BLACK STORY - NON-FICTION % indicates books on justice reform %A Colony in a Nation by Chris Hayes Hayes makes the case for how racial inequality has not improved since the Civil Rights gains of the late 1960s and compares this to the American colonists' relationship to the British. Fascinating and thought provoking for all teens interested in modern American culture. A More Beautiful and Terrible History: The Uses and Misuses of Civil Rights History by Jeanne Theoharis A rewrite of civil rights history, this book tears apart the established history, arguing that it's misrepresentation hinders much needed ongoing progress in civil rights. Impassioned and vital, for teens interested in history and justice. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates This elegant and timely memoir of a black child born out of the sixties, recounts racial history in America alongside the trajectory of his own childhood in the post Civil Rights era. All teens with an interest in history and culture would like this book. Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America by Gilbert King This extremely accessible and well-written narrative tells the story of how talent, hard work, courage, and dedication brought about significant social change in a democratic society. For teens of all ages, both genders. %Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson A memoir of the young lawyer who has dedicated his life to bringing justice to the innocent, the underage, and the mentally ill who have been wrongfully convicted and/or brutally treated in our nation's "justice system" will appeal to all teens who want to better understand the wider world. Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward A Black girl growing up in poor, rural Mississippi learns to love books, climbs that ladder out to a Master's Degree in Fine Arts, then returns to write this honest intimate account of the people she grew up loving. Teen girls in particular will like this book. Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954 to 1963 by Taylor Branch This Pulitzer Prize-winning account of America's Civil Rights Movement is jaw-dropping and humbling. Advanced teen readers with an interest in American history will enjoy this book. The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story createdby Nikole Hannah-Jones A series of essays on both the history of Black Americans in the United States and on how that history effects every aspect of our governing and social institutions, this book will be appreciated by any advanced teen reader with an appetite for knowledge of their wider world. %The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore Two father-less African-American boys grow up in the same neighborhood. As one sits in South Africa on a semester abroad from John Hopkins University and in anticipation of attending Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship in the fall, the other one is being sought by the police for armed robbery. What happened? Moore tells the what and lets the reader fill in the why. Obviously good for any teen struggling to move in a better direction. Also good for any teen interested in the social sciences (i.e. people). %The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League, byJeff Hobbs This is a finely written account of one brilliant and generous young man's ultimately unsuccessful struggle to leave his confining and perilous beginnings. It is also an illuminating account on the precarious role of college in the transition from the dreams of youth to the reality of adult life. This is a great book for teens, particularly for those with aspirations that include a passage through college. %The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Rowby Anthony Ray Hinton This deeply personal and moving memoir of an innocent young black man wrongly convicted of murder in Alabama and sent to death row, only to be proven innocent after thirty long years, will appeal to all teens. We were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates A deeply probing memoir/commentary on Obama's eight years as president, its effect on this writer, and its place within the United States' long and troubled racial conflict. For advanced teen readers with an interest in history and social conflict. %When They Call You a Terrorist, a Black Lives Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors & Asha Bandele A founder of the Black Lives Matter movement makes an impassioned case for its mission with a recounting of her own life. Moving and fascinating, this book will be appreciated by any teen who values justice or understands the lack thereof.
BLACK STORY - FICTION Salvage the Bonesby Jesmyn Ward A Mississippi family awash with a myriad of personal hurricanes suddenly has to face the real thing: Hurricane Katrina. The central character is a teen girl and as such it will appeal mostly to teen girls. Winner of National Book Award and the Alex Award Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult Jodi Picoult has written many novels with subject matter of interest to mature teens and in a style accessible to the teen reader, particularly girls. This book addresses with great sensitivity and depth the subject of racial prejudice. The Good Lord Birdby James McBride Winner of the 2013 National Book Award for Fiction, this novel tells the story of John Brown, major contributor to the onset of the Civil War, from the perspective of a young slave who Brown "frees," mistakes for a girl, and takes along as a kind of "good omen" on his various raids. Great for all teens with an interest in American history and in a well-told story. The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris Recently freed slaves and war-shattered white southerners pick up the pieces at the conclusion of the Civil War. Slivers of the best of humanity waft up out of the overwhelming mire of the worst. This book is a masterwork. For all experienced teen readers who enjoy the finest literature. BLACK STORY- INTERNATIONAL A Different Sun: A Novel of Africa by Elaine Neil Orr In the early eighteen hundreds, a newlywed American couple signs up to become missionaries in Africa. She seeks redemption from her participation in the institution of slavery; he from a youth of violence and debauchery. Both the physical journey and their interior journeys make compelling reading for thoughtful, experienced teen readers. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldierby Ishmael Beah A former child soldier from Sierra Leone recalls how he was transformed from an innocent 12-year-old into a cold-blooded killer. A story of resilience and survival that will interest all teens. Always Another Country by Sisonke Msimang Born to an exiled South African freedom fighter, Msimang grows up an international citizen. After South Africa is liberated from Apartheid, and after she graduates from college, she returns to be part of the new country. She is intensely reflective of her place in the world as female, black, and privileged. Great for experienced teen readers with an interest in the wider world. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer William Kamkwamba grew up besieged by drought, hunger, and corrupt government in Malawi. No longer able to afford to go to school, he turned to old science books donated by the British, improved his English enough to understand them and to then build a windmill out of discarded scraps, and to generate electricity. Fascinating as a story in itself, it will interest teens who like to tinker.