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African American History and Culture
Find books, websites and other resources on Black History.
This guide was created to provide researchers with helpful tips, and suggested print and electronic resources about African American history, culture and anti-racist resources.
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African Americans Hughes, Langston National Memorial African Bookstore
Winner of the Newbery Medal, Coretta Scott King Author Award, and Kirkus Prize for Young Readers' Literature! Perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Gene Luen Yang, New Kid is a timely, honest graphic novel about starting over at a new school where diversity is low and the struggle to fit in is real, from award-winning author-illustrator Jerry Craft.
In 1921 Tulsa's Greenwood District, known then as the nation's "Black Wall Street," was one of the most prosperous African American communities in the United States. But on May 31 of that year, a white mob, inflamed by rumors that a young black man had attempted to rape a white teenage girl, invaded Greenwood. By the end of the following day, thousands of homes and businesses lay in ashes, and perhaps as many as three hundred people were dead. Tulsa, 1921 shines new light into the shadows that have long been cast over this extraordinary instance of racial violence. With the clarity and descriptive power of a veteran journalist, author Randy Krehbiel digs deep into the events and their aftermath and investigates decades-old questions about the local culture at the root of what one writer has called a white-led pogrom.
*A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice* "A whale of a tale, told clearly and quickly. I read the entire book in almost one sitting."--Thomas E. Ricks, New York Times Book Review The incredible story of the first African American military pilot, who went on to become a Paris nightclub impresario, a spy in the French Resistance and an American civil rights pioneer
American political thought has been shaped by those who fought back against social inequality, economic exclusion, the denial of political representation, and slavery, the country's original sin. In this timely book, Alex Zamalin considers key moments of resistance to demonstrate its current and future necessity, focusing on five activists across two centuries who fought to foreground slavery and racial injustice in American political discourse.
Conducting dozens of interviews and consulting rich archival materials, Jon N. Hale weaves a social history of the Mississippi Freedom Schools from the perspective of former students and teachers.
The 27th United States Colored Troops (USCT), composed largely of free black Ohio men, served in the Union army from April 1864 to September 1865 in Virginia and North Carolina. For Their Own Cause is the first comprehensive history of the 27th USCT.
Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads for America, where despite her academic success, she is forced to grapple with what it means to be black for the first time.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD * Hailed by Toni Morrison as "required reading," a bold and personal literary exploration of America's racial history by "the single best writer on the subject of race in the United States" (The New York Observer)
"This is your country, this is your world, this is your body, and you must find some way to live within the all of it."
"Congressman John Lewis has been a resounding moral voice in the quest for equality for more than 50 years, and I'm so pleased that he is sharing his memories of the Civil Rights Movement with America's young leaders. In March, he brings a whole new generation with him across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, from a past of clenched fists into a future of outstretched hands." - President Bill Clinton
“A real-life detective story, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks probes deeply into racial and ethical issues in medicine . . . The emotional impact of Skloot’s tale is intensified by its skillfully orchestrated counterpoint between two worlds.”
—Nature
Once in a great while a book comes along that changes the way we see the world and helps to fuel a nationwide social movement. The New Jim Crow is such a book. With dazzling candor, legal scholar Michelle Alexander argues that "we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it." By targeting black men through the War on Drugs and decimating communities of color, the U.S. criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control--relegating millions to a permanent second-class status--even as it formally adheres to the principle of colorblindness.
If you want to find books, the library's online catalog is the place to look. To search the catalog, begin on the library's home page at wccnet.edu/library and click on the "Catalog" link. This will open the search page for the catalog. By using the drop-down menu to the right of the search box you can specify whether you want to search by keyword, subject, author, or title. In most cases, unless you know the title of what you are looking for, a keyword search is the best option. Let's say you are looking for books about Jimi Hendrix. You can type Jimi Hendrix into the search box and click the search button. This will bring you to a list of related books. From the search results list you can click on the title of any book to view more information about it on the item details page. This page will give you information such as a book's call number, availability, and location. The call number is a unique alphanumeric combination that will help you find the book on the shelf. It works kind of like an address. The location will tell you what section of the library the book is in. The primary book locations in the library are children's, reference, oversize, and general, with most books belonging to the general collection. The item information section will tell you about the book’s availability. Here we can see that there is one copy of this book available and it's in the general collection. Every item details page will have a link labeled "A Look Inside." If you click on this link you can view more information about the book such as the summary and reviews, and sometimes a table of contents. f you need help searching the catalog or finding a book in the library, don't hesitate to ask a library staff member for assistance. We are always happy to help and can be reached both in person and online.
You can search for books by keyword, title, author, or subject using the Bailey Library catalog.
Enter a title, author or keyword into the search box. Optional: Select word or phrase, subject, author, or title from the drop down menu to specify what you're looking for. Click the search button to run the search. If any books come up in the search, they will appear as a list of results.
There are two types of books in the catalog: print books and eBooks. Print books will have a call number underneath the title and eBooks are labeled E-BOOK underneath the title. Keep this in mind if you have a preference for one or the other.
Accessing Books
For physical items (print books/DVDs)
Click on the title of the book to view the following details:
Availability - tells you whether the book is available, checked-out or lost.
Call Number - tells you the shelf location of the book.
Location - tells you what collection the book can be found in. There are 4 main collections in Bailey Library:
General
Reference
Oversize
Children's
If the book is available, make note of the location and call number. All books are organized according to call number from A to Z). If you need assistance finding books on the shelf, ask a library staff member. We're happy to help!
For electronic items (eBooks or online videos)
Click the title of the book to view more details about it.
Click the "View Resource Online" link to access a digital version of the book.
New Kid by 
Tulsa 1921 by 
All Blood Runs Red by 
Struggle on Their Minds by 
The Freedom Schools by 
For Their Own Cause by 
Americanah by 
Between the World and Me by 
March: Book One by 
X : a novel by 
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by 
The New Jim Crow by 
