I rely heavily on topical nonfiction Black history books in our school lessons. As mentioned in my post on Infusing Black History into a Traditional Charlotte Mason Homeschool (where you’ll find additional options for this time period), I have yet to find a single living book that encompasses all of what I want to share with my kids, so I typically use several topical nonfiction books to carry us through the year.

Scheduling

A couple of my kids may not finish all of their topical nonfiction Black history books in one year, and one of them will likely read all of hers and everyone else’s too. It just depends. We’ll have a book preview day in late August, and I’ll go through all of these options with them. They’ll choose the three that interest them most, and the others will be free reads or books they can fill in with if they finish their initial choices early.

Age considerations

As with my African American Biographies & Memoirs, I find it difficult to peg books to an exact age. While you’re considering choices for your family, please remember that there’s a range for every book, and older/younger children may enjoy titles that I’ve assigned to a different-aged child. For example, the selections for my 14-year-old can 100% be used for older teens. Use the “Look Inside” Amazon feature and my preview video at the end to make the best decisions for your kids’ ages.

What about my little guy?

My youngest will be 8 and in the 2nd grade this fall, and he won’t be reading any of these nonfiction Black history books. There are so many incredible picture books covering the people and events of this time period, and we will primarily focus our history studies around those titles. He will absolutely learn about much of the tough stuff, but most of his lessons will focus on Black joy and the achievements of remarkable Black people during the 1900s. Check out my Black History Picture Books (1900s) for details if you have a lower elementary kiddo.

Topical Black History Books

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commissions from qualifying purchases of these topical nonfiction Black history books using these links, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Out of the Darkness: The Story of Blacks Moving North, 1890-1940 by James Haskins and Kathleen Benson – This was written by one of my favorite children’s history authors. He’s now deceased, but he left behind many valuable literary treasures. Haskins uses the experiences of two individuals, Ada “Bricktop” Smith and Joe Jones, to present the story of the Great Migration of Southern Blacks to northern cities from the late 1800s to the years after World War I. (10-year-old)

The Rise of Jim Crow by James Haskins and Kathleen Benson Haskins – This is another gem from the Haskins husband and wife duo. It provides a history of the decades of poverty, oppression, and terror African Americans suffered under the system of segregation in the United States, from the end of the Reconstruction era through the early decades of the twentieth century. (10-year-old) I couldn’t find this book when I made the video below, so here are a few inside pictures.

Ain’t Nothing But a Man: My Quest to Find the Real John Henry by Scott Reynolds Nelson with Marc Aronson – This is a bit of a unique choice, but I’ve been trying to fit this book into my son’s lessons, and this is where it has landed. When he was younger, Beckett LOVED John Henry. My whole family enjoyed books and songs about the American folk hero, but this particular son was obsessed! I think he’s going to love this book about a historian’s personal quest for the true story of the man behind the myth. Nelson presents the famous folk song as a mystery to be unraveled, identifying the embedded clues within the lyrics, which he examines to uncover many surprising truths. He investigates the legend and reveals the real John Henry in this beautifully illustrated book. (10-year-old) Bonus: My favorite version of the John Henry story.

Bitter Victory: A History of Black Soldiers in World War I by Florette Henri – Recruited as fighting men, in ridicule; trained and mustered into Federal service, in more ridicule; sent to France as a safe political solution to a volcanic political problem–these men had carried on. This is their story. Published in 1970, this is one of my beloved Zenith books that you may have heard me swoon over in the past. (10-year-old)

Twelve Days in May: Freedom Ride 1961 by Larry Dane Brimner – On May 4, 1961, a group of thirteen black and white civil rights activists launched the Freedom Ride, aiming to challenge the practice of segregation on buses and at bus terminal facilities in the South. Noted civil rights author Larry Dane Brimner relies on archival documents and rarely-seen images to tell the riveting story of the little-known first days of the Freedom Ride. (10-year-old)

We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March by Cynthia Levinson – The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March was a turning point in American civil rights history. Black Americans had had enough of segregation and police brutality, but with their lives and jobs at stake, most adults were hesitant to protest the city’s racist culture. We’ve Got a Job tells the little-known story of the four thousand Black elementary, middle, and high school students who answered Dr. Martin Luther King’s call to “fill the jails.” (10 and 12-year-olds)

Making Our Way Home: The Great Migration and the Black American Dream – A powerful illustrated history of the Great Migration and its sweeping impact on Black and American culture, from Reconstruction to the rise of hip hop. Over the course of six decades, an unprecedented wave of Black Americans left the South and spread across the nation in search of a better life — a migration that sparked stunning demographic and cultural changes in twentieth-century America. (12-year-old) [Update: While pre-reading this book, I’ve found multiple pages that address LGBTQ issues. There’s much to love about this book, and my daughter will be reading it, but I want to call your attention to pages 31-32, 37, 122, 125-126, and 158 so you can pre-read for yourself.]

Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America (Young Adult Adaptation) by Candacy Taylor – This title chronicles the history of the Green Book, which was published from 1936 to 1966 and was the “Black travel guide to America.” For years, it was dangerous for African Americans to travel in the United States. Because of segregation, Black travelers couldn’t eat, sleep, or even get gas at most white-owned businesses. The Green Book listed hotels, restaurants, department stores, gas stations, recreational destinations, and other businesses that were safe for Black travelers. It was a resourceful and innovative solution to a horrific problem. (12 and 14-year-olds)

Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon – In this comprehensive history of the Black Panther Party, readers are introduced to the Panthers’ community activism, grounded in the concept of self-defense, which taught Black Americans how to protect and support themselves in a country that treated them like second-class citizens. For too long, the Panthers’ story has been a footnote to the civil rights movement rather than what it was: a revolutionary socialist movement that drew thousands of members—mostly women—and became the target of one of the most sustained repression efforts ever made by the U.S. government against its own citizens. (12 and 14-year-olds)

Rhythm Ride: A Road Trip Through the Motown Sound by Andrea Davis Pinkney – Berry Gordy began Motown in 1959 with an $800 loan from his family. He converted the garage of a residential house into a studio and recruited teenagers from the neighborhood – like Smokey Robinson, Mary Wells, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and Diana Ross – to sing for his new label. Meanwhile, the country was on the brink of a cultural revolution, and one of the most powerful agents of change in the following decade would be this group of young black performers from urban Detroit. (12 and 14-year-olds)

The Mis-Education of the Negro by Carter G. Woodson – Woodson’s most popular classic work of Black social criticism draws on history, theory, and memoir. As both a student and teacher, Woodson witnessed distortions of Black life in the history and literature taught in schools and universities. He identified a relationship between these distortions in curriculum and the violence circumscribing Black life in the material world, declaring, “There would be no lynching if it did not start in the schoolroom.” (14-year-old) – This would also be a great parent read!

A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 by Clare Hartfield – On a hot day in July 1919, five black youths went swimming in Lake Michigan, unintentionally floating close to the “white” beach. An angry white man began throwing stones at the boys, striking and killing one. Racial conflict on the beach erupted into days of urban violence that shook the city of Chicago to its foundations. A Few Red Drops is “readable, compelling history,” The Horn Book wrote, adding that the book uses “meticulously chosen archival photos, documents, newspaper clippings, and quotes from multiple primary sources.” (14-year-old)

Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre by Brandy Colbert – In the early morning of June 1, 1921, a white mob marched across the train tracks in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and into its predominantly Black Greenwood District—a thriving, affluent neighborhood known as America’s Black Wall Street. They brought with them firearms, gasoline, and explosives. In a few short hours, they’d razed thirty-five square blocks to the ground, leaving hundreds dead. The Tulsa Race Massacre is one of the most devastating acts of racial violence in US history. But how did it come to pass? What exactly happened? And why are the events unknown to so many of us today? (14-year-old)

Books for Parents

Each year, I try to choose a couple of books that expand my understanding of the time period my children are studying. This helps me lead more robust discussions, better understand the material we’re learning, and grow as an individual. Here are my two recommendations for this year:

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson -From 1915 to 1970, the exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America. Wilkerson compares this epic migration to the migrations of other peoples in history. She interviewed more than a thousand people, and gained access to new data and official records, to write this definitive and vividly dramatic account of how these American journeys unfolded, altering our cities, our country, and ourselves. At 640 pages, this is an ambitious read, but I breezed through her 544-page book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent by alternating between the hard copy and audiobook, and I was riveted the entire time.

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein – Exploding the myth of de facto segregation arising from private prejudice or the unintended consequences of economic forces, Rothstein describes how the American government systematically imposed residential segregation: with undisguised racial zoning; public housing that purposefully segregated previously mixed communities; subsidies for builders to create whites-only suburbs; tax exemptions for institutions that enforced segregation; and support for violent resistance to African Americans in white neighborhoods. I’ve always known that segregated neighborhoods were intentionally created, but I’m looking forward to truly understanding how it all unfolded and how it still impacts our communities today.

Check out this video for a quick preview of the inside of each book:

You can find other nonfiction Black history books and more on Instagram @heritagemomblog. I hope to see you there!