A Child's Journey Through Black American HistoryLike this list

20 items

• Overground Railroad

  Cline-Ransome, Lesa,

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  With a book from her teacher in hand, and goodbye hugs from her grandparents, Ellen and her parents leave the sharecropping life behind and travel to a better life in New York.

• When the Schools Shut Down

  a Young Girl's Story of Virginia's "lost Generation" and the Brown V. Board of Education of Topeka Decision

  Gladden, Yolanda,

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  Yolande Gladden was 5 years old when her school in Virginia shut down rather than integrate, as mandated by the new Brown v. Board Education decision by the Supreme Court.

• Freedom Bird

  Nolen, Jerdine,

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  Samuel's and Maggie's parents have been sold to another plantation. They are left on the plantation working from dusk to dawn dreaming of a different life. A moving and humanizing story of two young enslaved siblings.

• Northbound

  Bandy, Michael S.,

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  Set in the 1960's, black Michael and white Bobby Ray try to make sense of the rules when Bobby Ray can explore the train fully but Michael must stay in the car designated for "colored only."

• Charlotte and the Nutcracker

  the True Story of a Girl Who Made Ballet History

  Nebres, Charlotte,

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  Charlotte Nebres started taking ballet classes when she was 2 years old. In 2019, at age 11, she made history when she became the first Black dancer to be cast as Marie.

• The Bell Rang

  Ransome, James,

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  Experience the hopeful and fearful emotions of a young enslaved girl and her family. Her brother and friends escaped the plantation. The friends were caught, her brother Ben didn't return. Did he make it to freedom?

• Granddaddy's Turn

  a Journey to the Ballot Box

  Bandy, Michael S,

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  Michael goes with his grandfather as he gets to vote for the first time. After the long walk to town his grandfather is turned away because he is black, having been subjected to an unfair literacy test.

• Steamboat School

  Inspired by a True Story : St. Louis, Missouri: 1847

  Hopkinson, Deborah,

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  In 1847 Missouri it was declared illegal to educate African American children. Follow Reverend John Meacham's brilliant solution through the eyes of young James and his sister.

• A Ride to Remember

  a Civil Rights Story

  Langley, Sharon, 1963-

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  After an eight-year effort to end segregation at a Baltimore amusement park, 11-month-old Sharon Langley became the first African American child to ride the carousel.

• This Is the Rope

  a Story From the Great Migration

  Woodson, Jacqueline

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  A jump rope travels full circle as it fills different roles in generations of a family, including securing their belongings to the car during their trek north during the Great Migration. Warm and wonderful storytelling.

• Back of the Bus

  Reynolds, Aaron, 1970-

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  This fictionalized story tells the story of Rosa Park's refusal to surrender her seat from the viewpoint of a young boy at the back of the bus.

• That Is My Dream!

  Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967,

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  Langston Hughes's 1924 poem "Dream Variation," accompanied by beautiful illustrations, compares the life of an African American child in the segregated South to that of a white boy.

• Ready to Fly

  How Sylvia Townsend Became the Bookmobile Ballerina

  Lyon, Lea, 1945-

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  An uplifting story of a young black girl determined to dance even though she couldn't attend ballet school.

• Big Papa and the Time Machine

  Bernstrom, Daniel,

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  This magical story of a time-traveling '52 Ford that takes a young boy and his grandfather on a journey of Black American history during his grandfather's lifetime.

• Let the Children March

  Clark-Robinson, Monica,

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  After hearing Martin Luther King, Jr. speak in 1963, thousands of children and teens in Birmingham, AL began the Children's Crusade in protest of segregation. This is a great historical introduction, told from the children's perspective, that gives…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Youngest Marcher

  the Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a Young Civil Rights Activist

  Levinson, Cynthia,

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  How did a 9-year-old end up in jail?! Audrey Faye Hendricks was one of the youngest demonstrators when thousands of children and teens marched for freedom in Birmingham, AL in 1963.

• Follow Me Down to Nicodemus Town

  Based on the History of the African American Pioneer Settlement

  LaFaye, A,

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  Inspired by the true story of Nicodemus, Kansas. After the Civil War many African Americans were offered the opportunity for a fresh start. Leaving their sharecropping lives, they became homesteading pioneers on the prairie.

• Henry's Freedom Box

  Levine, Ellen

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  The incredible story of Henry "Box" Brown who made history as an adult but was impacted greatly as an enslaved child when he was separated from his mother. As an adult he is again separated from his family when his wife and children are sold.…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Other Side

  Woodson, Jacqueline

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  Clover befriends the white girl on the other side of the fence that segregates her town. If one side of the fence is for Blacks and the other side for Whites, can they be together if they sit on top of the fence?

• For Beautiful Black Boys Who Believe in a Better World

  Waters, Michael W.,

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  An inside look at one family's response to racism and violence through conversations between parents and their young son. It includes a discussion guide created by the Muhammad Ali Center.