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.
Did you find this review helpful?
48 Items found Print
Active Filters: 6th grade (Ages 11-12), Used Books & Materials
100 African-Americans Who Shaped American History
by Chrisanne Beckner
from Bluewood Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
2000 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64 $4.00 (3 in stock)
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Laurel-Leaf Books
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
2000 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Carver: A Life In Poems
by Marilyn Nelson
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
for 6th-10th grade
2002 Newbery Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.80 (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)
Dime a Dozen
by Nikki Grimes, Illustrated by Angelo
from Dial Books for Young Readers
for 5th-8th grade
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Escape from Slavery
by Frederick Douglass, edited and illustrated by Michael McCurdy, foreword by Coretta Scott King
from Beautiful Feet Books
for 6th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.89 $7.20 (1 in stock)
Escape to Freedom
by Ossie Davis
from Puffin Books
Biographical Drama (play) for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Freedom Train
by Dorothy Sterling
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.94 $3.20 (1 in stock)
George Washington Carver
Sowers Series
by David Collins
from Mott Media
Biography for 5th-7th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington Carver
Heroes of the Faith
by Sam Wellman
from Barbour Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (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)
Harriet Tubman
Triangle Histories: The Civil War
by Lisa Halvorsen
from Blackbirch Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Harriet Tubman
by Frances T. Humphreville
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
History of US Book 7
History of US Book 7
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
in Joy Hakim's A History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$15.95 $11.00 (2 in stock)
House of Dies Drear
by Virginia Hamilton
Reissue from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.79 $3.20 (3 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)
Jesse Jackson
by Pat McKissack
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th 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)
Kid's Guide to African American History
by Nancy I. Sanders
from Chicago Review Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
King of the Mound
by Wes Tooke
Reprint from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.79 $3.60 (1 in stock)
M. C. Higgins, the Great
by Virginia Hamilton
from Simon and Schuster
for 6th-10th grade
1975 Newbery Medal Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
M. C. Higgins, the Great
by Virginia Hamilton
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 6th-10th grade
1975 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.79 $3.20 (1 in stock)
Mahalia Jackson
Sowers Series
by Evelyn Witter
from Mott Media
for 4th-6th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$7.64 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Many Thousand Gone
by Virginia Hamilton
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Slavery & the Underground Railroad (Location: HISA-19SL)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
March (Book One)
by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin
from Top Shelf Productions
for 5th-9th grade
Robert F. Kennedy Book Award Winner, Coretta Scott King Honor Book
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
March (Book Two)
by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin
from Top Shelf Productions
for 5th-9th grade
Robert F. Kennedy Book Award Winner, Coretta Scott King Honor Book
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
March - Boxed Set
by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin
from Top Shelf Productions
for 5th-9th grade
Robert F. Kennedy Book Award Winner, Coretta Scott King Honor Book
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$19.20 (1 in stock)
People Could Fly
by Virginia Hamilton
1st edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
$8.00 (1 in stock)
People Could Fly
by Virginia Hamilton, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
$4.50 (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)
Shoes for Everyone
by Barbara Mitchell
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.61 $4.80 (3 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 Booker T. Washington
from Children's Press
Biography for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$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)
To Be a Slave
Puffin Modern Classics
by Julius Lester, illustrated by Tom Feelings
from Puffin Books
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-10th grade
1969 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Walking the Road to Freedom
by Jeri Ferris
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.80 (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)
Witness
by Karen Hesse
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.00 (2 in stock)
Young Frederick Douglass
by Laurence Santrey
from Troll Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)