|
|
|
|
All American Boys by Jason ReynoldsWhen sixteen-year-old Rashad is mistakenly accused of stealing, classmate Quinn witnesses his brutal beating at the hands of a police officer who happens to be the older brother of his best friend. Told through Rashad and Quinn's alternating viewpoints
|
|
|
|
All Boys Aren't Blue: A Memoir-manifesto by George M. JohnsonA first book by the prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist shares personal essays that chronicle his childhood, adolescence and college years as a Black queer youth, exploring subjects ranging from gender identity and toxic masculinity to structural marginalization and Black joy.
|
|
|
|
American Street by Ibi ZoboiSeparated from her detained mother after moving from Haiti to America, Fabiola struggles to navigate the home of her loud cousins and a new school on Detroit's gritty west side, where a surprising romance and a dangerous proposition challenge her ideas about freedom.
|
|
|
|
Anger is a Gift by Mark OshiroA young adult debut by the popular social media personality and critic reflects the racial and economic struggles of today's teens in the story of high school junior Moss, who in the face of a racist school administration decides to organize a protest that escalates into violence.
|
|
|
|
Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker RhodesRoutinely compared to his submissive lighter-skinned brother, a Black boy at an elitist prep school is unfairly suspended in the wake of an incident involving the school bully, whom he tries to defeat in a fencing competition.
|
|
|
|
Black enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America by Ibi ZoboiEdited by the National Book Award finalist and featuring contributions by a prestigious group of best-selling, award-winning and emerging African American young-adult authors, a timely literary collection shares modern insights into what it is like to be young and Black in today’s America.
|
|
|
|
Bronx Masquerade by Nikki GrimesAfter Wesley reads an intimate poem to his high school English class, other students envy this power of self-reflection and start writing their own poetry, causing deep secrets, fears, and feelings to be revealed and fatades to vanish.
|
|
|
|
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi AdeyemiComing of age in a land where her magi mother was killed by the zealous king's guards along with other former wielders of magic, Zélie embarks on a journey alongside her brother and a fugitive princess to restore her people's magical abilities.
|
|
|
|
Dear Martin by Nic StoneProfiled by a racist police officer in spite of his excellent academic achievements and Ivy League acceptance, a disgruntled college youth navigates the prejudices of new classmates and his crush on a white girl by writing a journal to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in the hopes that his iconic role model's teachings will be applicable half a century later.
|
|
|
|
Dread Nation by Justina IrelandWhen families go missing in Baltimore County, Jane McKeene, who is studying to become an Attendant, finds herself in the middle of a conspiracy that has her fighting for her life against powerful enemies.
|
|
|
|
A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 by Claire HartfieldA compelling introduction to the Chicago race riot of 1919 documents key events that led to days of urban violence that continue to reverberate a century later, offering insight into contributing factors in race relations, politics, business and culture.
|
|
|
|
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker RhodesAfter seventh-grader Jerome is shot by a white police officer, he observes the aftermath of his death and meets the ghosts of other fallen black boys including historical figure Emmett Till
|
|
|
|
A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore RaméeStrictly following the rules to pursue her junior high ambitions, 12-year-old Shayla is forced to choose between her education and her identity when her sister joins the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of a powerful protest.
|
|
|
|
Harbor Me by Jacqueline WoodsonThe National Ambassador for Young People's Literature and author of the National Book Award-winning Brown Girl Dreaming traces the experiences of a group of kids who meet weekly to support each other through their struggles with racism, a parent's imprisonment, financial setbacks and other challenges.
|
|
|
|
The Hate u Give by Angie ThomasSixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil's name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.
|
|
|
|
How it Went Down by Kekla MagoonWhen sixteen-year-old Tariq Johnson is shot to death, his community is thrown into an uproar because Tariq was black and the shooter, Jack Franklin, is white, and in the aftermath everyone has something to say, but no two accounts of the events agree.
|
|
|
|
I am Alfonso Jones by Tony MedinaThe ghost of fifteen-year-old Alfonso Jones travels in a New York subway car full of the living and the dead, watching his family and friends fight for justice after he is killed by an off-duty police officer while buying a suit in a Midtown department store.
|
|
|
|
I'm Not Dying With You Tonight by Kimberly JonesTold from two viewpoints, Atlanta high school seniors Lena and Campbell, one Black, one White, must rely on each other to survive after a football rivalry escalates into a riot.
|
|
|
|
Light It Up by Kekla MagoonA follow-up to the award-winning How It Went Down finds the community of Underhill thrown into upheaval by the police shooting of an unarmed 13-year-old girl, a mistake that triggers clashes between justice-seeking protestors and white-supremacist demonstrators.
|
|
|
|
Long Way Down by Jason ReynoldsDriven by the secrets and vengeance that mark his street culture, 15-year-old Will contemplates over the course of 60 psychologically suspenseful seconds whether or not he is going to murder the person who killed his brother. By the National Book Award finalist author of When I Was the Greatest.
|
|
|
|
Loving vs. Virginia: A Documentary Novel of the Landmark Civil Rights Case by Patricia Hruby PowellA tale inspired by the landmark 1955 civil rights case follows the relationship between two young people who challenged period segregation, prejudice and injustice to pursue a relationship at the center of a Supreme Court case that legalized interracial marriage. By the award-winning author of Josephine.
|
|
|
|
March: Book One by John LewisA first-hand account of the author's lifelong struggle for civil and human rights spans his youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., and the birth of the Nashville Student Movement.
|
|
|
|
Monday's Not Coming: A Novel by Tiffany D. JacksonKnowing when her best friend stops showing up at school that something is terribly wrong, Claudia, who depends heavily on her friend to defend her from bullies and help her navigate the toughest time in her life, is baffled when nobody around her seems to remember the last time they saw her friend.
|
|
|
|
Monster by Walter Dean MyersWhile 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. A Coretta Scott King Honor Book.
|
|
|
|
Obviously: Stories From my Timeline by Akilah HughesThe writer, comedian and activist traces the story of her life, from her childhood in a small Kentucky neighborhood to her relocation to New York City to pursue her dreams, before becoming a popular YouTube personality.
|
|
|
|
Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir by Nikki GrimesThe award-winning author of Garvey’s Choice describes her childhood marked by a mentally ill mother, a mostly absent father, abusive caregivers, stints in a succession of foster homes and how, from a very young age, she discovered the magic and solace of writing in order to deal with the pain and hazards of her life.
|
|
|
|
Piecing Me Together by Renée WatsonTired of being singled out at her mostly-white private school as someone who needs support, high school junior Jade would rather participate in the school's amazing Study Abroad program than join Women to Women, a mentorship program for at-risk girls.
|
|
|
|
The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steve SheinkinThe Newbery Award-winning and National Book Award finalist author of Bomb presents an account of the 1944 civil rights protest involving hundreds of African-American Navy servicemen who were unjustly charged with mutiny for refusing to work in unsafe conditions after the deadly Port Chicago explosion.
|
|
|
|
Some Places More Than Others by Renée WatsonLooking forward to meeting her extended family for the first time during a visit to her father’s childhood brownstone in Harlem, Amara is dismayed by family estrangements and revelations about her father’s early years before discovering new ways to connect with her heritage.
|
|
|
|
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason ReynoldsA timely reimagining of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s National Book Award-winning Stamped From the Beginning reveals the history of racist ideas in America while explaining their endurance and capacity for being discredited
|
|
|
|
Uncelebrated narratives from Black history by Joel Christian GillStrange Fruit, Volume I, Uncelebrated narratives from Black history is a collection of stories from African American history that exemplifies success in the face of great adversity. This unique graphic anthology offers historical and cultural commentary on nine uncelebrated heroes whose stories are not often found in history books. Among the stories included are: Henry 'Box' Brown, who escaped from slavery by mailing himself to Philadelphia; Alexander Crummel and the Noyes Academy, the first integrated school in America, established in the 1830s; Marshall 'Major' Taylor, a.k.a. the Black Cyclone, the first Black champion in any sport; and Bass Reeves, the most successful lawman in the Old West. Written and illustrated by Joel Christian Gill, the diverse art beautifully captures the spirit of each remarkable individual and opens a window into an important part of American history.
|
|
|
|
This Promise of Change: One Girl's Story in the Fight for School Equality by Jo Ann Allen BoyceA versed account shares the firsthand experiences of one of the young people who made history by joining 11 other African American students to integrate Central High School in 1956 Little Rock, describing how it felt to be rendered a civil rights spokesperson in the face of daunting national protests.
|
|
|
|
Tyler Johnson Was Here by Jay ColesAccompanying his twin to a party that is thrown into chaos by a shooting, Marvin, a multicultural teen, is horrified when his brother goes missing and is found dead, possibly at the hands of a racist police officer.
|
|
|
|
Watch us Rise by Renée WatsonFed up with gender imbalances at their progressive NYC high school, two friends start a women’s rights club and post poems, essays and videos online until their work goes viral, compelling the principal to shut them down.
|
|
|
|
We Are Not Yet Equal: Understanding our Racial Divide by Carol AndersonFrom the end of the Civil War to the tumultuous issues in America today, an acclaimed historian reframes the conversation about race, chronicling the powerful forces opposed to black progress in America.
|
|
|
|
|
|