Black History Month: Read and Explore

The author shares the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of revelatory experiences, and in doing so, pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son. Winner of the National Book Award.

Lyn Ford, an African-American storyteller, retells traditional stories and folkways from her cultural heritage. In addition, she provides readers with insights and historic perspective of these tales by including notes and references to resources regarding the folktales she tells and the history that brought them to us.

Toni Morrison's first novel is the story of eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove--a black girl in an America whose love for its blond, blue-eyed children can devastate all others.

Collection of poetry by the influential and award-winning poet and children's book author. Also available in print

Essays examining the impact and legacy of Edna Lewis, cook and author, who was a trailblazer in the revival of regional cooking and a progenitor of the farm-to-table movement.

James Baldwin's semi-autobiographical novel chronicles a fourteen-year-old boy's discovery of the terms of his identity as the stepson of the minister of a storefront Pentecostal church in Harlem one Saturday in March of 1935.

A collection of stories about love and migration, gender and class, racism and sexism that proudly reflect African American folk culture. Brought together for the first time in one volume, they include eight of Hurston's stories never before published in book form. Available in Print and Audio.

In the first collection of her short fiction, Hugo award-winner N.K. Jemisin sharply examines modern society, infusing magic into the mundane, and drawing deft parallels in the fantasy realms of her imagination. Available in print from the VGCC library.

A vivid portrait of an extended African American family and of slave life before the Civil War. Based on historical documents, this remarkable piece of detective work follows the family as they walk the boundary between slave and free, traveling across the country in search of a "promised land" where African Americans would be treated with respect. (For more context, take a look at the documentary on one of the writers, John Hope Franklin, in the "Watch" section of this guide.)

Junaluska is one of the oldest African American communities in western North Carolina and one of the few surviving today. Based on three decades of research, these life history narratives adapted from interviews with residents (born between 1885 and 1993) offer a people's history of the black experience in the southern mountains.

Volume 1 of Congressman John Lewis's award-winning graphic memoir of his life before, during, and after the Civil Rights Movement. Available online and in print. Volumes 2 & 3 also available.

Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least win her first battle. As the daughter of an underground hip hop legend who died right before he hit big, Bri's got massive shoes to fill.
Also available in Audio and print

Chronicles Pulitzer Prize nominee Clifton Taulbert's journey from life in the Mississippi Delta at the height of legal segregation to being recognized by Time magazine as "one of our nation's most outstanding emerging entrepreneurs."

Details the family history of many Black families in Vance County prior to the 1980's. Researched and written by a scholar and teacher from Henderson.