African American authors | Batavia High School Media Center

Tenderheaded

A collection of poems, essays, cartoons, photos, and excerpts from novels and plays in which African-Americans discuss the meaning hair has for their culture.

African American authors, African American women, American literature, Hair, Hairdressing of African Americans

810.8
TEN

Author Walter Dean Myers describes his childhood in Harlem in the 1940s and 1950s, discussing his loving stepmother, his problems in school, his reasons for leaving home, and his beginnings as a write

1937-, 20th century, African American authors, African Americans, Authors, American

B
MYERS

Mending the World

Collection of short stories and poems about young African Americans coming to terms with identity and family.

African American authors, African American families, American literature, Family, Literary collections

SC
Men

Dust Tracks On a Road

Zora Neale Hurston

Autobiography of the black American author, anthropologist, and folk song writer.

20th century, African American authors, African Americans, Authors, American, Biography

B
Hurston

To Be Young, Gifted and Black

Robert Nemiroff

Autobiography of Lorraine Hansberry, author of A Raisin In The Sun.

1930-1965, African American authors, Hansberry, Lorraine

812
Han

Braided Lives

Contains short stories and poems by such authors as Louise Erdrich, Nicholasa Mohr, Nikki Giovanni, and Maxine Hong Kingston.

African American authors, American Indian authors, American literature, Asian American authors, Hispanic American authors

SC
Bra

Black Boy

Richard Wright

The autobiography of an African-American writer, recounting his early years and the harrowing experiences he encountered drifting from Natchez to Chicago to Brooklyn.

1908-1960, 20th century, African American authors, African Americans, Authors, American

B
WRIGHT

Selected From I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and The Heart of a Woman

Maya Angelou

Includes two selections from Angelou's works, a short biography of Joe Louis, a short history of segregation, and more for adult new readers.

20th century, African American authors, American Authors, Angelou, Maya, Authors, American

B
Angelou

Hoop Roots

John Edgar Wideman

A memoir in which the author tells how he discovered basketball as a boy living in Pittsburgh, and discusses the significance of the game to his life and the lives of other African-Americans.

20th century, African American authors, Authors, American, Basketball, Biography

B
WIDEMAN

Bad Boy

Walter Dean Myers

1937-, 20th century, African American authors, African Americans, Authors, American

B
MYERS