Black History Month 2024
There is so much individual excellence to celebrate during Black History Month. Yet many of us only hear about the same dozen or so historical figures, most of whom are related to the Civil Rights Movement. There are wonderful biographies of Malcolm X, MLK, Mahalia Jackson, and Rosa Parks for every reading level – picture books through comprehensive biographies.
What I’ve fallen in love with over the last few years are the biographies of other extraordinary individuals, many of whom I hadn’t heard of prior to finding these books on the shelves. In these books you’ll find inventors, farmers, entrepreneurs, writers, activists, students, and more. Many of them had incredibly ordinary lives, yet they each left an extraordinary mark on our world.
Follow the links to find these titles at the library nearest you via WorldCat.
- Mae Makes a Way: The True Story of Mae Reeves, Hat and History Maker
- Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich (author), Andrea Pippins (illustrator), 2022
- The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth & Harlem’s Greatest Bookstore
- Vaunda Micheaux Nelson (author), R. Gregory Christie (illustrator), 2015
- Lillian’s Right to Vote: A Celebration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965
- Jonah Winter (author), Shane Evans (illustrator), 2015
- Whoosh!: Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions
- Chris Barton (author), Don Tate (illustrator), 2016
- The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read
- Rita L. Hubbard (author), Oge Mora (illustrator), 2020
- Pies From Nowhere: How Georgia Gilmore Sustained the Montgomery Bus Boycott
- Dee Romito (author), Laura Freeman (illustrator), 2018
- Saving American Beach: The Biography of African American Environmentalist MaVynee Betsch
- Heidi Tyline King (author), Ekua Holmes (illustrator), 2021
- Opening the Road: Victor Hugo Green and His Green Book
- Keila V. Dawson (author), Alleanna Harris (illustrator), 2021
- Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table
- Jacqueline Briggs Martin (author), Shabazz Larkin (illustrator), 2013
- Ablaze With Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas
- Jeanne Walker Harvey (author), Loveis Wise (illustrator), 2022
- Only the Best: The Exceptional Life and Fashion of Ann Lowe
- Kate Messner (author), Margaret E. Powell (author), Erin Robinson (illustrator), 2022
- Love is Loud: How Diane Nash Led the Civil Rights Movement
- Sandra Neil Wallace (author), Bryan Collier (illustrator), 2023
Melissa Proulx | Author 