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Americanah
By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
DB 77188, LT 19816, Available as BARD Download
After studying in the United States for thirteen years, Ifemelu, a Nigerian woman who blogs about race, returns home to Lagos. She has endured enough cultural issues and misses her first love. But the Nigerians label her an "Americanah." Some strong language. 2013.
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The Autobiography of Malcolm X
By Malcolm X
DB 65510, BR 22651, Available as BARD Download
This title focuses on the life of African American religious leader Malcolm X (1925-1965). The author describes his boyhood in Lansing, Michigan, street life in Harlem, conversion to the Black Muslim movement while imprisoned for robbery, and evolution into a high-profile spokesman for black dignity, power, and separatism. Foreword by Alex Haley. 1964.
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Bad Feminist
By Roxane Gay
DB 80463, BR 20643, Available as BARD Download
Thirty-seven essays, by the author of An Untamed State (DB 80159), from a feminist point of view--which she describes as "bad" because, as a human, she is flawed and has conflicting thoughts and impulses. Discusses sexuality, race, gender, politics, and more. Strong language and some descriptions of sex. Bestseller. 2014.
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Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo”
By Zora Neale Hurston
DB 91547, BR 22307, LT 24200, Available as BARD Download
Author of Their Eyes Were Watching God (DB 35745) recounts the story of Oluale Kossola, who became known as Cudjo Lewis--one of the last survivors of the Atlantic slave trade--as told to her in his unique dialect when she interviewed him from 1927 to 1931. Some violence. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller. 2018.
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Beloved
By Toni Morrison
DB 26026, BR 16707, LT 757, Available as BARD Download
Nobel Prize laureate's novel of slavery's aftermath. In post-Civil War Ohio, ex-slave Sethe hides a terrible secret about her past that alienates her children and community and threatens her burgeoning romance with another former slave, Paul D. Some descriptions of sex, some violence, and some strong language. Pulitzer Prize. 1987.
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Between the World and Me
By Ta-Nehisi Coates
DB 82201, BR 21183, Available as BARD Download
Columnist and editor for the Atlantic Monthly examines the history of contentious race relations in America. He reflects on the ways racial inequality plays out in his personal past and in the twenty-first century, and imagines the world his teenage son may inherit. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller. 2015.
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Brown Girl Dreaming
By Jacqueline Woodson
DB 80026, BR 20541, LT 22659, Available as BARD Download
In this autobiography told through vivid poems, Woodson explores her childhood as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, and her growing awareness of the civil rights movement. Reflects on the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite her difficulties with reading as a child. Commercial audiobook. For grades 4-7. 2014.
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Citizen: An American Lyric
By Claudia Rankine
DB 81184, BR 20748, Available as BARD Download
Rankine contemplates the state of racial identity and racism as it affects citizenship in America in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Explores the author's personal experiences as well as those witnessed in greater society. Some violence and some strong language. 2014.
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The Fire Next Time
By James Baldwin
DB 12439, Available as BARD Download
In two essays, combining autobiography with political philosophy, Baldwin expresses how he feels as a Black American in White America. Includes a section on the Black Muslim movement and a meeting with its leader, Elijah Muhammad. 1963.
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