Books for changing the world
Menu
Menu
Black Politics

  • The Whiskey of our Discontent

    Edited by Quraysh Ali Lansana and Georgia A. Popoff
    Reflections on the profound influence of poet, educator, and social activist Gwendolyn Brooks through examinations of her life and work.

  • "When the Welfare People Come"

    by Don Lash
    Analyzes the history of the U.S. child welfare system and its implications today, offering ideas for reform and building solidarity.

  • Undivided Rights

    by Marlene Gerber Fried, Elena Gutiérrez, et al.
    Undivided Rights captures the evolving and largely unknown activist history of women of color organizing for reproductive justice.

  • A Time to Die

    by Tom Wicker
    The essential first hand account of the Attica Prison rebellion, back in print for the 40th anniversary of the uprising

  • This Is Not A Test

    by José Vilson
    Vilson, a teacher from an urban school composed of black and poor youth, challenges racism and inequality in the classroom.

  • Things That Make White People Uncomfortable

    by Michael Bennett and Dave Zirin
    Super Bowl Champion and three-time Pro Bowler Michael Bennett is an outspoken proponent for social justice and a man without a censor.

  • The Speech

    by Gary Younge
    Younge explains why "The Speech" maintains its powerful social relevance by sharing the dramatic story surrounding it.

  • The Southern Mystique

    by Howard Zinn
    Howard Zinn examines the politics of the South and his own experiences there.

  • SNCC

    by Howard Zinn
    Howard Zinn tells the story of one of the most important civil rights groups in American history.

  • Reinventing Race, Reinventing Racism

    Edited by John J. Betancur and Cedric Herring
    Though far from a 'post-racial' society, the form of race and racism in the U.S. has changed over the years.

  • The Political Economy of Racism

    by Melvin Leiman
    A forceful, well-researched historical analysis of racism's roots and its persistence in the institutions of American society.

  • People Wasn't Made to Burn

    by Joe Allen
    The long-buried story of a Chicagoan's struggle for justice after four of his children perished in a tragic fire.

  • Organized Labor and the Black Worker, 1619-1981

    by Philip S. Foner
    A classic, radical history of Black workers' contribution to the American labor movement.

  • The Old Man

    by Truman Nelson
    The classic historical biography reissued for the 150th anniversary of John Brown's celebrated uprising against slavery.

  • My People Are Rising

    by Aaron Dixon
    A compelling look at the rise and fall of the Black Panther generation, through the eyes of a founding member.

  • My Mother Was a Freedom Fighter

    by Aja Monet
    Powerful, poetic meditations on motherhood, sisterhood, spirituality, solidarity, displacement/gentrification, racism, and sexism.

  • More than an Athlete

    by Etan Thomas
    In this, his first collection of poems, Etan Thomas defies the stereotype of the a-political athlete.

  • Long Shot

    by Rory Fanning and Craig Hodges
    Two-time NBA champion Craig Hodges has never been shy about speaking truth to power.

  • Justice in Everyday Life

    Edited by Howard Zinn
    Howard Zinn’s book on the way justice really works in the U.S

  • The John Carlos Story

    by John Wesley Carlos and Dave Zirin
    John Carlos, the man behind the most iconic moment of the Black Power movement, tells his story.

  • I Am Troy Davis

    by Troy Davis, Martina Davis-Correia, et al.
    A riveting eyewitness account of the Davis family's courageous struggle against America's flawed criminal justice system.

  • How We Get Free

    Edited by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
    "If Black women were free, it would mean that everyone else would have to be free." —Combahee River Collective Statement

  • How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America

    by Manning Marable
    Marable offers profound insight into the deeply intertwined problems of race and class in the United States historically and today.

  • From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation

    by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
    An indispensable contribution to the movement for racial justice in “postracial” America.