trouble or on the basketball court, secretly he was a voracious reader and an aspiring writer.

Black girls, you are supposed to rock and you are magic. This book is to help you blossom, bloom, and become the ultimate version of yourself, and that starts with self-help, self-care, and most importantly, self-love. So many of you may think that this is just about pampering nights, but that's just the beginning. The truth is, there is no one-size-fits-all way to take care of you. This book will help you discover the key ingredients of self-care so that you can whip up your self-love recipe. So, what are you still waiting for?

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 stunning verse, Erica Martin's debut poetry collection walks readers through the Civil Rights Movement - from the well-documented events that shaped the nation’s treatment of Black people, beginning with the "Separate but Equal" ruling - and introduces lesser-known figures and moments that were just as crucial to the Movement and our nation's centuries-long fight for justice and equality.

The fight for civil rights in America didn’t begin in the 1960s—Black Americans have been working for justice, freedom, and equality since the first slave ships came to its shores. In I Am the Spirit of Justice, Jemar Tisby demonstrates that that arc of history bends toward equality. Throughout, the spirit of justice is personified as it moves through time, loving the oppressed and supporting the freedom fighters. The poetic text not only informs listeners of the countless and often nameless people who have taken up the fight, it also inspires them to continue working for equality for all.

Drawing from his own experiences of rural childhood poverty in Texas, to prominent roles as a government official, and now as an acclaimed educational leader, Dr. Ivery demonstrates his motivational gifts, as he seeks to inspire young men to live lives of purpose and integrity.

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.

Meet 44 of America's most impressive heroes in this collective biography of African American figures authored by the team at ESPN's TheUndefeated.com. From visionaries to entrepreneurs, athletes to activists, the Fierce 44 are beacons of brilliance, perseverance, and excellence. Bringing household names like Serena Williams and Harriet Tubman together with lesser-known but highly deserving figures such as Robert Abbott and Dr. Charles Drew, this collection is a celebration of all that African Americans have achieved, despite everything they have had to overcome.

On June 19, 1865, a group of enslaved men, women, and children in Texas gathered around a Union solder and listened as he read the most remarkable words they would ever hear. They were no longer enslaved: they were free. The inhumane practice of forced labor with no pay was now illegal in all of the United States. This news was cause for celebration, so the group of people jumped in excitement, danced, and wept tears of joy. They did not know it at the time, but their joyous celebration of freedom would become a holiday—Juneteenth.

Travel back in time to the 1920s and 1930s to the sounds of jazz in nightclubs and the 24-hours-a-day bustle of the famous Black neighborhood of Harlem in uptown Manhattan. It was a dazzling time when there was an outpouring of the arts of African Americans - the poetry of Langston Hughes; the novels of Zora Neale Hurston; the sculptures of Augusta Savage; and that brand-new music called jazz as only Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong could play it.

Mahalia Jackson was known as the queen of gospel music. A close friend of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s, she was also a civil rights activist who sang at the March on Washington. And she traveled the world, too! Experience all the inspiring moments in Mahalia's big life in this thrilling biography, packed with fun facts, like who invented rock and roll! Short and engaging chapters are interspersed with special lists and other information made to order to engage kids, whether they're already biography fans or "have to" write a report for school.