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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87 Items found Print
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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)
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)
Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man
Dover Thrift Editions
by James Weldon Johnson
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.40 $2.00 (2 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)
Cheer the Lonesome Traveller
by Leslie Alexander Lacy, illustrated by James Barkley
from Dial Press
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (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)
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)
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)
Freedom Train
by Dorothy Sterling
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.94 $3.20 (1 in stock)
Freedom's Fruit
by William H. Hooks
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.20 (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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
Invisible Man
by Ralph Ellison
from Quality Paperback Book Club
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.00 (1 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 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)
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)
Martin Luther King Day
by Linda Lowery
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 1st-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$1.20 (1 in stock)
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Copper Lodge Library
by Frederick Douglass, annotated by Stephanie B. Meter
from Classical Conversations
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$12.00 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave
by Frederick Douglass
from Signet Classics
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.06 $2.80 (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)
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)
Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr.
by David A. Adler
Reprint from Holiday House
Biography for Preschool-1st grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (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)
Prayin' to Be Set Free
from John F. Blair Publishing
for 10th-Adult
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Roots
by Alex Haley
Book Club Edition from Doubleday & Company
for 11th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.80 (1 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)
Steal Away Home: Charles Spurgeon and Thomas Johnson
by Matt Carter and Aaron Ivey
from B&H Books
for Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$10.00 (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)
Story of Mae Jemison
by Amy Drorbaugh, illustrated by Marta Koshulinska
from The Good and the Beautiful
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
They Had a Dream
by Jules Archer
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 8th-12th grade
in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV)
$3.50 (3 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)
Twelve Years a Slave
by Solomon Northup
from Graymalkin Media
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Dover Thrift Editions
by Harriet Beecher Stowe
from Dover Publications
Realistic Fiction for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$7.65 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Up From Slavery
Dover Thrift Editions
by Booker T. Washington
from Dover Publications
Autobiography for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.00 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Up From Slavery
Good and the Beautiful Library Level 10
by Booker T. Washington, with grammar and spelling updated by Jenny Phillips
from The Good and the Beautiful
Autobiography for 10th-Adult
in GATB Language Arts & Reading (Location: CUR-GABELA)
$4.50 (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)
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)
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)
When I Was a Slave
Dover Thrift Editions
by Norman Yetman (editor)
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.10 $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)
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)