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#BlackLivesMatter for Elementary Readers As the Black Lives Matter movement grows in the wake of ongoing racial injustice and police brutality against Black Americans, you may find you have a lot of questions. The books on this list offer a starting place for exploring racism, prejudice, discrimination, and inequity in a manner accessible to youth. |
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Betty Before X
by Ilyasah Shabazz
A powerful middle-grade novel about the childhood activism of Malcolm X's wife, written by their daughter, describes how young Betty finds confidence and purpose by volunteering for the Housewives League in 1945 Detroit, learning skills and developing awareness that inspires her future as a Civil Rights icon.
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Black Brother, Black Brother
by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Routinely compared to his submissive lighter-skinned brother, a Black boy at an elitist prep school is unfairly suspended in the wake of an incident involving the school bully, whom he tries to defeat in a fencing competition. By the award-winning author of Ghost Boys.
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Blended
by Sharon M. Draper
Piano-prodigy Isabella, eleven, whose black father and white mother struggle to share custody, never feels whole, especially as racial tensions affect her school, her parents both become engaged, and she and her stepbrother are stopped by police
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Clean Getaway
by Nic Stone
An 11-year-old boy confronts the realities of race relations, past and present, and his unconventional grandmother’s mysterious agenda during an unplanned Spring Break road trip through the once-segregated American South. By the award-winning author of Dear Martin.
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Genesis Begins Again
by Alicia Williams
A 13-year-old girl who is so oppressed by low self-esteem that she keeps a list of the things she hates about herself must overcome internalized racism and a verbally abusive family to learn to love herself.
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Ghost Boys
by Jewell Parker Rhodes
After seventh-grader Jerome is shot by a white police officer, he observes the aftermath of his death and meets the ghosts of other fallen black boys including historical figure Emmett Till.
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A Good Kind of Trouble
by Lisa Moore Ramée
Strictly following the rules to pursue her junior-high ambitions, 12-year-old Shayla is forced to choose between her education and her identity when her sister joins the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of a powerful protest.
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Harbor Me
by Jacqueline Woodson
When six students are chosen to participate in a weekly talk with no adults allowed, they discover that when they're together, it's safe to share the hopes and fears they have to hide from the rest of the world.
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The Lions of Little Rock
by Kristin Levine
In 1958 Little Rock, Arkansas, painfully shy twelve-year-old Marlee sees her city and family divided over school integration, but her friendship with Liz, a new student, helps her find her voice and fight against racism
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Midnight Without a Moon
by Linda Williams Jackson
Living with her sharecropper grandparents on a white man's mid-20th-century cotton plantation, Rose Lee Carter joins local resistance activities in the wake of a black youth's murder by a white mob that has been unjustly acquitted.
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Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
by Mildred D. Taylor
This winner of the 1977 Newbery Medal tells of one family's struggle to overcome the prejudices and hate they face in the deep south of Mississippi during the Great Depression.
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Ruby Lee & Me
by Shannon Hitchcock
When a formerly segregated North Carolina town hires its first African-American teacher, two girls—one black, one white—confront the prejudice that challenges their friendship. By the award-winning author of The Ballad of Jessie Pearl.
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Stella by Starlight
by Sharon M. Draper
Growing up in the segregated South where they accept the disparities in how they are treated, Stella and her little brother witness a terrible event that compels them to fight back and trigger fundamental changes. By the Coretta Scott King Award-winning author of Out of My Mind.
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Things Too Huge to Fix By Saying Sorry
by Susan Vaught
Struggling to stay optimistic when her wise grandma begins succumbing to Alzheimer's and her friend suddenly turns cold, Dani teams up with two other kids to find her grandma's hidden key and envelope before uncovering surprising secrets about the desegregation history of her Mississippi town. By the Edgar Award-winning author of Footer Davis Probably Is Crazy.
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The Watsons go to Birmingham--1963
by Christopher Paul Curtis
The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963
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What Lane?
by Torrey Maldonado
Biracial sixth grader Stephen questions the limitations society puts on him after he notices the way strangers treat him when he hangs out with his white friends and tries to navigate his life in a racially split world.
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You Don't Know Everything, Jilly P!
by Alex Gino
When her baby sister is born deaf, Jilly makes an online connection with a fellow fantasy fan, who happens to be black and deaf, and begins to learn about the many obstacles that exist in the world for people who are different from her
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Buried Lives: The Enslaved People of George Washington's Mount Vernon
by Carla Killough McClafferty
Draws on primary source documents and photographs of historical artifacts to examine the lives of men and women enslaved by the Washington family, and includes information on the present-day archeological survey of Mount Vernon's Slave Cemetery.
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Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice
by Phillip M. Hoose
Presents the life of the Alabama teenager who played an integral but little-known role in the Montgomery bus strike of 1955-1956, once by refusing to give up a bus seat, and again, by becoming a plaintiff in the landmark civil rights case against the buscompany
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Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott
by Russell Freedman
When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man, a movement was set in motion that led to other nonviolent boycotts, marches, and walks--resulting in the civil rights movement and major social changes throughout the nation.
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Have I Ever Told You Black Lives Matter
by Shani M. King
"Have I told you that we have never, ever accepted that Black lives don't matter? Not Frederick, Harriet, Sojourner, Martin, Rosa, Malcolm, or Nelson? We have always known and you must remember that Black lives matter. W. E. B. knew that Black lives matter. He preached about Black equality and liberation and would be standing shoulder-to-shoulder with us today. Have I ever told you that? Have I told you that we have long been world-acclaimed poets and authors-Zora, Richard, Langston, James, Ralph, Maya, Toni, Ta-Nehisi, and so many others-affirming with powerful voices that Black lives matter? Have I ever told you that?"
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The History of Juneteenth : A History Book for New Readers
by Ph.D. Norwood, Arlisha
On June 19, 1865, a Union soldier traveled to Texas to tell the enslaved people who lived there that they were free--that slavery was now illegal in every state. The people danced and sang in celebration of their freedom. Today, we pay tribute to this historical day with a special holiday on June 19 called Juneteenth. This colorfully illustrated story takes kids on an exciting journey through all the events that led up to the first Juneteenth, the day itself, and the impact it had on the future of the United States.
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Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters
by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Moving text and glorious portraits celebrate the lives of 10 bold women freedom fighters of the Civil Rights Movement, including Sojournor Truth, Biddy Mason, Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Mary McLeod Bethune, Ella Josephine Baker, Dorothy Irene Height, Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hamer and Shirley Chisholm. Reprint. 15,000 first printing.
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Let's Talk About Race
by Julius Lester
Offers readers a poetic introduction to the topic of race as the differences and unique features of races are celebrated while discussing the important bond everyone shares with one another as human beings through many common similarities.
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Rise Up! The Art of Protest
by Jo Rippon
Human rights belong to every single one of us, but they are often under threat. Developed in collaboration with Amnesty International, Rise Up! encourages young people to engage in peaceful protest and stand up for freedom. Photographs of protest posters celebrate the ongoing fight for gender equality, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, refugee and immigrant rights, peace, and the environment.
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True History: The Founders Unmasked
by Jennifer Poux
In the summer of 1776, when Thomas Jefferson arrived in Philadelphia to sign the Declaration of Independence, declaring that 'all men are created equal,' he wasn't alone. With him was Robert Hemings, just one of the many Black people Jefferson enslaved.But who was Robert Hemings? Discover his story and the true history of those who really helped build America.
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This Promise of Change: One Girl's Story in the Fight for School Equality
by Jo Ann Allen Boyce
A versed account shares the firsthand experiences of one of the young people who made history by joining 11 other African American students to integrate Central High School in 1956 Little Rock, describing how it felt to be rendered a civil rights spokesperson in the face of daunting national protests.
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The Undefeated
by Kwame Alexander
The Newbery Award-winning author of The Crossover celebrates black American heroism and culture in a picture-book rendering of his performance on ESPN's "The Undefeated." Illustrated by the Caldecott Honor-winning artist of Henry's Freedom Box.
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Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre
by Carole Boston Weatherford
Celebrated author Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrator Floyd Cooper provide a powerful look at the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, one of the worst incidents of racial violence in our nation's history.
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What is Black Lives Matter?
by Lakita Wilson
An addition to the #1 New York Times best-selling series recounts the history of a political and social movement that advocates for non-violent civil disobedience and protests against police brutality—and all racially motivated violence—against Black people.
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What Was the March on Washington?
by Kathleen Krull
Describes the 1963 March on Washington, helmed by Martin Luther King, Jr., where over two hundred thousand people gathered to demand equal rights for all races, and explains why this event is still important in American history today.
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Who Was Nelson Mandela?
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Pam Pollack
Illustrated biographies featuring a range of fascinating figures from history (and current figures, too!) provide great information and entertainment through short chapters and illustrations that will appeal to reluctant readers as well as middle readers in general.
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Young Civil Rights Heroes
by Allan Zullo
Documents the stories of ten real-life young people who were heroes of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, including those who integrated schools, took part in Freedom Rides, and were jailed for participating in demonstrations
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