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African American History Books

Discover the unfiltered stories, cultural achievements, and defining moments that shaped African American history.

African American history is central to understanding the United States. From slavery and segregation to sports breakthroughs, cultural renaissance, biblical scholarship, poetry, and the rebuilding of Black Wall Street, these books provide powerful insight into struggle, strength, and transformation.

Explore our African American History Books collection and engage with voices that shaped the nation.

Why Study African American History?

African American history resources help readers:

  • Understand slavery, segregation, and civil rights

  • Explore cultural and literary expression

  • Study economic empowerment movements

  • Recognize athletic and social pioneers

  • Reclaim overlooked historical narratives

Black history is American history.

Reframing the American Story

Some works challenge traditional narratives and highlight underrepresented contributions.

Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America presents a bold reinterpretation of American history centered on Black experience, resistance, and achievement.

Reexamining history broadens national understanding.

Black Wall Street & Economic Empowerment

The Greenwood District of Tulsa became a symbol of Black economic independence.

Black Wall Street: From Riot to Renaissance in Tulsa's Historic Greenwood District explores the rise, destruction, and rebuilding of Tulsa’s Greenwood community following the 1921 massacre.

Economic resilience remains a defining theme in African American history.

Sports & Breaking Barriers

Athletics often reflect broader civil rights struggles.

Larry Doby in Black and White: The Story of a Baseball Pioneer chronicles the life of Larry Doby, one of Major League Baseball’s earliest Black players, who broke color barriers shortly after Jackie Robinson.

Sports history highlights courage in the face of discrimination.

Faith & Biblical Identity

Religion has played a central role in African American cultural life.

Blacks in the Bible: Volume I: the Original Roots of Men and Women of Color in Scripture explores interpretations of biblical texts through the lens of African and African-descended identity.

Spiritual scholarship has long supported cultural affirmation.

Poetry & Cultural Expression

Art and poetry have served as powerful vehicles for voice and identity.

Obsidian Sun: A Poetry Compilation of Fiery Blackness: A Poetry Compilation of Fiery Blackness presents poetic reflections on identity, struggle, and empowerment.

Literary expression preserves emotional and cultural truth.

African American History as Living Legacy

African American History Books support:

  • Civil rights education

  • Economic history study

  • Sports and cultural biography

  • Spiritual identity exploration

  • Artistic and poetic expression

Understanding this history strengthens awareness of ongoing social change.

Featured African American History Books

Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America
A bold reinterpretation of American history centered on Black voices.

Black Wall Street: From Riot to Renaissance in Tulsa's Historic Greenwood District
A study of economic achievement and tragedy in Tulsa’s Greenwood community.

Larry Doby in Black and White: The Story of a Baseball Pioneer
A biography of a barrier-breaking MLB player.

Blacks in the Bible: Volume I: the Original Roots of Men and Women of Color in Scripture
A faith-centered exploration of identity and scripture.

Obsidian Sun: A Poetry Compilation of Fiery Blackness
A poetic celebration of Black identity and expression.

How to Choose the Right African American History Book

Let your focus guide your selection:

  • Civil rights & reinterpretation: broader historical narratives

  • Economic history: Greenwood and Black entrepreneurship

  • Sports pioneers: barrier-breaking biographies

  • Faith & scripture: biblical identity studies

  • Cultural expression: poetry and creative works

African American history spans politics, faith, culture, and innovation.

Summary

African American History Books illuminate strength, struggle, and achievement.

  • Focused on truth-telling and cultural reclamation

  • Grounded in biography, scholarship, and art

  • Designed to deepen historical awareness

From Tulsa’s Black Wall Street and Major League Baseball integration to reinterpretations of American history, biblical scholarship, and poetic expression, these books offer structured insight into the enduring impact of African American communities.

Explore African American History Books and engage with stories that continue to shape the nation.

FAQs

Why is African American history important?
It is foundational to understanding the political, cultural, and economic development of the United States.

What was Black Wall Street?
The Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, known for its thriving Black-owned businesses before the 1921 massacre.

Who was Larry Doby?
A Major League Baseball pioneer who broke the American League color barrier.

Does African American history include literature and poetry?
Yes. Cultural expression is a central part of historical identity.

Is faith important in African American history?
Yes. Religious traditions have played a major role in community resilience and civil rights leadership.

6246 Results

6246 Results

Slavery Remembered: A Record of Twentieth-Century Slave Narratives
Slavery Remembered: A Record of Twentieth-Century Slave Narratives

Slavery Remembered: A Record of Twentieth-Century Slave Narratives

$42.99
What Was Freedom's Price?
What Was Freedom's Price?

What Was Freedom's Price?

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No Quittin' Sense
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No Quittin' Sense

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Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Tennessee & Virginia Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves
-27%
Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Tennessee & Virginia Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves

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New Age Bible of Mother Africa (Vol.2): Black Consciousness, Ancient Alien Gods, Metaphysics, Kemetic Spirituality & African Origins of Civilization
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New Age Bible of Mother Africa (Vol.2): Black Consciousness, Ancient Alien Gods, Metaphysics, Kemetic Spirituality & African Origins of Civilization

New Age Bible of Mother Africa (Vol.2): Black Consciousness, Ancient Alien Gods, Metaphysics, Kemetic Spirituality & African Origins of Civilization

$12.99
$13.99
The Making of Twenty-First-Century Richmond: Politics, Policy, and Governance, 1988-2016
The Making of Twenty-First-Century Richmond: Politics, Policy, and Governance, 1988-2016

The Making of Twenty-First-Century Richmond: Politics, Policy, and Governance, 1988-2016

$108.99
Dancing Down the Barricades: Sammy Davis Jr. and the Long Civil Rights Era
Dancing Down the Barricades: Sammy Davis Jr. and the Long Civil Rights Era

Dancing Down the Barricades: Sammy Davis Jr. and the Long Civil Rights Era

$32.99
The Laurinburg Institute: The Historic Black Prep School, 1904 to Today
The Laurinburg Institute: The Historic Black Prep School, 1904 to Today

The Laurinburg Institute: The Historic Black Prep School, 1904 to Today

$43.99
Hoops: A Cultural History of Basketball in America
Hoops: A Cultural History of Basketball in America

Hoops: A Cultural History of Basketball in America

$27.99
America's Original Sin: A Collection of Essays on Racism and the Continuing Scourge of White Supremacy
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America's Original Sin: A Collection of Essays on Racism and the Continuing Scourge of White Supremacy

America's Original Sin: A Collection of Essays on Racism and the Continuing Scourge of White Supremacy

$17.99
$19.99
Robert Franklin Williams Speaks: A Documentary History
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Robert Franklin Williams Speaks: A Documentary History

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Dark Mirror: African Americans and the Federal Writers' Project
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Dark Mirror: African Americans and the Federal Writers' Project

$36.99
Frantz Fanon: Combat Breathing
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Frantz Fanon: Combat Breathing

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Nineteenth-Century African American Narratives in Britain and Ireland
Nineteenth-Century African American Narratives in Britain and Ireland

Nineteenth-Century African American Narratives in Britain and Ireland

$250.99
Nineteenth-Century African American Speeches in Britain and Ireland
Nineteenth-Century African American Speeches in Britain and Ireland

Nineteenth-Century African American Speeches in Britain and Ireland

$208.99
A Place to Live in Peace: Free People of Color in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana
A Place to Live in Peace: Free People of Color in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana

A Place to Live in Peace: Free People of Color in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana

$108.99
Family War Stories: The Densmores' Fight to Save the Union and Destroy Slavery
Family War Stories: The Densmores' Fight to Save the Union and Destroy Slavery

Family War Stories: The Densmores' Fight to Save the Union and Destroy Slavery

$144.99
Building Power, Breaking Power: The United Teachers of New Orleans, 1965-2008
Building Power, Breaking Power: The United Teachers of New Orleans, 1965-2008

Building Power, Breaking Power: The United Teachers of New Orleans, 1965-2008

$115.99
History of African Americans: Exploring Diverse Roots
History of African Americans: Exploring Diverse Roots

History of African Americans: Exploring Diverse Roots

$34.99
Plantation Pedagogy: The Violence of Schooling Across Black and Indigenous Space Volume 72
Plantation Pedagogy: The Violence of Schooling Across Black and Indigenous Space Volume 72

Plantation Pedagogy: The Violence of Schooling Across Black and Indigenous Space Volume 72

$93.99
Black Lives Under Nazism: Making History Visible in Literature and Art
Black Lives Under Nazism: Making History Visible in Literature and Art

Black Lives Under Nazism: Making History Visible in Literature and Art

$153.99
Ted Strong Jr.: The Untold Story of an Original Harlem Globetrotter and Negro Leagues All-Star
Ted Strong Jr.: The Untold Story of an Original Harlem Globetrotter and Negro Leagues All-Star

Ted Strong Jr.: The Untold Story of an Original Harlem Globetrotter and Negro Leagues All-Star

$24.99
The First 100 Years 1907-2007: The History of the First Baptist Church of Passtown and Its Home in the Beloved Community in Hayti Coatesville, Pennsy
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The First 100 Years 1907-2007: The History of the First Baptist Church of Passtown and Its Home in the Beloved Community in Hayti Coatesville, Pennsy

The First 100 Years 1907-2007: The History of the First Baptist Church of Passtown and Its Home in the Beloved Community in Hayti Coatesville, Pennsy

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$175.00
The Nile Swim Club of Yeadon: A History
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The Nile Swim Club of Yeadon: A History

The Nile Swim Club of Yeadon: A History

$17.99
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Black Africa and the Us Art World in the Early 20th Century: Aesthetics, White Supremacy
Black Africa and the Us Art World in the Early 20th Century: Aesthetics, White Supremacy

Black Africa and the Us Art World in the Early 20th Century: Aesthetics, White Supremacy

$114.99
Colonized by Humanity: Caribbean London and the Politics of Integration at the End of Empire
Colonized by Humanity: Caribbean London and the Politics of Integration at the End of Empire

Colonized by Humanity: Caribbean London and the Politics of Integration at the End of Empire

$50.99
The Struggle for Change: Race and the Politics of Reconciliation in Modern Richmond
The Struggle for Change: Race and the Politics of Reconciliation in Modern Richmond

The Struggle for Change: Race and the Politics of Reconciliation in Modern Richmond

$126.99
Southern Enclosure: Settler Colonialism and the Postwar Transformation of Mississippi
Southern Enclosure: Settler Colonialism and the Postwar Transformation of Mississippi

Southern Enclosure: Settler Colonialism and the Postwar Transformation of Mississippi

$60.99
Justice Pursued: The Exoneration of Nathan Myers and Clifford Williams
Justice Pursued: The Exoneration of Nathan Myers and Clifford Williams

Justice Pursued: The Exoneration of Nathan Myers and Clifford Williams

$39.99
In Levittown's Shadow: Poverty in America's Wealthiest Postwar Suburb
In Levittown's Shadow: Poverty in America's Wealthiest Postwar Suburb

In Levittown's Shadow: Poverty in America's Wealthiest Postwar Suburb

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Steady and Measured: Benner C. Turner, a Black College President in the Jim Crow South
Steady and Measured: Benner C. Turner, a Black College President in the Jim Crow South

Steady and Measured: Benner C. Turner, a Black College President in the Jim Crow South

$31.99
The Famous Lady Lovers: Black Women and Queer Desire before Stonewall
The Famous Lady Lovers: Black Women and Queer Desire before Stonewall

The Famous Lady Lovers: Black Women and Queer Desire before Stonewall

$115.99
A Seat at the Table: Black Women Public Intellectuals in Us History and Culture
A Seat at the Table: Black Women Public Intellectuals in Us History and Culture

A Seat at the Table: Black Women Public Intellectuals in Us History and Culture

$120.99
Race and the Greening of Atlanta: Inequality, Democracy, and Environmental Politics in an Ascendant Metropolis
Race and the Greening of Atlanta: Inequality, Democracy, and Environmental Politics in an Ascendant Metropolis

Race and the Greening of Atlanta: Inequality, Democracy, and Environmental Politics in an Ascendant Metropolis

$142.99
Living Ceramics, Storied Ground: A History of African American Archaeology
Living Ceramics, Storied Ground: A History of African American Archaeology

Living Ceramics, Storied Ground: A History of African American Archaeology

$84.99
Activism in the Name of God: Religion and Black Feminist Public Intellectuals from the Nineteenth Century to the Present
Activism in the Name of God: Religion and Black Feminist Public Intellectuals from the Nineteenth Century to the Present

Activism in the Name of God: Religion and Black Feminist Public Intellectuals from the Nineteenth Century to the Present

$120.99
Slavery, Capitalism, and Women's Literature: Economic Insights of American Women Writers, 1852-1869
Slavery, Capitalism, and Women's Literature: Economic Insights of American Women Writers, 1852-1869

Slavery, Capitalism, and Women's Literature: Economic Insights of American Women Writers, 1852-1869

$142.99
Lament and Justice in African American History: By the Rivers of Babylon
Lament and Justice in African American History: By the Rivers of Babylon

Lament and Justice in African American History: By the Rivers of Babylon

$104.99
Get Your Knee Off Our Necks: Essays On Race In America
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Get Your Knee Off Our Necks: Essays On Race In America

Get Your Knee Off Our Necks: Essays On Race In America

$20.99
$29.00
Sowing for Others to Reap; a Collection of Papers ... of the Ohio Federation of Colored Women's Clubs
-6%
Sowing for Others to Reap; a Collection of Papers ... of the Ohio Federation of Colored Women's Clubs

Sowing for Others to Reap; a Collection of Papers ... of the Ohio Federation of Colored Women's Clubs

$14.99
$15.95
Say Their Names: How Black Lives Came to Matter in America
-26%
Say Their Names: How Black Lives Came to Matter in America

Say Their Names: How Black Lives Came to Matter in America

$13.99
$18.99
Why Antislavery Poetry Matters Now
Why Antislavery Poetry Matters Now

Why Antislavery Poetry Matters Now

$135.99
Forging Freedom in W. E. B. Du Bois's Twilight Years: No Deed But Memory
Forging Freedom in W. E. B. Du Bois's Twilight Years: No Deed But Memory

Forging Freedom in W. E. B. Du Bois's Twilight Years: No Deed But Memory

$120.99
From Death Row to Freedom: The Struggle for Racial Justice in the Pitts-Lee Case
From Death Row to Freedom: The Struggle for Racial Justice in the Pitts-Lee Case

From Death Row to Freedom: The Struggle for Racial Justice in the Pitts-Lee Case

$89.99
Higher Education for All: Racial Inequality, Cold War Liberalism, and the California Master Plan
Higher Education for All: Racial Inequality, Cold War Liberalism, and the California Master Plan

Higher Education for All: Racial Inequality, Cold War Liberalism, and the California Master Plan

$115.99
I Can't Breathe: Don't Die Twice
-27%
I Can't Breathe: Don't Die Twice

I Can't Breathe: Don't Die Twice

$21.99
$29.99
The History of Mary Prince
The History of Mary Prince

The History of Mary Prince

$9.99
A Brief Moment in the Sun: Francis Cardozo and Reconstruction in South Carolina
A Brief Moment in the Sun: Francis Cardozo and Reconstruction in South Carolina

A Brief Moment in the Sun: Francis Cardozo and Reconstruction in South Carolina

$44.99