New Biographies and Memoirs for Black History Month 2025Like this list

13 items

• The Swans of Harlem

  Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History

  Valby, Karen,

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  Captivating, rich in vivid detail and character, and steeped in the glamour and grit of professional ballet, The Swans of Harlem is a riveting account of five extraordinarily accomplished women, a celebration of both their historic careers…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Fearless and Free

  a Memoir

  Baker, Josephine, 1906-1975

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  Published in English for the first time, this is the memoir of the fabulous, rule-breaking, one-of-a-kind Josephine Baker....

• Talk to Me

  Lessons From a Family Forged by History

  Benjamin, Rich (Richard M.),

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  In Talk to Me, Rich doesn't just paint the portrait of his family, but a bold, pugnacious portrait of America--of the human cost of the country's hostilities abroad, the experience of migrants on these shores, and how the indelible ties of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Becoming Spectacular

  the Rhythm of Resilience From the First African American Rockette

  Jones, Jennifer,

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  The first African American Rockette charts her journey to one of the world's most celebrated dance troupes in this gripping memoir that, for the first time, goes behind the velvet curtains at Radio City's legendary holiday show.

• Who I Always Was

  a Memoir

  Okokon, Theresa,

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  When Theresa Okokon was nine, her father traveled to his hometown in Nigeria to attend his mother's funeral...and never returned. His mysterious death shattered Theresa as her family's world unraveled. Now a storyteller and television…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Mama

  a Queer Black Woman's Story of a Family Lost and Found

  Hargrove, Nikkya, 1982-

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  A rare and timely parenting memoir by a queer Black mother, Mama follows the impact of incarceration on a family, exploring the generational trauma and pulling back the curtain on the foster care system.

• How to Sell Out

  the (hidden) Cost of Being a Black Writer

  Sanders, Chad,

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  Sanders draws on his personal experiences to offer a wry, darkly comic look at the invisible realities of making a living as a Black writer who writes about race. He relays stories of his time in the tech business, his experiences in TV…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Black in Blues

  How a Color Tells the Story of My People

  Perry, Imani, 1972-

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  Poignant, spellbinding, and utterly original, Black in Blues is a brilliant new work that could only have come from the mind of one of our greatest writers and thinkers. Attuned to the harrowing and the sublime aspects of the human…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Remember, You Are a Wiley

  Wiley, Maya,

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  Maya is ready to share her story and that of her parents: one of passion, possibility, and compassion in the face of fear and injustice. She takes readers through her unconventional upbringing, her father George Wiley's tragic death and…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• How to Build a Fashion Icon

  Notes on Confidence From the World's Only Image Architect

  Roach, Law,

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  From Law Roach, award-winning celebrity stylist and the world's only image architect, comes a groundbreaking guide to becoming your ultimate, confident self. Part self-help guide, part manifesto, this book guides readers step-by-step…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• This Changes Everything

  a Surprisingly Funny Story About Race, Cancer, Faith, and Other Things We Don't Talk About

  Merritt, Tyler,

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  Laced with Tyler's trademark humor, love of pop culture, and arguably too many musical theater references, This Changes Everything is a story about how wrestling with the idea of death can birth a whole new outlook on life, how we live it,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• I Am Nobody's Slave

  How Uncovering My Family's History Set Me Free

  Hawkins, Lee,

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  I Am Nobody's Slave tells the story of one Black family's pursuit of the American Dream through the impacts of systemic racism and racial violence. This book examines how trauma from enslavement and Jim Crow shaped their outlook on…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Mainline Mama

  a Memoir

  Harris, Keeonna,

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  A powerful and wrenchingly intimate memoir about the formidable challenge of raising a family separated by prison walls and how we can fight back against a broken byzantine system. Mainline Mama is about creating self-love and…Read moreRead more of this annotation