african american history month book list february 2013

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1 African-American History Month Book List February 2013 2013 Theme: “At the Crossroads of Freedom and Equality: The Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” African-American History Month is celebrated each February since 1926 when Dr. Carter G. Woodson sought to commemorate the contributions of people of African descent in the United States through the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). Originally the second week in February was chosen because it spans the birthdays of both President Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas. Later expanded into two weeks, in 1976 President Gerald Ford extended the celebration from two weeks into an official month. The 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation is this year’s theme. Also commemorated is the 50th Anniversary of March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It was the Virginia Colony in 1661 that passed America’s first black codes. Yet in 1775 it was from a ship lying off Norfolk’s coast that royal governor Lord Dunmore offered freedom to all slaves who would flee to loyalist forces and fight against the rebellious American. The work to abolish the slave trade and slavery continued over a long period of time in Europe, the Americas, and Africa. Throughout this time, enslaved people bravely took upon themselves their own liberation through hard work, rebellion, advocacy, and escape. However, slavery is an ancient scourge that still exists today. The following is a selected list of books, videos, and websites that will help you learn more about African American history with an emphasis on this year’s theme. All books and videos are available at the Norfolk Public Library and the websites may be viewed online at any of the public computer stations located in the library or from home. Additional assistance is available by asking at your local branch library. The Sargeant Memorial Collection staff members at the Mary D. Pretlow Anchor Branch Library can also provide assistance researching local African American history and genealogy. NOTABLE TITLES OF INTEREST The following is a selected list of nonfiction and fiction books that provide an overview of the African-American experience in the United States. African American History of the Civil War in Hampton Roads (Cassandra L. Newby-Alexander) Through a fascinating narrative and stunning vintage photographs, readers will discover the struggles and triumphs of the African Americans of Hampton Roads, hundreds of whom gained their freedom via the teeming wharves that were a major station on the Underground Railroad and during the Civil War.

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Page 1: African American History Month Book List February 2013

1

African-American History MonthBook List

February 2013

2013 Theme: “At the Crossroads of Freedom and Equality:The Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington

for Jobs and Freedom”

African-American History Month is celebrated each February since 1926 when Dr. CarterG. Woodson sought to commemorate the contributions of people of African descent in theUnited States through the Association for the Study of African American Life and History(ASALH). Originally the second week in February was chosen because it spans the birthdays ofboth President Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas. Later expanded into two weeks, in1976 President Gerald Ford extended the celebration from two weeks into an official month.The 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation is this year’s theme. Alsocommemorated is the 50th Anniversary of March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

It was the Virginia Colony in 1661 that passed America’s first black codes. Yet in 1775it was from a ship lying off Norfolk’s coast that royal governor Lord Dunmore offered freedomto all slaves who would flee to loyalist forces and fight against the rebellious American. Thework to abolish the slave trade and slavery continued over a long period of time in Europe, theAmericas, and Africa. Throughout this time, enslaved people bravely took upon themselvestheir own liberation through hard work, rebellion, advocacy, and escape. However, slavery is anancient scourge that still exists today.

The following is a selected list of books, videos, and websites that will help you learnmore about African American history with an emphasis on this year’s theme. All books andvideos are available at the Norfolk Public Library and the websites may be viewed online at anyof the public computer stations located in the library or from home. Additional assistance isavailable by asking at your local branch library. The Sargeant Memorial Collection staffmembers at the Mary D. Pretlow Anchor Branch Library can also provide assistance researchinglocal African American history and genealogy.

NOTABLE TITLES OF INTERESTThe following is a selected list of nonfiction and fiction books that provide an overview of the

African-American experience in the United States.

African American History of the Civil War in Hampton Roads(Cassandra L. Newby-Alexander) Through a fascinating narrative and stunningvintage photographs, readers will discover the struggles and triumphs of the AfricanAmericans of Hampton Roads, hundreds of whom gained their freedom via theteeming wharves that were a major station on the Underground Railroad and duringthe Civil War.

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Autobiography of Malcolm X(Alex Haley) Chosen by Time Magazine as one of the “ten most important nonfictionbooks of the century,” this powerful account tells the life of one of America’s mostmisunderstood men.

Before the Mayflower: A History of Black America(Lerone Bennett) Bennett begins his study in western Africa and continues hishistorical timeline from the Colonial period through the 1970s.

Eyes On the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965(Juan Williams) This compelling oral history of the first ten years of theCivil Rights movement is a tribute to the men and women, both black and white, whotook part in the fight for justice and kept their eyes on the prize of freedom. The 15thanniversary edition of the companion to the highly acclaimed PBS television series.

From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans(John Hope Franklin) Considered one of the most popular texts on African-American History.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings(Maya Angelou) Presents the story of a spirited and gifted, but poor, black girl growingup in the South in the 1930s. Tells how she came into her own, experiencing prejudice,family difficulties, and a relationship with a teacher who taught her to respect books,learning, and herself.

The Mis-Education of the Negro(Carter G. Woodson) Woodson inspired black Americans to demand relevant learningopportunities that were inclusive of their own culture and heritage laying the foundation for moreprogressive and egalitarian educational institutions.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass(Frederick Douglass) This literary masterpiece of a three part memoir tells the storyof a young man held in slavery, his self discovery, and his successful journey tofreedom.

The Norfolk 17: A Personal Narrative on Desegregation in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1958-1962(Andrew I. Heidelberg) Chronicles the heroic efforts of 17 students who were the first todesegregate six previously all-white public schools in Norfolk, Virginia.

A Raisin in the Sun(Lorraine Hansberry) Hansberry’s award-winning drama deals with the Youngerfamily’s search for the American dream.

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Souls of Black Folk(W.E. B. DuBois) A classic study of race, culture, and education at the turn of thetwentieth century, Du Bois’ combination of essays, memoir, and fiction, makes aforceful case for the access of African Americans to higher education and extols theachievements of black culture.

Their Eyes Were Watching God(Zora Neale Hurston) Through her classic novel of poetic American literature, Hurston tells thestory of Janie’s universal experiences of pain and happiness and love and loss, through humorand compassion.

FICTIONThe following is a selected list of new or theme fiction books that provide an insight into

the African-American experience in the United States through literature and storytelling.

The Cutting Season(Atticca Locke) When the dead body of a young woman is found on the grounds ofthe Louisiana plantation Belle Vie, the estate’s manager, Caren Gray, launches herown investigation into Belle Vie’s history, which leads her to a century’s old mysteryinvolving the plantation’s slave quarters--and her own past.

The Healing: A Novel(Jonathan Odell) Mississippi plantation mistress Amanda Satterfield loses herdaughter to cholera after her husband refuses to treat her for what he considers tobe a “slave disease.” Insane with grief, Amanda takes a newborn slave child as herown and names her Granada, much to the outrage of her husband and theamusement of their white neighbors. Seventy-five years later it is 1933 andGranada, now known as Gran Gran, is still living on the plantation and mustrevive the buried memories of her past in order to heal a young girl abandoned toher care. Together they learn the power of story to heal the body, the spirit and thesoul.

Jubilee(Margaret Walker) First published in 1966, Jubilee is a semi-fictional account ofthe life of the author’s grandmother following the fortunes of a mulatto girl, VyryBrown, as a slave during the Civil War and then as a woman freed by theEmancipation Proclamation. It is one of the first novels to present the nineteenth-century African American historical experience in the South from a black andfemale point of view.

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The Perfect Marriage(Kimberla Lawson Roby) Again, the popular Roby takes on a serious social issue within thecontext of glossy popular fiction. Denise and Derek Shaw have it all: happy marriage, successfulcareers, beautiful house, beautiful daughter -- and a serious addiction to drugs. Their daughtermust intervene to save them.

Silver Sparrow: A Novel(Tayari Jones) In 1980s Atlanta, two teenage girls become friends, with only oneknowing that they are in fact both daughters of the same bigamist father, and as theirfriendship develops their father’s secret begins to unravel. Jones portrays thefragility of these young girls with raw authenticity as they seek love, demandattention, and try to imagine themselves as women, just not as their mothers. A 2011BCALA Literary Award Honor Book.

The Taste of Salt: A Novel(Martha Southgate) Josie Henderson is most at home in and around water, and as asenior-level black female scientist; she is practically alone in her field. But in buildingthis impressive life for herself, she has tried to shed the one thing she cannot: her familyroots back in Cleveland. When Tick, her brother and childhood ally against theiralcoholic father, arrives on her doorstep fresh from rehab and teetering on the edge of arelapse, Josie must finally face her family’s past -- and her own patterns of addiction.

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie(Ayana Mathis) In 1923, fifteen-year-old Hattie Shepherd flees Georgia and settlesin Philadelphia, hoping for a chance at a better life. Instead, she marries a man whowill bring her nothing but disappointment and watches helplessly as her firstborntwins succumb to an illness a few pennies could have prevented. Hattie gives birth tonine more children whom she raises with grit and mettle and not an ounce of thetenderness they crave. She vows to prepare them for the calamitous difficulty theyare sure to face in their later lives. Captured here in twelve narrative threads, theirlives tell the story of a mother’s monumental courage and the journey of a nation.

Wingshooters(Nina Revoyr) In this shattering northern variation on To Kill a Mockingbird,Michelle LeBeau and her white-Japanese family are forever changed when a blackfamily (he a teacher and she a nurse) moves into her all-white town in 1974.

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NONFICTIONThe following is a selected list of nonfiction books that provide an overview of the

African-American experience in the United States with special attention to this year’s theme andbooks new to NPL.

.

Abraham Lincoln and the Road to Emancipation, 1861-1865(William K. Klingaman) In the tradition of Garry Wills’s award-winning Lincoln atGettysburg, Klingaman reconstructs the events that led to Lincoln’s momentousdecision. He takes us from Lincoln’s inauguration through the outbreak of the CivilWar and the Confederates’ early military victories. Despite the Abolitionists’ urging,Lincoln was reluctant to issue an edict freeing the slaves lest it alienate loyal borderstates. When all his plans failed, Lincoln finally began drafting an emancipationproclamation as a military weapon -- what he described as his “last card” against the rebellion.

Amendment XIII: Abolishing Slavery(Tracey Biscontini and Rebecca Sparling, eds.) Useful to students doing research,this book includes the amendment’s text and paraphrased explanation, an informativeintroduction, historical background, and debate/controversies surroundingemancipation.

American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens AcrossAmerica(Michelle Obama) Through telling the story of the White House KitchenGarden, Obama explores how increased access to healthful, affordable food canimprove health for all families across America with ideas on how to createcommunity and urban gardens. See also: A White House Garden Cookbook:Healthy Ideas from the First Family for Your Family by Clara Silverstein.

American Tapestry: The Story of the Black, White, and Multiracial Ancestors of MichelleObama(Rachel L. Swarns) Illuminating the lives of the ordinary people who fought for freedom in theRevolutionary and Civil Wars, this intimate family history by New York Times reporter RachelSwarns traces the compelling story of Michelle Obama’s ancestors, taking readers on a journeyfrom slavery to the White House in five generations that bears witness to our changing nation.

Barack and Michelle: Portrait of an American Marriage(Christopher Andersen) Draws on those who know the Obamas best to examine theirunique partnership and the grace, courage, and humor that defines it, in a look at auniquely American love story.

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Bayard Rustin: American Dreamer(Jerald Podair) The main organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, BayardRustin, was a unique twentieth-century American radical voice. A homosexual,World War II draft resister, and ex-communist, he made enormous contributions tothe civil rights, socialist, labor, peace, and gay rights movements in the UnitedStates, despite being viewed as an “outsider” even by fellow activists. He was amajor influence on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s philosophy of nonviolent direct action,which led to the strategy that changed the course of American race relations.

Black Woman Redefined: Dispelling Myths and Discovering Fulfillment in theAge of Michelle Obama(Sophia A. Nelson) This groundbreaking book provides black women of a newgeneration with essential career and life-coaching advice. Based on never-before-doneresearch on college-educated, career-driven black women, Nelson offers her fellow“sisters”—and those who know, love, and work with them—a feel-good volume forpersonal and professional success that empowers them without tearing others down.

The Black Count: Glory Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of MonteCristo(Tom Reiss) This biography of General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas traces the story ofthe mixed-race African American swordsman and father of novelist AlexandreDumas, his rise from bondage in Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) to the Frencharistocracy, his military triumphs, and the adventures that inspired such classics asThe Three Musketeers. This riveting adventure story, a lushly textured evocation of18th-century France and a window into the modern world’s first multi-racial society,is also a heartbreaking story of the enduring bonds of love between a father and son.

Blackwards: How Black Leadership Is Returning America to the Days ofSeparate but Equal(Ron Christie) The iconoclastic Black Republican strategist argues that blackleaders who fan the flames of racial rhetoric by advancing an extremist agenda ofseparatism and special rights threaten to point us backward to the days before Brownv. Board of Education and sabotage the goal of a post-racial America.

The Color of Christ: The Son of God and the Saga of Race in America(Edward J. Blum and Paul Harvey) The authors weave a tapestry of Americandreams and visions--from witch hunts to web pages, Harlem to Hollywood, slavecabins to South Park, Mormon revelations to Indian reservations--to show howAmericans remade the Son of God visually time and again into a sacred symbol oftheir greatest aspirations, deepest terrors, and mightiest strivings for racial power andjustice. The color of Christ still symbolizes America’s most combustible divisions,revealing the power and malleability of race and religion from colonial times to thepresidency of Barack Obama.

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Conversations with Octavia Butler(Octavia Butler) Until her death in 2006, Octavia Butler spent the majority of herprolific career as the only major black female author of science fiction. Winner ofboth the Nebula and Hugo Awards as well as a MacArthur fellowship, the first for ascience fiction writer, Butler created worlds that challenged notions of race, sex,gender, and humanity. Whether discussing humanity’s biological imperatives or thedifference between science fiction and fantasy or the plight of the working poor inAmerica, Butler emerges in these interviews as funny, intelligent, complicated, and

intensely original.

The Courage to Hope: How I Stood Up to the Politics of Fear(Shirley Sherrod; with Catherine Whitney) Sherrod shares what it was like to bethe center of a media firestorm after she was forced to resign from the USDA afterfalse charges in the summer of 2010. In this moving and sometimes shocking book,she reveals what went on behind the media coverage. Now nationally known as aspeaker on empowerment strategies, she has written an inspiring memoir about thereal power of courage and hope.

The Dutch Atlantic: Slavery, Abolition and Emancipation(Kwame Nimako and Glenn Willemsen) Tackling the misunderstood subject of the Dutch role inthe Atlantic slave trade, this book examines Emancipation Day in the Dutch empire (July 1,1863) and the still varying reactions to its celebration by the descendants of slaves and the whitepopulation of the Netherlands.

The Emancipation Proclamation: Three Views (Social, Political, Iconographic)(Harold Holzer, Edna Greene Medford, and Frank J. Williams) This study by authors who arefamiliar historians on C-SPAN analyzes three distinct respects of Lincoln’s edict of liberation:the influence of and impact upon African Americans; the legal, political, and military exigencies;and the role pictorial images played in establishing the document in public memory.

Fast Animal(Tim Seibles) The newest collection from one of America’s foremost African-American poets threads the journey from youthful innocence to the whittled-hardawareness of adulthood. Along the way it immerses the reader in palpable moments ― the importance of remembering, the burden of race, and the meaning of truewakefulness. This local author was a finalist for the 2012 National Book Award forPoetry.

Forced into Glory: Abraham Lincoln’s White Dream(Lerone Bennett) Beginning with the dissenting argument that the EmancipationProclamation did not actually free African American slaves, this dissenting viewof Lincoln’s greatness surveys the president’s policies, speeches, and privateutterances and concludes that he had little real interest in abolition. Pointing toLincoln’s support for the fugitive slave laws, his friendship with slave-owningsenator Henry Clay, and conversations in which he entertained the idea ofdeporting slaves in order to create an all-white nation, the book, concludes thatthe president was a racist at heart.

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Freedom’s Daughters: The Unsung Heroines of the Civil Rights Movementfrom 1830 to 1970(Lynne Olson) In this groundbreaking book, credit finally goes where credit is due-- to the bold women who were crucial to the movement’s success and who refusedto give up the fight.

Freedom’s First Generation: Black Hampton, Virginia, 1861-1890(Robert Francis Engs) This pioneering study of Hampton, Virginia, tells the story ofwhat race relations in America “might have been” after the Civil War. Here, if only fora time, the promises of Emancipation and Reconstruction were fulfilled. Engs followsa community of freedmen over a thirty-year period to answer a compelling question:why was the American Dream realized by blacks in Hampton and not elsewhere?

A Game of Character: A Family Journey from Chicago’s Southside to theIvy League and Beyond(Craig Robinson) The eagerly anticipated inspirational memoir from MichelleObama’s brother, celebrating the extraordinary family members and mentors whohave shaped his life.

Gather At the Table: The Healing Journey of a Daughter of Slavery and a Sonof the Slave Trade(Thomas Norman DeWolf and Sharon Leslie Morgan) Chronicles the joint travelsof a woman descended from slaves and a man descended from slave-traders as theymake their way through twenty-seven states and overseas, reflecting on how slaveryhas influenced their lives.

Head Off & Split: Poems(Nikky Finney) Against other black poets’ interest in congregations, Finney isdrawn to defiant individualists, to black women who let no one tell them what todo. Several long sequences animate, or answer, public figures, from Rosa Parks toStrom Thurmond to President George W. Bush and Bush adviser CondoleezzaRice. Finney’s politics are unmistakable, and her sympathy for the dispossessed --

shown with anger and verve in poems about Hurricane Katrina -- pervades the volume’s thicklypainted scenes. Winner of the 2011 National Book Award for Poetry.

Like a Mighty Stream: The March on Washington, August 28, 1963(Patrik Henry Bass) Acclaimed journalist and author Patrik Henry Bass weaveseyewitness accounts, photographs, reporting, and observations into a memorablemosaic of one of the most unforgettable events in American history.

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Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America(Allen C. Guelzo) Prize-winning Lincoln scholar Allen C. Guelzo presents, for thefirst time, a full scale study of Lincoln’s greatest state paper. Using unpublishedletters and documents, little-known accounts from Civil War-era newspapers, andCongressional memoirs and correspondence, Guelzo tells the story of thecomplicated web of statesmen, judges, slaves, and soldiers who accompanied, and

obstructed, Abraham Lincoln on the path to the Proclamation.

Lincoln’s Hundred Days: The Emancipation Proclamation and the War forthe Union(Louis P. Masur) Lincoln’s effort to end slavery has been controversial from itsinception-when it was denounced by some as an unconstitutional usurpation and byothers as an inadequate half-measure-up to the present, as historians havediscounted its import and impact. At the sesquicentennial of the EmancipationProclamation, Louis Masur seeks to restore the document’s reputation by exploringits evolution.

The Long Road to Antietam: How the Civil War Became a Revolution(Richard Slotkin) This narrative account, written by an award-winning novelist,uses techniques from fiction to offer a new interpretation of the factors and eventsleading up to the battle of Antietam in the summer of 1862. There is specialemphasis on Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and the political and socialchanges that ensued after it was issued.

Nobody Turn Me Around: A People’s History of the 1963 March onWashington(Charles Euchner) On August 28, 1963, over a quarter-million people—about two-thirds black and one-third white—held the greatest civil rights demonstration ever.Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” oration. And justblocks away, President Kennedy and Congress skirmished over landmark civil rightslegislation. As Charles Euchner reveals through oral histories of more than onehundred participants, the importance of the march is more profound and complexthan standard treatments of the 1963 March on Washington allow.

Norfolk Virginia(Ruth A. Rose) This book in the Black America series documents how theAfrican-American population has emerged, through a remarkable combination ofhard work, perseverance, and faith, as a vibrant community and an integralcomponent to the identity and success of Norfolk and surrounding areas.

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The Obamas(Jodi Kantor) In the Obamas, Jodi Kantor takes us deep inside the White House asthey try to grapple with their new roles, change the country, raise children, maintainfriendships, and figure out what it means to be the first black President and FirstLady. Filled with riveting detail and insight into their partnership, emotions andpersonalities, and written with a keen eye for the ironies of public life, it is anintimate portrait that will surprise even readers who thought they knew the President

and First Lady.

Race and Liberty in the New Nation: Emancipation in Virginia from theRevolution to Nat Turner’s Rebellion(Eva Sheppard Wolf) The author explores ambivalence in the revolutionary eratowards emancipation, the practice of manumission, and the public debate overslavery and emancipation, up to 1832 in Virginia.

Race, Slavery and the Civil War: The Tough Stuff of American History andMemory(Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission) Transcripts ofthe panel discussions at the Commission’s 2011 conference on race, slavery, andthe Civil War in Virginia and beyond.

Slavery Today(Ronald D. Lankford, Jr., ed.) This title from the Greenhaven Press’s At Issue seriesprovides a wide range of opinions on the current international problem of slavery andhuman trafficking in the United States and around the world.

Twenty-Two Years of Freedom(Thomas F. Paige) As the title page describes, it is “An account of the emancipationcelebration by the freedmen of Norfolk, Va., and vicinity, on the first day ofJanuary, 1885, including the literary exercises, oration, poem, review etc.” Alimited edition from 1885 in the Sargeant Memorial Collection.

Vegan Soul Kitchen: Fresh, Healthy, and Creative African American Cuisine(Bryant Terry) The mere mention of soul food brings thoughts of greasy fare andclogged arteries. Bryant Terry offers recipes that leave out heavy salt and refinedsugar, “bad” fats, and unhealthy cooking techniques, and leave in the down-homeflavor. Terry reinvents African-American and Southern cuisine - capitalizing on thecomplex flavors of the tradition, without the animal products.

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Voices In Our Blood: America’s Best on the Civil Rights Movement(Jon Meacham) This literary anthology of the most important and artfulinterpretations of the civil rights movement, past and present showcases whatforty of the nation’s best writers — including Maya Angelou, James Baldwin,Ralph Ellison, William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, Alice Walker, Robert PennWarren, Eudora Welty, and Richard Wright — had to say about the centraldomestic drama of the American Century.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965(Laurie Collier Hillstrom) The author first offers a narrative overview of theevents that lead to the passage of the Act by the US government, from adescription of Jim Crow through the growing strength of the civil rightsmovement, the March on Washington, and on to the legacy of the Act. Then sheprofiles key figures, among them Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, LyndonJohnson, Martin Luther King, and George Wallace.

JUVENILE AND YA FICTIONThe following is a selected list of nonfiction and fiction books that provide an overview

of the African-American experience in the United States through historical fiction and Americanstories for children and young adults (YA) ages 13 and up.

Abraham Lincoln: Letters from a Slave Girl (YA)(Andrea Davis Pinkney) The Dear Mr. President series brings history alive throughfictitious correspondence between a president and a young person. In thesemeticulously researched and thought-provoking letters, Abraham Lincoln and atwelve-year-old enslaved girl discuss his decision to write the EmancipationProclamation.

Ben and the Emancipation Proclamation(Patrice Sherman) Young Benjamin Holmes, a slave in Charleston who has taughthimself to read, reads Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation to his fellow slaves inprison. This full-color picture book is based on actual events.

Flygirl (YA)(Sherri L. Smith) Ida Mae Jones dreams of flight. Her daddy was a pilot andbeing black didn’t stop him from fulfilling his dreams. But her daddy is gone now,and being a woman, and being black, are two strikes against her. During WorldWar II, she “passes” for white in order to join the Women Airforce Service Pilots.While Ida Mae chases her dream, she must also decide who it is she really wantsto be.

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Lola Loves Stories(Anna McQuinn)Adorable Lola is back in this companion to Lola at the Library.Lola and her daddy go to the library and load up on great books. Daddy reads to herat bedtime each night and the stories fuel her imaginative adventures the next day.

One Crazy Summer(Rita Williams-Garcia) In the summer of 1968, after travelling from Brooklyn toOakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as theydiscover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusionof their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp.

The Red Pyramid (YA, series)(Rick Riordan) Since their mother’s death, Carter and Sadie have become nearstrangers. She living with her grandparents in London, he traveling the world withtheir father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane. One night, Dr. Kane bringsthe siblings together for a “research experiment” at the British Museum, where hehopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set,who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives.Although Carter and Sadie are biracial characters, the author is more interested inthe idea of kids being caught between two worlds, ancient and modern, and the metaphor ofEgypt which is itself at the crossroads of cultures.

The Rock and the River (YA)(Kekla Magoon) In 1968 Chicago, fourteen-year-old Sam Childs is caught in aconflict between his father’s nonviolent approach to seeking civil rights for AfricanAmericans and his older brother, who has joined the Black Panther Party.

Step to This: A So For Real Novel (YA)(Nikki Carter) Gia wants to make her sophomore year at Longfellow Highunforgettable and after a makeover and an attitude adjustment, she gets on theschool dance squad, makes new friends, and scores a date, but soon things gohorribly wrong.

These Hands(Margaret H. Mason; illustrated by Floyd Cooper)An African-American man tells his grandson about a time when, despite allthe wonderful things his hands could do, they could not touch bread at theWonder Bread factory. In this powerful intergenerational story based onstories of bakery union workers, Joseph learns that people joined their handstogether to fight discrimination.

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JUVENILE NONFICTIONThe following is a selected list of nonfiction books of history, biography, and poetry for young

people that provide an overview of the African-American experience in the United States.

African Americans in Law and Politics(Mary Main and Cathy Thomason) This book in the Major BlackContributions from Emancipation to Civil Rights series describes howPresident Obama’s historic election, although a result of his gifts as apolitician with impressive achievements and a compelling life story,wouldn’t have been possible if earlier generations of African Americanshadn’t paved the way.

Children of the Emancipation(Wilma King) This work uses short, simple text linked to large historicalphotographs to bring to life the unique ways in which children lived and worked inan earlier era. It explains how the nearly four million slaves and nearly half amillion free blacks gained freedom and basic rights as citizens, following Lincoln’sEmancipation Proclamation.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s I Have a Dream Speech in Translation: WhatIt Really Means(Leslie J. Holland) Presents Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech, explains itsmeaning using everyday language, and describes the events that led to the speechand its significance through history.

Emancipation Proclamation: Would You Do What Lincoln did?(Elaine Landau) Examines the events leading up to President Abraham Lincoln’sdecision to write the Emancipation Proclamation ending slavery, including thebeginning of the Civil War. The author asks the reader what they would do iffaced with the important decisions that were made during the Civil War.

The Emancipation Proclamation(Marianne McComb) This book describes the roots of slavery in the UnitedStates, and examines the reasons why certain people and states were for it, whileothers were opposed to it. It also explains why President Lincoln issued theproclamation when he did, whom the proclamation freed, and whom it did not,and some of the effects it had on future events.

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Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln and the Dawn of Liberty(Tonya Bolden) Published on the anniversary of when President AbrahamLincoln’s order went into effect, this book offers readers a unique look at theevents that led to the Emancipation Proclamation. Filled with little-known factsand fascinating details, it includes excerpts from historical sources, archivalimages, and new research that debunks myths about the EmancipationProclamation and its causes.

Forever Free: From the Emancipation Proclamation to the Civil RightsBill of 1875, 1863-1875(Christopher E. Henry) The era begins during America’s great civil war,when President Abraham Lincoln decreed the rebel South’s slaves free; it endsin 1875, when Congress passed a bill assuring African American rights.Between those towering milestones, blacks moved from bondage to freedom,from political impotence to civil power. But threatening every step of theirjourney was a seemingly unbreachable barrier of racism. Blacks fell back timeand again; time and again they rallied and surged forward.

Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America(Andrea Davis Pinkney; illustrated by Brian Pinkney) These are the stories of 10men from different eras in American history, organized chronologically to provide ascope from slavery to the modern day. Men profiled include Frederick Douglass,W.E.B. DuBois, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Barack H. Obama II.

Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans(Kadir Nelson) A simple introduction to African-American history, fromRevolutionary-era slavery up to the election of President Obama. Winner ofnumerous awards.

I Have a Dream(Martin Luther King, Jr.; illustrated by Kadir Nelson) On August 28, 1963, onthe steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington, MartinLuther King gave one of the most powerful and memorable speeches in ournation’s history. His words, paired with Caldecott Honor winner Kadir Nelson’smagnificent paintings, make for a picture book certain to be treasured by childrenand adults alike. The themes of equality and freedom for all provide young readers

with an important introduction to our nation’s past. Included with the book is an audio CD of thespeech.

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Juneteenth(Denise M. Jordan) Describes the holiday known as Juneteenth Day, which hasroots in Texas and which celebrates the end of slavery in the United States.

Liberty or Death: The Surprising Story of Runaway Slaves Who Sided with theBritish During the American Revolution(Margaret Whitman Blair) The little-known story of the American Revolution toldfrom the perspectives of the African-American slaves who fought on the side of theBritish Royal Army in exchange for a promise of freedom.

March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World(Christine King Farris; illustrated by London Ladd) Having led thousands in amarch for civil rights to the foot of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963,Martin Luther King, Jr. made the most of the historical moment by giving a speechthat would forever inspire people to continue to fight for change in the years ahead.

The March on Washington(James Haskins) This book tells the story of all that went into organizing thatincredible gathering, from the suggestion first proposed in 1941 by A. PhilipRandolph, through the uneasy coalition that was formed from disparate civil rightsgroups, through the jockeying for position and power, the fundraising, theconsciousness-raising, the complex logistical problems, the wonder of the day itselfwith its “I have a dream” speech, to the cleaning up of the litter and the dismantling

of the sound equipment. Haskins deals not only with the event, but also with the men (no womenwere in power positions) who organized it and the politicians who reacted to it.

My Uncle Martin’s Words for America: Martin Luther King, Jr.’s NieceTells How He Made a Difference(Angela Farris Watkins; illustrated by Eric Velasquez) Explains how MartinLuther King used his message of love and peace to fight for civil rights forAfrican Americans.

Obama: The Historic Election of America’s 44th President(Agnieszka Biskup; illustrated by Seitu Hayden) In graphic novel format, describesthe life of Barack Obama, focusing on his run for the presidency, from his keynotespeech at the 2004 Democratic convention to his public appearance in Chicago withhis family upon his 2008 election.

Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters(Barack Obama) In this tender, beautiful letter to his daughters, PresidentBarack Obama has written a moving tribute to thirteen groundbreakingAmericans and the ideals that have shaped our nation.

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Riding to Washington(Gwenyth Swain; illustrated by David Geister) A young white girl rides the buswith her father to the March on Washington in 1963--at which Dr. Martin LutherKing, Jr., would give his “I Have a Dream” speech. She comes to see that Dr.King’s dream belongs not just to Blacks but to all Americans.

Spirit Seeker: John Coltrane’s Musical Journey(Gary Golio; illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez) This picture book biography for olderreaders Tells the warts-and-all story of the legendary jazz musician, from hisdeeply religious childhood to his career as a boundary-breaking musician whofound inspiration in his own unique approach to both spirituality and music.

We March(Shane W. Evans) The acclaimed author and artist of Underground brings histalents to this account of August 28, 1963, when more than 250,000 peoplegathered in the nation’s capital to participate in the March on Washington for Jobsand Freedom.

We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March(Cynthia Levinson) Discusses the events of the four thousand African Americanstudents who marched to jail to secure their freedom in May 1963. Bycombining in-depth, one-on-one interviews and extensive research, authorCynthia Levinson recreates the events of the Birmingham Children’s Marchfrom a new and very personal perspective.

When Were the First Slaves Set Free During the Civil War? and OtherQuestions about the Emancipation Proclamation(Shannon Knudsen) When Abraham Lincoln became president in March1861, the United States was on the brink of the Civil War. Looks at thehistory of the Emancipation Proclamation, including the origins of slavery,the people that wanted to end it, and the events that shaped the feelings forand against servitude.

Who Was Rosa Parks?(Yona Zeldis McDonough; illustrated by Stephen Marchesi) In 1955, RosaParks refused to give her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery,Alabama. This seemingly small act triggered civil rights protests acrossAmerica and earned Rosa Parks the title “Mother of the Civil RightsMovement.”

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DVDThe following is a selected list of historical videos that provide an overview of the

African-American experience in the United States.

Barack Obama: From His Childhood to the PresidencyFollow Obama through his teenage struggles for self-identity, his student days atColumbia University and Harvard Law School, and finally, through his politicalcareer in Chicago, where he rose to fame through a focus on ethics and politicalreform. Go behind the scenes of Obama’s presidential campaign, his election, andhis first term in the White House.

Eyes On the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Movement.This is an award winning 14-hour documentary series on the civil rightsmovement that brilliantly illuminates the struggle for racial equality andsocial justice. The series, only released to teachers and educationalinstitutions, uses compelling human stories to engage viewers in the landmarkevents of 1954 to 1985. Executive producer Henry Hampton is recognized asone of the worlds most acclaimed documentary filmmakers. Using words andperspectives from people who were determined to make our nation live up to its promise ofequality, Eyes on the Prize teaches essential lessons about race, leadership, and justice for all.The general public version, Eyes On the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years 1954-1965, is alsoavailable

Freedom’s Song: 100 Years of African-American Struggle and Triumph.Ten episodes, one for each decade of the 20th century, highlight stories in African Americanhistory from the 20th century that were either omitted from or marginally discussed in historytextbooks to date.

GloryBased on the true story of the first black regiment to fight for the North in the Civil War. RobertGould Shaw and Cabot Forbes are two idealistic young Bostonians that lead the regiment; Sgt.Maj. John Rawlins is the inspiration who unites the troops; Pvt. Trip is a runaway slave whojoins the regiment.

Martin Luther King: “I Have a Dream.”Martin Luther King, Jr.’s entire inspirational speech in Washington D.C. on August28, 1963.

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Mighty Times: The Children’s MarchIn May of 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. asked black people of Birmingham,Alabama to go to jail in the cause of racial equality. The adults were afraid to go tojail and so the school children marched and over 5,000 of them were arrested. Thislead President Kennedy to sponsor the 1964 Civil Rights Act which eventually to themarch on Washington. Contains vintage film footage, re-stagings of some activitiesand interviews with some of the protesters, and a teacher’s guide.

The Two Nations of Black AmericaToday, America’s black middle class is the largest in its history, yet roughly one-third of black America continues to live in poverty. This film measures theeconomic and social success of the civil rights movement and the gap betweenmiddle class and poor African-Americans through interviews with noted Afro-Americans and historical film footage. Originally presented as an episode of thetelevision series “Frontline” in 1998.

Up From SlaveryDocuments the history of slavery in America from 1619 Virginia when the firstAfrican slaves arrive, to the American Revolution, to the Civil war and beyondand the new “freedom.”

ONLINE DATABASESUse your Norfolk Public Library card number for access to these resources found on our

database page www.npl.lib.va.us/reference/reference.html

Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and HistoryClick on the “Encyclopedias” tab and scroll down to “Multicultural Studies”.The Encyclopedia covers all aspects of the African-American experience from 1619 to thepresent day. Using biographies, historical essays, and thematic pieces-many by the foremostscholars in the field-it addresses a wide array of subjects in over 2,300 articles to fully define inone source the cultural roots and current condition of the African-American community.

Encyclopedia VirginiaA chronicle of the state’s history, politics, and geography through the perspectives of all theethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse peoples who have lived there (Free database).

Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural AmericaClick on the “Encyclopedias” tab and scroll down to “Multicultural Studies.”The Encyclopedia contains essays on specific culture groups in the United States, emphasizingreligions, holidays, customs, and languages in addition to providing information on historicalbackground and settlement patterns. Each essay lists organizations, research centers, and contactinformation for periodicals, radio, and television stations.

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Heritage Quest Online: Freedman’s Bank RecordsClick on “History” tab to access the HeritageQuest Online resources that include the Freedman’sBank records. This is a database that documents more than 70,000 bank depositors and theirdependants and heirs immediately following the Civil War. The Freedman’s Bank Records isconsidered one of the most important resources for African-American genealogical research.

WEBSITES

African American History: 17 collectionshttp://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.htmlBrowse or search primary sources and reference information in 17 categories of AfricanAmerican history

African American Mosaicwww.loc.gov/exhibits/african/A resource developed by the Library of Congress which covers the library’s vast collection ofbooks, periodicals, prints, photographs, music, film and recorded sound.

African Americans in the Military:Army www.history.army.mil/html/topics/afamNavy www.history.navy.mil/photos/prs-tpic/af-amer/afam-usn.htmExtensive information about black Americans who have served in the military, includingarchives, photos, primary documents and statistics.

African-American Newspapers and Periodicalswww.wisconsinhistory.org/libraryarchives/aanp/freedom/The digitized, full text issues the first African-American owned and operated newspaper, from1827 to 1829.

Africans in America:www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/home.htmlA four part, historical narrative of slavery by PBS, organized by era. Includes primary sources.

Atlantic Slave Trade:hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/index.phpVirginia Foundation for the Humanities and University of Virginia’s site of visual records ofslave trade in the US.

Blackpast.org:www.blackpast.orgA comprehensive reference guide including 3,000 pages of information with an onlineencyclopedia, primary documents, famous speeches and hundreds of links.

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Civil Rights Digital Library:crdl.usg.edu/A searchable collection of websites collected by the University of Georgia.

Encyclopedia Smithsonian: African American History and Culturewww.si.edu/Encyclopedia/African American History and Culture online encyclopedia.

Unknown No Longer: A Database of Virginia Slave Namesunknownnolonger.vahistorical.org/A free database from the Virginia Historical Society of over 2,000 Virginia Slave names withdigital images of hundreds of documents from which the information was extracted.

JUVENILE AND YOUNG ADULT WEBSITES

Culture and Change: Black History in Americawww.teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bhistory/An interesting website by Scholastic Publishing which allows students to publish their ownwritings, listen to jazz music, and explore history through its interactive timeline.

History Channel: Black History Monthwww.history.com/topics/black-history-monthContains an interactive timeline, videos, African-American facts, milestones, maps, and 65 iconsof black history.

Madison Voiceswww.madisonvoices.com/africanamericanhistory/for_kids.htmAfrican-American history online resources for kids.

Norfolk Public Library(757) 664-READwww.npl.lib.va.us