Vanguard tells the story of African American women who fought for political power and equality in the U.S. Defying both racism and sexism, figures like Maria Stewart, Fannie Lou Hamer, and others shaped the fight for voting rights from the republic’s early days through the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Martha S. Jones highlights their pivotal role in transforming American democracy.
Black History Month
This guide is in celebration of Black History Month and includes books and media from the NWACC Library Collection.
Best Bet Search Tools
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African American Heritage This link opens in a new windowSearch essential historical records, visit the AfriGeneas Community, Explore Black Genesis, and more!
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American Mosaic: The African American Experience This link opens in a new windowExplore by time periods and look at primary sources.
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Library of Congress: African American PerspectivesPrimary sources and materials from the Library of Congress
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National Museum of African American History and CultureDirect link to Smithsonian resource on this museum.
Find Non-Fiction Books
Barracoon
A major literary event from Zora Neale Hurston, Barracoon tells the true story of Cudjo Lewis, one of the last-known survivors of the Atlantic slave trade. In 1927, Hurston recorded Lewis’s firsthand account of his capture in Africa and decades of enslavement in the United States. The book illuminates the horrors and injustices of slavery through his powerful testimony.
Becoming
In Becoming, Michelle Obama reflects on her life from her childhood on Chicago’s South Side to her years as First Lady, balancing family, work, and public life. With honesty and wit, she shares her triumphs and challenges, offering a deeply personal story of resilience, purpose, and inspiration.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, whose cells—taken without her consent—became one of the most important tools in medicine. Rebecca Skloot explores the scientific breakthroughs enabled by HeLa cells alongside the profound ethical and personal impact on the Lacks family. The book reveals the intersection of medical discovery, race, and the human consequences of scientific progress.
The King Years: Historic Moments in the Civil Rights Movement
The King Years offers a vivid account of the Civil Rights era, highlighting the heroes, struggles, and enduring lessons of the movement. Taylor Branch presents gripping stories that reveal both triumphs and shortcomings, providing essential insight into a transformative period in American history.
Malcolm X
Manning Marable’s Malcolm X is a definitive biography of one of America’s most complex and influential figures. Tracing his journey from troubled youth to Black nationalist leader, the book explores his activism, ideas, and lasting impact on race, class, and social change. It also reveals new details about his life and assassination, offering a sweeping portrait of a man who continually reinvented himself.
W. E. B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race
A definitive biography of the African-American author and scholar describes Du Bois's formative years, the evolution of his philosophy, and his roles as a founder of the NAACP and architect of the American civil rights movement. 35,000 first printing.
On Juneteenth
On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed explores the history and significance of Juneteenth, tracing the struggles and contributions of African Americans in Texas and beyond. Combining memoir, family history, and scholarship, the book reveals how the legacy of slavery shaped the state and the nation. It offers a vital reexamination of American history and the ongoing fight for equality.
Black Against Empire (eBook)
Black Against Empire provides a comprehensive history of the Black Panther Party, from its founding in 1966 to its rise and eventual decline. Joshua Bloom and Waldo Martin examine the Party’s revolutionary politics, community programs, and global impact, revealing why it inspired so many and faced intense repression. Richly detailed and meticulously researched, the book is the definitive account of this influential movement.
Black Queer Freedom
Black Queer Freedom examines how Black queer artists across the diaspora use art to resist oppression and create spaces for justice. GerShun Avilez explores how public and institutional spaces—from streets to prisons—seek to control queer bodies, and how art and desire offer paths to freedom and empowerment.
Find Fiction Books
Beloved
Toni Morrison’s Beloved follows Sethe, an escaped slave in post–Civil War Ohio, who lives with her daughter and mother-in-law while struggling to keep the past from swallowing her. When a mysterious young woman named Beloved arrives, the emotional scars Sethe has tried to bury resurface with haunting force. The novel blends memory, trauma, and the supernatural to explore the enduring impact of slavery.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings recounts her childhood in the segregated South and later in St. Louis and San Francisco, navigating abandonment, racism, and trauma. Through family support, literature, and her own resilience, she learns to reclaim her voice and sense of self. The memoir remains a powerful exploration of identity, endurance, and the liberating force of words.
Kindred
Octavia Butler’s Kindred follows Dana, a modern Black woman who is abruptly pulled through time to the antebellum South, where she must save the life of a white plantation owner’s son. Each return to the past lasts longer and becomes more dangerous, forcing her to confront the brutal realities of slavery and her own survival. The novel blends history and speculative fiction to examine racism, power, and identity.
Invisible Man
Ellison won the National Book Award for this searing record of a black man's journey through contemporary America. Unquestionably, Ellison's book is a work of extraordinary intensity--powerfully imagined and written with a savage, wryly humorous gusto.--Atlantic.
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Hurston’s classic novel follows Janie Crawford’s journey toward independence and self-realization as she navigates love, hardship, and societal expectations in the American South. Rich with wit and emotional depth, it offers a timeless portrait of resilience and desire. Once rejected for its strong Black female lead, it is now celebrated as a cornerstone of American literature.
Harlem Shuffle
Ray Carney is a mostly honest furniture salesman in 1960s Harlem—except for the occasional stolen jewelry his cousin brings by. When Ray is unwittingly pulled into a botched hotel heist, he’s thrust into a dangerous world of gangsters, corrupt cops, and hustlers. Caught between his desire for respectability and his family’s criminal legacy, Ray must navigate the thin line between striver and crook.
You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down
A natural evolution from the earlier, much-acclaimed collection In Love & Trouble, these fourteen provocative and often humorous stories show women oppressed but not defeated.
Zami: a New Spelling of My Name
"ZAMI is a fast-moving chronicle. From the author's vivid childhood memories in Harlem to her coming of age in the late 1950s, the nature of Audre Lorde's work is cyclical. It especially relates the linkage of women who have shaped her . . . Lorde brings into play her craft of lush description and characterization. It keeps unfolding page after page."--Off Our Backs