Black History Month: A Reading List

February is Black History Month. The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society. Find more information from The Association for the Study of African American Life and History.

One way we are celebrating Black History Month at the Peabody Institute Library of Danvers is through a reading list of fiction and nonfiction books that celebrate black history.

Brown Girl Dreaming by Woodson, Jacqueline
Brown Girl Dreaming by Woodson, Jacqueline

Brown Girl Dreaming by Woodson, Jacqueline

The Dead Are Arising : the Life of Malcolm X by Payne, Les
The Dead Are Arising : the Life of Malcolm X by Payne, Les

The Dead Are Arising : the Life of Malcolm X by Payne, Les

Hidden Figures : the American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Shetterly, Margot Lee
Hidden Figures : the American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Shetterly, Margot Lee

Hidden Figures : the American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Shetterly, Margot Lee

An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States by Mays, Kyle
An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States by Mays, Kyle

An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States by Mays, Kyle

One Crazy Summer by Williams-Garcia, Rita
One Crazy Summer by Williams-Garcia, Rita

One Crazy Summer by Williams-Garcia, Rita

Unapologetic : A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movement by Carruthers, Charlene A
Unapologetic : A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movement by Carruthers, Charlene A

Unapologetic : A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movement by Carruthers, Charlene A

Roots by Haley, Alex
Roots by Haley, Alex

Roots by Haley, Alex

Angela Davis : An Autobiography by Davis, Angela Y
Angela Davis : An Autobiography by Davis, Angela Y

Angela Davis : An Autobiography by Davis, Angela Y

Every Shut Eye Ain't Asleep : An Anthology of Poetry by African Americans Since 1945 by
Every Shut Eye Ain't Asleep : An Anthology of Poetry by African Americans Since 1945 by

Every Shut Eye Ain't Asleep : An Anthology of Poetry by African Americans Since 1945 by

The Color Purple by Walker, Alice
The Color Purple by Walker, Alice

The Color Purple by Walker, Alice

Kindred by Butler, Octavia E
Kindred by Butler, Octavia E

Kindred by Butler, Octavia E

The Vanishing Half by Bennett, Brit
The Vanishing Half by Bennett, Brit

The Vanishing Half by Bennett, Brit

Through My Eyes by Bridges, Ruby
Through My Eyes by Bridges, Ruby

Through My Eyes by Bridges, Ruby

Bone Black : Memories of Girlhood by Hooks, Bell
Bone Black : Memories of Girlhood by Hooks, Bell

Bone Black : Memories of Girlhood by Hooks, Bell

Black Joy : A Strategy for Resistance, Resilience, and Restoration by Lewis-Giggetts, Tracey M
Black Joy : A Strategy for Resistance, Resilience, and Restoration by Lewis-Giggetts, Tracey M

Black Joy : A Strategy for Resistance, Resilience, and Restoration by Lewis-Giggetts, Tracey M

Pushout : the Criminalization of Black Girls In Schools by Morris, Monique W
Pushout : the Criminalization of Black Girls In Schools by Morris, Monique W

Pushout : the Criminalization of Black Girls In Schools by Morris, Monique W

Living While Black : Using Joy, Beauty, and Connection to Heal Racial Trauma by Kinouani, Guilaine
Living While Black : Using Joy, Beauty, and Connection to Heal Racial Trauma by Kinouani, Guilaine

Living While Black : Using Joy, Beauty, and Connection to Heal Racial Trauma by Kinouani, Guilaine

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Angelou, Maya
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Angelou, Maya

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Angelou, Maya

Four Hundred Souls : A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 by
Four Hundred Souls : A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 by

Four Hundred Souls : A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 by

Americanah by Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi
Americanah by Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi

Americanah by Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi

The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes by Hughes, Langston
The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes by Hughes, Langston

The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes by Hughes, Langston

In the Name of Emmett Till : How the Children of the Mississippi Freedom Struggle Showed Us Tomorrow by Mayer, Robert H
In the Name of Emmett Till : How the Children of the Mississippi Freedom Struggle Showed Us Tomorrow by Mayer, Robert H

In the Name of Emmett Till : How the Children of the Mississippi Freedom Struggle Showed Us Tomorrow by Mayer, Robert H

Ain't I A Woman : Black Women and Feminism by Hooks, Bell
Ain't I A Woman : Black Women and Feminism by Hooks, Bell

Ain't I A Woman : Black Women and Feminism by Hooks, Bell

The Underground Railroad : A Novel by Whitehead, Colson
The Underground Railroad : A Novel by Whitehead, Colson

The Underground Railroad : A Novel by Whitehead, Colson

The New Jim Crow : Mass Incarceration In the Age of Colorblindness by Alexander, Michelle
The New Jim Crow : Mass Incarceration In the Age of Colorblindness by Alexander, Michelle

The New Jim Crow : Mass Incarceration In the Age of Colorblindness by Alexander, Michelle

Hitting A Straight Lick With A Crooked Stick : Stories From the Harlem Renaissance by Hurston, Zora Neale
Hitting A Straight Lick With A Crooked Stick : Stories From the Harlem Renaissance by Hurston, Zora Neale

Hitting A Straight Lick With A Crooked Stick : Stories From the Harlem Renaissance by Hurston, Zora Neale

Invisible Man by Ellison, Ralph
Invisible Man by Ellison, Ralph

Invisible Man by Ellison, Ralph

Choosing Family: A Memoir of Queer Motherhood and Black Resistance by Royster, Francesca T
Choosing Family: A Memoir of Queer Motherhood and Black Resistance by Royster, Francesca T

Choosing Family: A Memoir of Queer Motherhood and Black Resistance by Royster, Francesca T

Black. Queer. Southern. Women. : An Oral History by Johnson, E. Patrick
Black. Queer. Southern. Women. : An Oral History by Johnson, E. Patrick

Black. Queer. Southern. Women. : An Oral History by Johnson, E. Patrick