African-Americans

It's ironic (and shameful) that a nation which prides itself on freedom, equality and independence should have acquired a significant number of its citizens against their will. Equally shameful, however, is the assumption that the descendants of the slaves still need a leg up, that they're culturally backward and can't fend for themselves. Liberals propound this all the time, under the guise of "humanitarian efforts" and "affirmative action."

Anyone who thinks this way has never heard of Frederick Douglass, or Booker T. Washington, or George Washington Carver, or Richard Wright, or Ralph Ellison, or Langston Hughes....and that isn't even the beginning of the list. The way to think about African Americans isn't as African Americans, but simply as Americans whose ethnic and ancestral roots are in Africa.

Putting African Americans in a whole different category is condescending and hypocritical. Still, they do constitute a significant demographic, and many of them relish and maintain their cultural heritage far more assiduously than European Americans (though probably less carefully than most Asian Americans).

The use of regional modifiers before the word "American" is a bit counterintuitive. We are all Americans, and to identify ourselves as a particular type belies the equality we so highly praise publicly. Perhaps the best way to break these walls of separation is to learn as much about our African American brothers and sisters as possible, till we see the differences between us are insignificant and synthetic.

To that end, we offer you African American biographies. Many of those we carry are specifically oriented toward Christian men and women, though secular writers, scientists, musicians, politicians and athletes are also represented. We hope these life stories are inspiring, and that they lead to increasingly genial relations between members of all ethnic groups who collectively inhabit the United States of America.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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38 Items found Print
Active Filters: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9), Used Books & Materials
Alvin Ailey
by Andrea Davis Pinkney; illustrated by Brian Pinkney
from Hyperion Books for Children
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Coming On Home Soon
by Jacqueline Woodson
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Courage to Run
Daughters of the Faith
by Wendy G. Lawton
from Moody Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Daughters of the Faith (Location: SER-DAU)
$7.64 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Dear Benjamin Banneker
by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney
from Houghton Mifflin
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.49 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Extraordinary Life of Katherine Johnson
by Devika Jina, illustrated by Maggie Cole
from Kane Miller
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Extraordinary Life of Rosa Parks
by Dr. Sheila Kanani, illustrated by Nan Lawson
from Kane Miller
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
First Step
by Susan E. Goodman, illustrated by E. B. Lewis
from Bloomsbury Publishing
for Preschool-3rd grade
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington Carver
by Tonya Bolden
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Gold Cadillac
by Mildred D. Taylor
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Gold Cadillac
by Mildred D. Taylor
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.79 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King
by Jean Marzollo, illustrated by J. Brian Pinkney
from Scholastic Inc.
Picture Book Biography for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (3 in stock)
Her Stories
by Virginia Hamilton
1st Ed. from Blue Sky press
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Her Story, Her Words
by Frances E. Ruffin
from Rosen Central
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
History of the Civil Rights Movement - Coloring Book
by Steven James Petruccio
from Dover Publications
in History of America Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISA)
$3.39 $2.00 (1 in stock)
Hundred Penny Box
by Sharon Bell Mathis
from Scholastic Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
Newbery Honor
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$1.20 (1 in stock)
If You Lived at the Time of Martin Luther King
by Ellen Levine
Updated from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
by Bette Bao Lord
from HarperCollins
Immigration for 2nd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64 $3.20 (7 in stock)
Jackie Robinson
Photo-Illustrated Biography
by Barbara Knox
from Capstone Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Jesse Owens: Young Record Breaker
Childhood of Famous Americans
by M. M. Eboch
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$6.79 $3.20 (1 in stock)
Marian Anderson
History Maker Bios
by Jane Sutcliffe
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Patchwork Quilt
by Valerie Flournoy
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$1.60 (1 in stock)
Picture Book of Sojourner Truth
by David A. Adler
from Holiday House
Picture Book Biography for 1st-3rd grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Planet of Junior Brown
by Virginia Hamilton
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Portraits of African-American Heroes
by Tonya Bolden
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Portraits of African-American Heroes
by Tonya Bolden, illustrated by Ansel Pitcairn
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$5.60 (2 in stock)
Sidney Poitier: Actor
by Carol Bergman
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 3rd-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Sounder
by William H. Armstrong
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1970 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.94 $3.20 (1 in stock)
Sounder
by William H. Armstrong
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$1.20 (1 in stock)
Sounder
by William H. Armstrong
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1970 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Sounder
by William H. Armstrong
from Harper & Row
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1970 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
South Town
by Lorenz Graham
from Follett Publishing Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Harriet Tubman
Dell Yearling Biography
by Kate McMullan
from Yearling
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Viola Desmond Won't Be Budged!
by Jody Nyasha Warner, Richard Rudnicki
from Groundwood Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
What Are You Figuring Now?
by Jeri Ferris
from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for 2nd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
What Was the Underground Railroad?
What Was?...Series
by Yona Zeldis McDonough, illustrated by Lauren Mortimer
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-5th grade
in Slavery & the Underground Railroad (Location: HISA-19SL)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Who Was Frederick Douglass?
Who Was?...Series
by April Jones Prince, illustrated by Robert Squier
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-5th grade
in Who Was? biographies (Location: BIO-WHO)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Who Was Jackie Robinson?
Who Was?...Series
by Gail Herman
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-5th grade
in Who Was? biographies (Location: BIO-WHO)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Who Was Jesse Owens?
Who Was?...Series
by James Buckley, Jr., illustrated by Gregory Copeland
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-5th grade
in Who Was? biographies (Location: BIO-WHO)
$2.40 (1 in stock)