African American Fiction and Literature for Young Adults

Nonfiction, Poetry & Short Stories

 

Angelou, Maya. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. 1985. (YA B Angel.M Angel.M & B Angel.M Angel.M)

Poet Angelou's first autobiography records her dealing with racism in the segregated American South, reaction to being sexually molested, and the solace she finds in literature.

 

 

Aronson, Marc. Race : A History Beyond Black And White. 2007. (YA 305.8 Arons.M)

Race. You know it at a glance: he's black; she's white. They're Asian; we're Latino. Racism. I'm better; she's worse. Those people do those kinds of things. We all know it's wrong to make these judgments, but they come faster than thought. Why? Where did those feelings come from? Why are they so powerful?

 

 

Crowe, Chris. Getting Away With Murder : The True Story Of The Emmett Till Case. 2003. (YA 364.134 Crowe.C)

When fourteen-year-old Emmett Till left Chicago to visit family in a small town in Mississippi and was soon murdered for whistling at a white woman, a series of events took place that changed the ways of the south and the nation forever.

 

 

Fisher, Antwone Quentin. Finding Fish : A Memoir. 2001. (YA B Fishe.A Fishe.A)

An autobiography of Antwone Quenton Fisher who at the age of two was placed in a foster home in Cleveland, Ohio where he was treated with brutality and cruelty.

Hoose, Phillip M.. Claudette Colvin : Twice Toward Justice. 2009. (YA B Colvi.C Hoose.P)

The award-winning inspirational story of a brave young woman. Before Rosa Parks, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat on the bus. She recieved some attention, but ultimately, it was decided not to have her as the face of the boycott. This book gives this courageous young woman her place of importance in such a significant time.

 

 

Longman, Jere. The Hurricanes: One High School Team's Homecoming After Katrina. 2008. (YA 796.33262 Longm.J)

Offers an inspirational account of one high school football team's quest for a state championship in hurricane-ravaged Louisiana, describing how students from several devastated communities came together to form South Plaquemines High, the creation of a football team from former rivals, the hardships they had to overcome to achieve success, and more.

 

 

Miller, Joe. Cross-X. 2006. (YA 808.53 Mille.J)

Author and Journalist Joe Miller follows an inner-city debate team through an entire season in this inspiring story about race, teens, and the nuances of high school debate competitions.

 

 

 

Myers, Walter Dean. Here In Harlem : Poems In Many Voices. 2004. (YA 811.08 Myers.W)

Myers constructs a portrait of his beloved Harlem through the voices of teens, jazz musicians, veterans, hustlers, a hairdresser, a boxer, and more -- in a series of more than fifty first-person poems.

 

 

Nelson, Marilyn. Carver, A Life In Poems. 2001. (YA 811.54 Nelso.M)

A collection of forty-four poems--told from the point of view of Carver and the people who knew him--provides a compelling, lyrical account of the life of revered African-American botanist and inventor, George Washington Carver.

Quiet Storm : Voices Of Young Black Poets. 1999. (YA 811.008 Quiet)

A collection of poems celebrating the African diaspora through the eyes of youths of African descent from the United States and around the World.

 

 

Singer, Marilyn (ed.). Face Relations : 11 Stories About Seeing Beyond Color. 2004. (YA Fiction Stories Singe.M)

Eleven original short stories by YA writers such as Williams-Garcia, Sherri Winston, and Jess Mowry, explore issues of racial identity and race relations in high schools in the United States.

Updated, February 2010