By Lucile Jacobs
For people looking to learn more about the history of African American people there is plenty of great literature available. This guide will look at some informative, educational, well written and inspiring texts. Consider these black history books next time you head to the library.
'The Slaves' War: The Civil War in the Words of Former Slaves' by Andrew Ward is one of the most incredible Civil War histories in print. It is revolutionary in that it considers the conflict from the point of view not of politicians or generals but of gravediggers, cooks, cleaners and maids. Ward uses interviews, diaries and letters to trace how the war affected the slaves for whom it was, ostensibly, being fought and brings new light to this most crucial moment in the country's history.
'The Slaves' War: The Civil War in the Words of Former Slaves' by Andrew Ward is one of the most incredible Civil War histories in print. It is revolutionary in that it considers the conflict from the point of view not of politicians or generals but of gravediggers, cooks, cleaners and maids. Ward uses interviews, diaries and letters to trace how the war affected the slaves for whom it was, ostensibly, being fought and brings new light to this most crucial moment in the country's history.
Once upon a time the satirical cartoonist was amongst the most important social commentators in the nation. Jackie Ormes was the most prominent African American cartoonist of the 30s, 40s and 50s and an exhaustive collection of her work can be found in 'Jackie Ormes: The First African American Woman Cartoonist'. Her work was politically astute, very, very funny and controversial enough to see her under investigation by Hoover's FBI.
Henry Louis Gates is amongst the most prominent intellectuals, and scholars in the US. He has written dozens of major tomes in his career but perhaps his most extraordinary is 'In Search of Our Roots: How 19 Extraordinary African Americans Reclaimed Their Past' from 2009. In it he makes a revolutionary attempt to trace the lives and families of African Americans beyond the usual roadblock of slavery.
That number was made up of famous and celebrated black Americans like Oprah Winfrey, Chris Tucker and Don Cheadle. Gates used new genetic tracing techniques that, when utilised alongside traditional research, made the roots of African Americans far easier to view. This was a genuinely life changing book for many black Americans who had thought their own people's history to be lost.
In 'Ida: A Sword Among Lions', author Paula J. Giddings tells the story of Ida Wells. Wells was one of American history's most important opponents of the heinous practice of lynching. While now it may sound impossibly awful, lynching was an accepted form of unofficial social order in certain quarters of the Deep South in the 19th Century.
Born in 1862 in Mississippi, Wells came to national attention when she refused to exit a first class carriage as her train passed through Memphis. She used her platform both t
Henry Louis Gates is amongst the most prominent intellectuals, and scholars in the US. He has written dozens of major tomes in his career but perhaps his most extraordinary is 'In Search of Our Roots: How 19 Extraordinary African Americans Reclaimed Their Past' from 2009. In it he makes a revolutionary attempt to trace the lives and families of African Americans beyond the usual roadblock of slavery.
That number was made up of famous and celebrated black Americans like Oprah Winfrey, Chris Tucker and Don Cheadle. Gates used new genetic tracing techniques that, when utilised alongside traditional research, made the roots of African Americans far easier to view. This was a genuinely life changing book for many black Americans who had thought their own people's history to be lost.
In 'Ida: A Sword Among Lions', author Paula J. Giddings tells the story of Ida Wells. Wells was one of American history's most important opponents of the heinous practice of lynching. While now it may sound impossibly awful, lynching was an accepted form of unofficial social order in certain quarters of the Deep South in the 19th Century.
Born in 1862 in Mississippi, Wells came to national attention when she refused to exit a first class carriage as her train passed through Memphis. She used her platform both t
That number was made up of famous and celebrated black Americans like Oprah Winfrey, Chris Tucker and Don Cheadle. Gates used new genetic tracing techniques that, when utilised alongside traditional research, made the roots of African Americans far easier to view. This was a genuinely life changing book for many black Americans who had thought their own people's history to be lost.
In 'Ida: A Sword Among Lions', author Paula J. Giddings tells the story of Ida Wells. Wells was one of American history's most important opponents of the heinous practice of lynching. While now it may sound impossibly awful, lynching was an accepted form of unofficial social order in certain quarters of the Deep South in the 19th Century.
Born in 1862 in Mississippi, Wells came to national attention when she refused to exit a first class carriage as her train passed through Memphis. She used her platform both to highlight the barbaric practices of the south and to condemn the treatment of blacks and women across the country. A controversial figure, this brilliant biography shows her heroism in all its inspiring glory.
'The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons', and an Unlikely Road to Manhood by Ta-Nehisi Coates tells the tale of its author's father Paul Coates. Coates was a former Black Panther and Vietnam vet who raised his two sons in rough streets of Baltimore during the 70s, 80s and 90s. A beautiful take on inner city life and the relevance of the struggle to the modern world, it is a wonderful example not just of black history books but of modern American literature.
About the Author:
In 'Ida: A Sword Among Lions', author Paula J. Giddings tells the story of Ida Wells. Wells was one of American history's most important opponents of the heinous practice of lynching. While now it may sound impossibly awful, lynching was an accepted form of unofficial social order in certain quarters of the Deep South in the 19th Century.
Born in 1862 in Mississippi, Wells came to national attention when she refused to exit a first class carriage as her train passed through Memphis. She used her platform both to highlight the barbaric practices of the south and to condemn the treatment of blacks and women across the country. A controversial figure, this brilliant biography shows her heroism in all its inspiring glory.
'The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons', and an Unlikely Road to Manhood by Ta-Nehisi Coates tells the tale of its author's father Paul Coates. Coates was a former Black Panther and Vietnam vet who raised his two sons in rough streets of Baltimore during the 70s, 80s and 90s. A beautiful take on inner city life and the relevance of the struggle to the modern world, it is a wonderful example not just of black history books but of modern American literature.
About the Author:
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