Black History Month Reading List
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
Set in Mississippi at the height of the Depression, this is the story of one family’s struggle to maintain their integrity and pride in the face of racism and social injustice. And it is also the story of Cassie Logan, an independent girl who discovers over the course of an important year why having land of their own is important.
Best Intentions: The Education and Killing of Edmund Perry by Robert Sam Anson
Eerie, reminiscent of today’s headlines, this book is a complex, poignant exploration of racial attitudes in America, as illustrated by the case of Edmund Perry, a seventeen-year-old black honors student from Harlem. Perry was fatally shot by a young white plainclothes policeman in 1985 in an alleged mugging attempt.
The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore
From the governor-elect of Maryland, the compassionate and moving true story of two kids with the same name from the city: One went on to be a Rhodes Scholar, decorated combat veteran, White House Fellow, and business leader. The other is serving a life sentence in prison. How? Why?
Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now by Maya Angelou
This is a book to be treasured, a book about being in all ways a woman, about living well, about the power of the word, and about the power of spirituality to move and shape your life. Passionate. Lively. Lyrical.
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
This is a novel in the form of tape-recorded recollections documents the life of a black woman who lived 110 years, who has been both a slave and a witness to the black militancy of the 1960’s. Miss Jane tells her own story as she sits for an interview which she believes will be on the Ed Sullivan show.
The Measure of a Man by Sidney Poitier
In this book, Sidney Poitier reflects on his amazing life, offering inspirational advice and personal stories in the form of extended letters to his great-granddaughter. Writing for all who admire his example and who search for wisdom only a man of great experience can offer, this American icon shares his thoughts on love, faith, courage, and the future.
Unfinished Business by Michael J. Klarman
The author highlights a variety of social and political factors that have influenced the path pf racial progress; revealing that we have made less progress than we would like to think, and pointing out the fact that African Americans have had to earn everything they have received.