Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones (Author), Renée Watson (Author) and Nikkolas Smith (Illustrator).  The 1619 Project’s lyrical picture book in verse chronicles the consequences of slavery and the history of Black resistance in the United States. 

Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford (Author) and Kadir Nelson (Illustrator).  In this award-winning book, the authors and illustrator offer a resounding, reverent tribute to Harriet Tubman, the woman who earned the name Moses for her heroic role in the Underground Railroad. 

Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly (Author), Coretta Scott King (Author) and Laura Greeman (Illustrator).  Based on the New York Times bestselling book and the Academy Award–nominated movie, the authors and illustrator bring the incredibly inspiring true story of four black women who helped NASA launch men into space to picture book readers. 

STAMPED (FOR KIDS): Racism, Antiracism and You by Janet Reynolds (Author), Ibram X. Kendi (Author), Sonja Cherry-Paul (Author) and Rachelle Baker (Illustrator).  Adapted from the groundbreaking bestseller Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, this book takes readers on a journey from present to past and back again. Kids will discover where racist ideas came from, identify how they impact America today, and meet those who have fought racism with antiracism. Along the way, they’ll learn how to identify and stamp out racist thoughts in their own lives.

ABCS OF BLACK HISTORY by Rio Cortez (Author) and Lauren Semmer (Illustrator).  Letter by letter, celebrate a story of big ideas––P is for Power, S is for Science and Soul — of significant moments––G is for Great Migration– and of iconic figures––H is for Zora Neale Hurston, X is for Malcom X. In addition to rhyming text, the book includes back matter with information on the events, places, and people mentioned in the poem, from Mae Jemison to W. E. B. Du Bois, Fannie Lou Hamer to Sam Cooke, and the Little Rock Nine to DJ Kool Herc.

Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall (Author) and Hugo Martínez (Illustrator). Part graphic novel, part memoir, Wake is an imaginative tour-de-force that tells the “powerful” (The New York Times Book Review) story of women-led slave revolts and chronicles scholar Rebecca Hall’s efforts to uncover the truth about these women warriors who, until now, have been left out of the historical record. 

ON JUNETEENTH by Annette Gordon-Reed.  Texas native Gordon-Reed weaves together her American and family history into a historian’s view of the country’s long road to Juneteenth, from its origins in Texas to Reconstruction, through Jim Crow and beyond.

The New Red Book by Lindsay Gary.  This book highlights the history of Houston through the perspective of place - 50 cultural organizations and sites created and sustained by African Americans.  It documents little-known histories of the Almeda Post Office, the site of the first non-violent civil rights demonstration in the city, as well as pop culture destinations such as Frenchy’s Creole Kitchen and Screwed Up Records and Tapes.

The 1619 Project: A New American Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones (Author). A dramatic expansion of a groundbreaking work of journalism, The 1619 Project: A New American Origin Story offers a profoundly revealing vision of the American past and present. 

Call Us What We Carry: Poems by Amanda Gorman (Author).  Formerly titled The Hill We Climb and Other Poems, the luminous poetry collection by #1 New York Times bestselling author and presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman captures a shipwrecked moment in time and transforms it into a lyric of hope and healing.

THE WEARY BLUES (Originally Published 1926) by Langston Hughes.  This debut poetry collection was published when Hughes was just 24 years old. He stated that his poetic philosophy speaks not only for himself, but also the whole African American population. The book is split into seven thematic sections: The Weary Blues, Dream Variations, The Negro Speaks of Rivers, A Black Pierrot, Water Front Streets, Shadows in the Sun, and Our Land.