Perhaps the best written of all the slave narratives, Twelve Years a Slave is a harrowing memoir about one of the darkest periods in American history. It recounts how Solomon Northup, born a free man in New York, was lured to Washington, D.C., in 1841 with the promise of fast money, then drugged and beaten and sold into slavery. He spent the next twelve years of his life in captivity on a Louisiana cotton plantation. After his rescue, Northup published...

A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick

"A deeply soulful novel that comprehends love and cruelty, and separates the big people from the small of heart, without ever losing sympathy for those unfortunates who don't know how to live properly." —Zadie Smith

One of the most important and enduring books of the twentieth century, Their Eyes Were Watching God brings to life a Southern love story with

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NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING TESSA THOMPSON AND RUTH NEGGA
Two women in 1920s New York discover how fluid and dangerous our perceptions of race can be in this electrifying classic of the Harlem Renaissance—with an introduction by Kaitlyn Greenidge, author of We Love You, Charlie Freeman, finalist for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize
“The genius of this book is that its protagonists . . . are complex...

"Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters...

Featured on Oprah's Summer Reading List
For readers of Delia Owens' Where the Crawdads Sing and Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees, this extraordinary historical debut novel follows three fierce Southern women in an unforgettable story of motherhood and womanhood.
It's 1924 in Branchville, South Carolina and three women have come to...

Explores the previously uncelebrated but pivotal contributions of NASA's African-American women mathematicians to America's space program, describing how Jim Crow laws segregated them from their white counterparts despite their groundbreaking successes.

After travelling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, Delphine and her two sisters discover that their mother, a dedicated poet, wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp.

Twelve-year-old Nick loves soccer and hates books, but soon learns the power of words as he wrestles with problems at home, stands up to a bully, and tries to impress the girl of his dreams.

First in an emotional African American Christian romance from acclaimed inspirational author Pat Simmons featuring a tender-hearted heroine who puts her family first and a misguided hero who needs a little nudge to realize that sometimes all you have to do is believe.

No one should have to go it alone...

Tabitha Knicely believes in family before everything. She may be overwhelmed caring for her beloved

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Booker T. Washington believed that every man and woman deserved a chance, regardless of their skin color. This classic work of literature relays the story of a man born into slavery who, once freed, pursued education and racial equality. Originally published in 1901, the new edition of Booker T. Washington's autobiography features a foreword from media personality and advocate for the advancement of African Americans, Mychal Massie. In his story,...