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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.

6244 Results

6244 Results

History of Black Women Deans, College Alumnae Organizations, and Activism
History of Black Women Deans, College Alumnae Organizations, and Activism

History of Black Women Deans, College Alumnae Organizations, and Activism

$131.99
Great Thinkers and Doers: Networking Black Feminism in the Black Press, 1827-1927
Great Thinkers and Doers: Networking Black Feminism in the Black Press, 1827-1927

Great Thinkers and Doers: Networking Black Feminism in the Black Press, 1827-1927

$73.99
Who Kidnapped Uncle Tom And Why it Matters
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Who Kidnapped Uncle Tom And Why it Matters

$26.99
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Jim Crow: Voices from a Century of Struggle 1876-1976
-28%
Jim Crow: Voices from a Century of Struggle 1876-1976

Jim Crow: Voices from a Century of Struggle 1876-1976

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Is That So?: From the Mississippi Gulf Coast, A potrait of an American Family through race, education, power, politics, religion and class. 1760-2023
-12%
Is That So?: From the Mississippi Gulf Coast, A potrait of an American Family through race, education, power, politics, religion and class. 1760-2023

Is That So?: From the Mississippi Gulf Coast, A potrait of an American Family through race, education, power, politics, religion and class. 1760-2023

$21.99
$24.95
For the Unremembered: A Journey of Reflection Into Cape Cod's Connection to Slavery
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For the Unremembered: A Journey of Reflection Into Cape Cod's Connection to Slavery

For the Unremembered: A Journey of Reflection Into Cape Cod's Connection to Slavery

$21.99
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Democracy and Beauty: The Political Aesthetics of W. E. B. Du Bois
Democracy and Beauty: The Political Aesthetics of W. E. B. Du Bois

Democracy and Beauty: The Political Aesthetics of W. E. B. Du Bois

$30.99
Underworld Work: Black Atlantic Religion Making in Jim Crow New Orleans
Underworld Work: Black Atlantic Religion Making in Jim Crow New Orleans

Underworld Work: Black Atlantic Religion Making in Jim Crow New Orleans

$29.99
The Shaping of Black Identities: Redefining the Generations Through the Legacy of Race and Culture
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The Shaping of Black Identities: Redefining the Generations Through the Legacy of Race and Culture

The Shaping of Black Identities: Redefining the Generations Through the Legacy of Race and Culture

$19.99
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An Efficient Womanhood: Women and the Making of the Universal Negro Improvement Association
An Efficient Womanhood: Women and the Making of the Universal Negro Improvement Association

An Efficient Womanhood: Women and the Making of the Universal Negro Improvement Association

$29.99
Draw Them In, Paint Them Out: Trenton Doyle Hancock Confronts Philip Guston
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Draw Them In, Paint Them Out: Trenton Doyle Hancock Confronts Philip Guston

Draw Them In, Paint Them Out: Trenton Doyle Hancock Confronts Philip Guston

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Black Bodies That Matter: Mourning, Rage, and Beauty
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Black Bodies That Matter: Mourning, Rage, and Beauty

Black Bodies That Matter: Mourning, Rage, and Beauty

$128.99
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The Great Boomsky: The Many Lives of Magic's First Black Superstar
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The Great Boomsky: The Many Lives of Magic's First Black Superstar

The Great Boomsky: The Many Lives of Magic's First Black Superstar

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The Wounded World: W. E. B. Du Bois and the First World War
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The Wounded World: W. E. B. Du Bois and the First World War

The Wounded World: W. E. B. Du Bois and the First World War

$15.99
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Blacksound: Making Race and Popular Music in the United States
Blacksound: Making Race and Popular Music in the United States

Blacksound: Making Race and Popular Music in the United States

$32.99
William J. Seymour: Pentecostal Trailblazer and Revered Pastor of the Azusa Street Revival
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William J. Seymour: Pentecostal Trailblazer and Revered Pastor of the Azusa Street Revival

William J. Seymour: Pentecostal Trailblazer and Revered Pastor of the Azusa Street Revival

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Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey [Volumes I & II in One Volume]
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Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey [Volumes I & II in One Volume]

Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey [Volumes I & II in One Volume]

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Behold the Walls: Commemorative Edition Volume 3
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Behold the Walls: Commemorative Edition Volume 3

Behold the Walls: Commemorative Edition Volume 3

$23.99
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Of Blood and Sweat: Black Lives and the Making of White Power and Wealth
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Of Blood and Sweat: Black Lives and the Making of White Power and Wealth

Of Blood and Sweat: Black Lives and the Making of White Power and Wealth

$13.99
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Race, Removal, and the Right to Remain: Migration and the Making of the United States
Race, Removal, and the Right to Remain: Migration and the Making of the United States

Race, Removal, and the Right to Remain: Migration and the Making of the United States

$34.99
The Mis-Education of the Negro
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The Mis-Education of the Negro

The Mis-Education of the Negro

$20.99
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I've Been Here All the While: Black Freedom on Native Land
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I've Been Here All the While: Black Freedom on Native Land

I've Been Here All the While: Black Freedom on Native Land

$21.99
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In the Matter of Nat Turner: A Speculative History
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In the Matter of Nat Turner: A Speculative History

In the Matter of Nat Turner: A Speculative History

$22.99
$24.95
Invisible Founders: How Two Centuries of African American Families Transformed a Plantation Into a College
Invisible Founders: How Two Centuries of African American Families Transformed a Plantation Into a College

Invisible Founders: How Two Centuries of African American Families Transformed a Plantation Into a College

$36.99
White Men's Law: The Roots of Systemic Racism
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White Men's Law: The Roots of Systemic Racism

White Men's Law: The Roots of Systemic Racism

$25.99
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Black Inventors Who Changed History: 1800s-1900s
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Black Inventors Who Changed History: 1800s-1900s

Black Inventors Who Changed History: 1800s-1900s

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Wandering in Strange Lands: A Daughter of the Great Migration Reclaims Her Roots
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Wandering in Strange Lands: A Daughter of the Great Migration Reclaims Her Roots

Wandering in Strange Lands: A Daughter of the Great Migration Reclaims Her Roots

$14.99
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Rufus Estes' Good Things to Eat: The First Cookbook by an African-American Chef
Rufus Estes' Good Things to Eat: The First Cookbook by an African-American Chef

Rufus Estes' Good Things to Eat: The First Cookbook by an African-American Chef

$8.99
Gratitude in Low Voices: A Memoir
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Gratitude in Low Voices: A Memoir

Gratitude in Low Voices: A Memoir

$13.99
$18.99
Light and Truth: Collected From the Bible and Ancient and Modern History, Containing the Universal History of the Colored and the India
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Light and Truth: Collected From the Bible and Ancient and Modern History, Containing the Universal History of the Colored and the India

Light and Truth: Collected From the Bible and Ancient and Modern History, Containing the Universal History of the Colored and the India

$14.99
$15.95
Hidden Black History: From Juneteenth to Redlining
-18%
Hidden Black History: From Juneteenth to Redlining

Hidden Black History: From Juneteenth to Redlining

$8.99
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A People's History of Detroit
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A People's History of Detroit

A People's History of Detroit

$20.99
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Driving While Black: African American Travel and the Road to Civil Rights
-27%
Driving While Black: African American Travel and the Road to Civil Rights

Driving While Black: African American Travel and the Road to Civil Rights

$20.99
$28.95
A Small Town Rises: A Sharecropper and a College Girl Join the Struggle for Justice in Shaw, Mississippi
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A Small Town Rises: A Sharecropper and a College Girl Join the Struggle for Justice in Shaw, Mississippi

A Small Town Rises: A Sharecropper and a College Girl Join the Struggle for Justice in Shaw, Mississippi

$14.99
$20.00
Twenty-Two Years a Slave and Forty Years a Freeman
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Twenty-Two Years a Slave and Forty Years a Freeman

Twenty-Two Years a Slave and Forty Years a Freeman

$9.99
$11.90
No Mercy Here: Gender, Punishment, and the Making of Jim Crow Modernity
No Mercy Here: Gender, Punishment, and the Making of Jim Crow Modernity

No Mercy Here: Gender, Punishment, and the Making of Jim Crow Modernity

$37.99
Gender and Jim Crow, Second Edition: Women and the Politics of White Supremacy in North Carolina, 1896-1920
Gender and Jim Crow, Second Edition: Women and the Politics of White Supremacy in North Carolina, 1896-1920

Gender and Jim Crow, Second Edition: Women and the Politics of White Supremacy in North Carolina, 1896-1920

$35.99
Plantations, Slavery and Freedom on Maryland's Eastern Shore
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Plantations, Slavery and Freedom on Maryland's Eastern Shore

Plantations, Slavery and Freedom on Maryland's Eastern Shore

$23.99
$31.99
Cincinnati's Colored Citizens
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Cincinnati's Colored Citizens

Cincinnati's Colored Citizens

$27.99
$29.95
Empire: The House That John H. Johnson Built (The Life & Legacy of Pioneering Publishing Magnate)
-27%
Empire: The House That John H. Johnson Built (The Life & Legacy of Pioneering Publishing Magnate)

Empire: The House That John H. Johnson Built (The Life & Legacy of Pioneering Publishing Magnate)

$28.99
$39.95
Breach of Peace: Portraits of the 1961 Mississippi Freedom Riders
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Breach of Peace: Portraits of the 1961 Mississippi Freedom Riders

Breach of Peace: Portraits of the 1961 Mississippi Freedom Riders

$21.99
$29.95
African American Officers in Liberia: A Pestiferous Rotation, 1910-1942
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African American Officers in Liberia: A Pestiferous Rotation, 1910-1942

African American Officers in Liberia: A Pestiferous Rotation, 1910-1942

$15.99
$21.95
The Road to Dawn: Josiah Henson and the Story That Sparked the Civil War
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The Road to Dawn: Josiah Henson and the Story That Sparked the Civil War

The Road to Dawn: Josiah Henson and the Story That Sparked the Civil War

$27.99
$37.00
Reconstruction: A Concise History
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Reconstruction: A Concise History

Reconstruction: A Concise History

$15.99
$20.99
The Tragedy of White Injustice
The Tragedy of White Injustice

The Tragedy of White Injustice

$5.99
Alpha Phi Alpha: A Legacy of Greatness, the Demands of Transcendence
Alpha Phi Alpha: A Legacy of Greatness, the Demands of Transcendence

Alpha Phi Alpha: A Legacy of Greatness, the Demands of Transcendence

$36.99
WPA Original Gardeners: Norfolk Botanical Garden
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WPA Original Gardeners: Norfolk Botanical Garden

WPA Original Gardeners: Norfolk Botanical Garden

$11.99
$12.98