Black American Nonfiction
Enjoy these nonfiction titles by Black American authors about Black history, culture, and life published within the last two years and selected by librarians at The Seattle Public Library. Annotations from review sources, as cited. (January 2026)
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High and Rising
Music critic Moore presents a captivating biography of the influential rap/hip-hop trio De La Soul while tracing hip-hop’s origins and mapping rap’s evolution over time. (Booklist)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Positive Obsession
Drawing on correspondence, interviews, unpublished manuscripts, and archival material, queer Black feminist scholar Morris offers a sensitive examination of pioneering Black science-fiction writer Octavia E. Butler (1947-2006), whose many honors include a MacArthur Fellowship. A warm tribute to a pathbreaker. (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Look
The Look is Michelle Obama's inspiring reflection on how fashion has shaped her public and personal journey. More than a celebration of style, the book explores how clothing can express confidence, purpose, and authenticity. (Publisher description)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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Black Apocalypse
Black Apocalypse is an introduction to the history and future of Black engagement with speculative futures. Exploring the apocalypse in movies, art, literature, and music, this book considers the endless afterlives of slavery and inequality and revives the radical Black imagination to envision the future of Blackness. (Publisher description)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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Be A Revolution
[A]n eye-opening and galvanizing look at the current state of anti-racist activism across America. (NoveList)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Black Arms to Hold You up
Award-winning political cartoonist Passmore delivers his most ambitious work to date in this searing, unforgettably triumphant graphic history of Black resistance throughout U.S. history. (Library Journal)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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Black in Blues
National Book Award winner Perry offers surprising revelations about the connection between the color blue and Black identity as she explores myth and literature, art and music, folklore and film. An innovative cultural history. (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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A Dream Deferred
CNN anchor Phillip debuts with a fresh and illuminating account of Jesse Jackson’s 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns. The result is a paradigm-shifting reassessment of a progressive firebrand’s legacy. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
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Dismantling the Master's Clock
Our dominant perception of time owes more to Western history and social order than to a fact of nature, argues writer Rasheedah Phillips, delving into Black and Afrodiasporic conceptions of time, where the past, present, and future interact in more numerous constellations. (Publisher description)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless
Naturalist Pinto celebrates the interconnectedness of the natural world in this joyful mix of memoir, science, history, and adventure. ... this is a treat for nature lovers and mushroom aficionados. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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