Baldwin, James.
Go Tell it on the Mountain
. New York. Dell Publishing Company, Inc., 1953.
A family in Harlem is the focal point of this novel. It is also the story of the youngest son, a sensitive boy making the passage to manhood, searching for his identity.
———.
If Beale Street Could Talk
. New York: The Dial Press, 1974.
This is a love story of two young people, and of the love of their families, and of their struggle in a world filled with hate.
Brown, Claude.
Manchild in the
Promised Land
. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1965.
Claude Brown is a black man who made it out of the ghetto to become a law student at one of America’s leading universities.
Haley, Alex.
Roots
. New York: Dell Publishing Company, Inc., 1976.
This novel recounts the family history of seven generations of the Kunta Kinte clan.
Hansberry, Lorraine.
A
Raisin in the Sun
. New York: Random House, Inc., 1958.
This is a play about a family which bares their hopes and hungers; while it reveals their courage and strength.
Jacobs, Harriet A.
Incidents in the Life of
a
Slave Girl
. London, England: Harvard University Press, 1987.
An account of Harriet Jacobs life in slavery.
Morrison, Toni.
The Bluest Eye
. New York:Washington Square Press, 1970.
The poignant story of a young girl who yearns to be beautiful and noticed. When someone finally does the results are tragic.
Parks, Gordon.
The Learning Tree
. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, Inc., 1963.
This novel shows the inner lives of a black family as they struggle to understand the challenges of their special world.
Stowe, Harriet Beecher.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
. New York: Viking Penguin, Inc., 1981.
Published in 1852, this novel brought the abolitionists’ message to the world. It is valuable as a portrayal of the slave experience.
Toomer, Jean.
Cane
. New York: Liveright Publishing Corporation, 1975.
A collection of short stories linked together by their depiction of Negro life in the South.
Wright, Richard.
Black Boy.
New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc., 1945.
Autobiography of what Richard Wright thought and felt growing up as a “black boy” in the South.