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Influential Black leaders in history
From civil rights activists to feminist heroes, these icons changed history.
Published on May 12, 2023
She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman
Erica Armstrong DunbarAbolitionist icon. The most famous conductor on the Underground Railroad. Civil War spy hero. All-around badass. Harriet Tubman’s accomplishments are so legendary, they almost seem miraculous. But she really did it all. And she did it while suffering from the effects of a traumatic head injury. Celebrate Tubman’s marvelous feats with this spirited history.
Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom
David W. BlightThis definitive biography of one of the most significant figures in American history is long overdue. A look at both the inner and the outer life of the famed abolitionist and orator, this well-written portrait draws on new information to provide the most well-rounded examination of Frederick Douglass yet. It won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for History.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave
Frederick DouglassHear the famous orator’s story in his own words. At the time of its publication in the mid-1800s, Frederick Douglass’ memoir of his time as a slave became one of the most influential texts in the abolitionist movement. It personalizes all the dehumanizing cruelties slaves endured, from not knowing their birthdays to physical and sexual abuse.
Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63
Taylor BranchThis Pulitzer Prize winner is the first part of Taylor Branch’s renowned trilogy on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and is considered one of the most comprehensive accounts of the civil rights movement. If you want to really dig past what you learned in school and what you saw in “Selma,” start here.
Ida: A Sword Among Lions: Ida B. Wells and the Campaign Against Lynching
Paula J. GiddingsIda B. Wells was a force: A courageous reporter whose investigative journalism opened the wider public’s eyes to the racially-motivated brutality of lynchings; a fierce feminist who championed the suffragettest cause; and one of the founders of the NAACP in 1909. Find out more about the heroic civil rights leader’s life in this definitive biography.
Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches
Audre Lorde“Sister Outsider” takes a hard look at intersectional feminism through the essays and speeches of leading feminist and civil rights activist Audre Lorde.
When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir
Patrisse CullorsThis timely, eloquent memoir from Black Lives Matter cofounder Patrisse Khan-Cullors interweaves her experiences growing up in southern California with a social commentary about the BLM movement, where we are now, and where we can go from here.
Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race
Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race
Margot Lee ShetterlyThanks to Margot Lee Shetterly’s blockbuster book, the Black female mathematicians whose calculations were critical to winning the space race in a still-segregated America are a hidden history no more. A crucial story that challenges our preconceptions.
Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More
Janet MockThis memoir of coming out as trans by transgender activist and trailblazer Janet Mock (who’s also a writer and producer on “Pose”) is an urgent read right now, as the higher levels of discrimination and violence committed against trans women of color has made national headlines. Mock provides a path to a better tomorrow.
Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker
A'Lelia BundlesAs America’s first self-made female millionaire (look her up in the Guinness Book of World Records!), entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker carved a path for Black women to create and lead their own companies. Walker’s great-great-granddaughter, A’Lelia Bundles, tells how Walker, the daughter of slaves, overcame the odds to become a wealthy businesswoman, philanthropist, and activist. “Self Made” is now a Netflix series starring Octavia Spencer.
Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America
Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America
Gilbert KingYears before Thurgood Marshall became the first Black Supreme Court justice, and just prior to arguing (and winning) Brown v. Board of Education in front of that very court as the NAACP chief counsel, the young lawyer risked his life to defend four Black men falsely accused of rape. Gilbert King’s riveting and lauded history of a pivotal time for both Marshall and civil rights in America won the Pulitzer Prize.
Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person
Shonda RhimesSuperstar showrunner Shonda Rhimes creates some of our favorite and highly inclusive TV shows, from “Grey’s Anatomy” to “Scandal,” and her inspiring memoir puts a smile on our faces, too. It’s full of reassurances that you can do anything you put your mind to. Rhimes explains how a year of saying yes made her go from super successful to successful AND happy. Say yes to reading this.
Dust Tracks on a Road: An Autobiography
Zora Neale HurstonYou’ve probably read Zora Neale Hurston’s novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God” (and if you haven’t, read it now — it’s a beloved classic for a reason). Hurston’s autobiography, “Dust Tracks on a Road,” takes readers along on her journey from an impoverished childhood to becoming a prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance. She also describes her travels through the American South, Haiti, and Jamaica as an anthropologist recording the cultural riches of people of color.
Florynce "Flo" Kennedy: The Life of a Black Feminist Radical
Sherie M. RandolphThis stirring biography is an excellent way to remedy the sorry fact that too many Americans don’t know about Flo Kennedy. A radial activist, feminist, and leader of the Black Power movement, Kennedy championed instersectionality and women’s rights, broke down racial and gender barriers, and brought Black feminism into the civil rights movement.
Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement: A Radical Democratic Vision
Barbara RansbyAs much a history of the civil rights movement itself as it is the life story of one of its most important figures. Barbara Ransby’s comprehensive biography focuses on Ella Baker’s complex career, from the beginning in depression-era Harlem to her crucial work organizing and empowering people to join the fight for equality through the ’50s and ’60s. This is essential reading for understanding that fight, which still continues to this day.
Black Boy
Richard WrightAuthor Richard Wright’s (“Native Son”) classic autobiography hasn’t always been given the respect this literary achievement deserves. Controversy followed its publication in 1944, and it was banned from schools in the 1970s for “obscenity” and “instigating hatred between the races.” Wright’s frank depictions of the brutality of racism, along with his lyrical, hard-hitting prose, still stirs readers to this day.
The Blood of Emmett Till
Timothy B. TysonEmmett Till, a 14-year-old boy lynched in the Jim Crow-era South, has become a civil rights icon in the wake of his tragic death. “The Blood of Emmett Till” is part detective story and part political history, as it reveals shocking new evidence about Till’s racially-motivated murder in 1955, and author Timothy Tyson’s research may have contributed to the Justice Department reopening the investigation in 2018.
W.E.B. Du Bois: A Biography 1868-1963
David Levering LewisThis Pulitzer Prize-winning biography details civil rights leader W. E. B. Du Bois’ long and complex life. David Levering Lewis tells the story of Du Bois’ neverending fight for equality, his cofounding of the NAACP, and his theory of the “double consciousness” racism inflicts on the lives of Black people. An engaging and accessible portrait of an important figure in American history.