Black History Month Non-Fiction for Upper School, Sixth Form, & Staff by

Find all of these books and lots more great Black-authored fiction and non-fiction in the Library.

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You may also want to explore the Lower School Black History Month reading or the Black History Month fiction for Upper School, Sixth Form, and Staff.

Black History Month website

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Black and British by David Olusoga

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When did Africans first come to Britain? Who are the well-dressed black children in Georgian paintings? Why did the American Civil War disrupt the Industrial Revolution? These and many other questions are answered in this essential introduction to 1800 years of the Black British history: from the Roman Africans who guarded Hadrian's Wall right up to the present day.

Musical Truth by Jeffrey Boakye

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Music can carry the stories of history like a message in a bottle. Lord Kitchener, Neneh Cherry, Smiley Culture, Stormzy... Groundbreaking musicians whose songs have changed the world. But how? This exhilarating playlist tracks some of the key shifts in modern British history, and explores the emotional impact of 28 songs and the artists who performed them. This book redefines British history, the Empire and postcolonialism, and will invite you to think again about the narratives and key moments in history that you have been taught up to now.

The Black History Book

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Part of the fascinating Big Ideas series, this book tackles tricky topics and themes in a simple and easy to follow format. Learn about Black History in this overview guide to the subject, brilliant for novices looking to find out more and experts wishing to refresh their knowledge alike! The Black History Book brings a fresh and vibrant take on the topic through eye-catching graphics and diagrams to immerse yourself in.

100 Great Black Britons by Patrick Vernon & Angelina Osborne

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 14:56:03 UTC

Patrick Vernon's landmark 100 Great Black Britons campaign of 2003 was one of the most successful movements to focus on the role of people of African and Caribbean descent in British history. Frustrated by the widespread and continuing exclusion of the Black British community from the mainstream popular conception of 'Britishness', despite Black people having lived in Britain for over a thousand years, Vernon set up a public poll in which anyone could vote for the Black Briton they most admired. The response to this campaign was incredible. As a result, a number of Black historical figures were included on the national school curriculum and had statues and memorials erected and blue plaques put up in their honour. Now, with this book, Vernon and Osborne have relaunched the campaign with an updated list of names and accompanying portraits -- including new role models and previously little-known historical figures.

Voices of the Windrush Generation by David Matthews

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 14:56:03 UTC

Voices of the Windrush Generation is a powerful collection of stories from the men, women and children of the Windrush generation - West Indians who emigrated to Britain between 1948 and 1971 in response to labour shortages, and in search of a better life. Edited by journalist and bestselling author David Matthews, this book paints a vivid portrait of what it meant for those who left the Caribbean for Britain during the early days of mass migration. Through his own, and many other stories, Matthews explores: why and how so many people came to Britain after World War II, their hopes and dreams, the communities they formed and the difficulties they faced being separated from family and friends while integrating into an often hostile society. We hear how lives were transformed, and what became of the generations that followed, taking the reader right up to the present day, and the impact of the current Windrush deportation scandal upon everyday people.

It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 14:56:03 UTC

Trevor Noah, host of The Daily Show, shares his remarkable story of growing up in South Africa, with a black South African mother and a white European father at a time when it was against the law for a mixed-race child like him to exist. But he did exist -- and from the beginning, the often-misbehaved Trevor used his keen smarts and humour to navigate a harsh life under a racist government. This compelling memoir blends drama, comedy and tragedy to depict the day-to-day trials that turned a boy into a young man. In a country where racism barred Black people from social, educational, and economic opportunity, Trevor surmounted staggering obstacles and created a promising future for himself, thanks to his mom's unwavering love and indomitable will.

This Book is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell & Aurélia Durand

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Who are you? What is racism? Where does it come from? Why does it exist? What can you do to disrupt it? Learn about social identities, the history of racism and resistance against it, and how you can use your anti-racist lens and voice to move the world toward equity and liberation.

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X Kendi & Jason Reynolds

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In this important and compelling young readers adaptation of his National Book Award-winning title, Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, writing with award-winning author Jason Reynolds, chronicles the story of anti-black, racist ideas over the course of American history. Racist ideas in our country did not arise from ignorance or hatred. Instead, they were developed by some of the most brilliant minds in history to justify and rationalise the nation's deeply entrenched discriminatory policies. But while racist ideas have always been easy to fabricate and distribute, they can also be discredited. In shedding light on the history of racist ideas in America, this adaptation offers young readers the tools they need to combat these ideas - and, in the process, gives society a reason to hope.

Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Boy by Emmanuel Acho

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“What terms are acceptable now to refer to black people and why has that changed over time?” “If the N word is such a bad word, why do my black friends use it all the time?” “How has systemic racism gotten so out of hand and how did it start?” In Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Boy former American football player Emmanuel Acho addresses the awkward questions white and other non-black people have been afraid to ask and don’t know how to answer.

Black History Buff Podcast

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The Black History Buff podcast is a fun and thrilling journey through time. Covering the full historical tapestry of the African Diaspora, you’ll hear tales covering everything from African Samurai to pistol-wielding poets.

Black History Month: Amazing scientists who helped change the world

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Black history timeline: Pre-history to the 21st century

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'Checking Out Me History' by John Agard

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Recording of John Agard reading his poem and analysis

David Olusoga explores Black migrants to England in the Tudor period

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Video exploring the Black Power movement in Britain

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READING AROUND RACE & ANTIRACISM

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The Washington Post's Historically Black podcast

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As part of The Washington Post's coverage of the Smithsonian's new National Museum of African American History and Culture, people submitted dozens of objects that make up their own lived experiences of black history, creating a "people's museum" of personal objects, family photos and more. The Historically Black podcast brings those objects and their stories to life through interviews, archival sound and music.

Intersectionality Matters podcast

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 16:22:58 UTC

Intersectionality Matters! is a podcast hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw, an American civil rights advocate and a leading scholar of critical race theory. Episodes cover a huge range of ideas and often bring leading experts into discussions.

Have You Heard George's Podcast?

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 16:23:47 UTC

The award-winning and critically-acclaimed podcast from George the Poet delivers a fresh take on inner city life through a mix of storytelling, music and fiction. The Grenfell Tower episode, in particular, will stay with you for a long time.

Think Aloud podcast - The Southbank Centre

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 16:26:37 UTC

While not every episode of this one deals with race, Striking the Empire - a conversation with Akala & David Olusoga - is really powerful. Other great episodes include the discussion of why children's literature lags behind in diversity, Angela Davis talking about women, race, and class, and interviews with fabulous Black authors including Angie Thomas, Malorie Blackman, Lenny Henry, Zadie Smith, and even a conversation between Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Reni Eddo-Lodge

About Race with Renni Eddo-Lodge podcast

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 16:30:10 UTC

From the author behind the bestselling Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race, comes a podcast that takes the conversation a step further. Featuring key voices from the last few decades of anti-racist activism, About Race with Reni Eddo-Lodge looks at the recent history that lead to the politics of today.

Witness Black History - BBC World

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 16:30:54 UTC

Interviews with people who were there at key moments in black and civil rights history.

The Humanity Archive podcast

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The Humanity Archive is a narrative-based documentary podcast showcasing people unknown and stories untold.

Black History Year podcast

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 16:32:40 UTC

Learning your history makes you - and your people - stronger. As Black people, we know we’re left out of the history books. That the media images are skewed. That we need access to experts, information and ideas so we can advance our people. Black History Year connects you to the history, thinkers, and activists that are left out of the mainstream conversations.

1619 - New York Times podcast

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 16:33:19 UTC

“1619” is a New York Times audio series, hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones, that examines the long shadow of American slavery. Episodes include the influence of slavery on democracy, the economy, music, and healthcare.

Code Switch - NPR podcast

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 16:33:48 UTC

What's CODE SWITCH? It's the fearless conversations about race that you've been waiting for. Hosted by journalists of colour, our podcast tackles the subject of race with empathy and humour. We explore how race affects every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, food and everything in between. This podcast makes all of us part of the conversation — because we're all part of the story.

Black Men Can't Jump [in Hollywood] podcast

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 16:34:49 UTC

Forged from a Facebook wall argument over Martin Lawrence's performance in Blue Streak, Black Men Can't Jump is a podcast that reviews the films of leading black actors and discusses them in the context of Hollywood's race problem.

Colouring in Britain BBC podcast

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Uncovering the incredible lives and stories of Britons of colour, past and present.

Who Was Michael X?

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A fascinating documentary series investigating Michael ‘X’ Abdul Malik who became Britain’s most famous Black Power leader of his age.

UK Black radio collection

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UK African and Caribbean stories, topics and discussion from across local BBC radio.

Massolit Black British History lecture series

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 16:42:00 UTC

Short, accessible lectures on Black history, art, and writers from Dr Tony Talburt and Dr Onyeka Nubia. To access, log in using your usual Francis Holland credentials.

BBC Windrush series

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 16:46:15 UTC

A four-part documentary series from the BBC about the Windrush Generation arriving and living in Britain (log in to Planet eStream with your usual Francis Holland credentials):

Part 1: Arrival

Part 2: Intolerance

Part 3: A New Generation

Part 4: A British Story

Black and British: A Forgotten History by David Olusoga

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 16:54:13 UTC

Black and British is vivid confirmation that black history can no longer be kept separate and marginalised. It is woven into the cultural and economic histories of the nation and it belongs to us all. Drawing on new genealogical research, original records, and expert testimony, Black and British reaches back to Roman Britain, the medieval imagination, Elizabethan 'blackamoors' and the global slave-trading empire. It shows that the great industrial boom of the nineteenth century was built on American slavery, and that black Britons fought at Trafalgar and in the trenches of both World Wars. Black British history is woven into the cultural and economic histories of the nation. It is not a singular history, but one that belongs to us all.

Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 16:55:27 UTC

In 2014, award-winning journalist Reni Eddo-Lodge wrote about her frustration with the way that discussions of race and racism in Britain were being led by those who weren't affected by it. She posted a piece on her blog, entitled: 'Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race'. Her words hit a nerve. The post went viral and comments flooded in from others desperate to speak up about their own experiences. Galvanised by this clear hunger for open discussion, she decided to dig into the source of these feelings. Exploring issues from eradicated black history to the political purpose of white dominance, whitewashed feminism to the inextricable link between class and race, Reni Eddo-Lodge offers a timely and essential new framework for how to see, acknowledge and counter racism.

Brit(ish) by Afua Hirsch

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 16:57:06 UTC

You're British. Your parents are British. Your partner, your children and most of your friends are British. So why do people keep asking where you're from? We are a nation in denial about our imperial past and the racism that plagues our present. Brit(ish) is Afua Hirsch's personal and provocative exploration of how this came to be - and an urgent call for change.

Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire by Akala

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 17:03:27 UTC

From the first time he was stopped and searched as a child, to the day he realised his mum was white, to his first encounters with racist teachers - race and class have shaped Akala's life and outlook. In this unique book he takes his own experiences and widens them out to look at the social, historical and political factors that have left us where we are today. Covering everything from the police, education and identity to politics, sexual objectification and the far right, Natives will speak directly to British denial and squeamishness when it comes to confronting issues of race and class that are at the heart of the legacy of Britain's racialised empire.

Black British Lives Matter by Lenny Henry & Marcus Ryder

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 17:04:38 UTC

n response to the international outcry at George Floyd's death, Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder have commissioned this collection of essays to discuss how and why we need to fight for Black lives to matter - not just for Black people but for society as a whole. Recognising Black British experience within the Black Lives Matter movement, seventeen prominent Black figures explain why Black lives should be celebrated when too often they are undervalued. Drawing from personal experience, they stress how Black British people have unique perspectives and experiences that enrich British society and the world; how Black lives are far more interesting and important than the forces that try to limit it.

How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 17:06:07 UTC

Not being racist is not enough. We have to be antiracist. In this rousing and deeply empathetic book, Ibram X. Kendi, founding director of the Antiracism Research and Policy Center, shows that when it comes to racism, neutrality is not an option: until we become part of the solution, we can only be part of the problem. Using his extraordinary gifts as a teacher and story-teller, Kendi helps us recognise that everyone is, at times, complicit in racism whether they realise it or not, and by describing with moving humility his own journey from racism to antiracism, he shows us how instead to be a force for good. Along the way, Kendi punctures all the myths and taboos that so often cloud our understanding, from arguments about what race is and whether racial differences exist to the complications that arise when race intersects with ethnicity, class, gender and sexuality. In the process he demolishes the myth of the post-racial society and builds from the ground up a vital new understanding of racism - what it is, where it is hidden, how to identify it and what to do about it.

Black People in the British Empire by Peter Fryer

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 17:09:29 UTC

Black People in the British Empire is a challenge to the official version of British history. It tells the story of Britain's exploitation and oppression of its subject peoples in its colonies, and in particular the people of Africa, Asia and Australasia. Peter Fryer reveals how the ideology of racism was used as justification for acquiring and expanding the Empire; how the British Industrial Revolution developed out of profits from the slave trade; and how the colonies were deliberately de-industrialised to create a market for British manufacturers. In describing the frequency and the scale of revolts by subject peoples against slavery and foreign domination - and the brutality used in crushing them - Peter Fryer exposes the true history of colonialism, and restores to Black people their central role in Britain's past.

Me and White Supremacy: How to Recognise Your Privilege, Combat Racism and Change the World by Layla F Saad

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 17:11:09 UTC

Me and White Supremacy shows readers how to dismantle the privilege within themselves so that they can stop (often unconsciously) inflicting damage on people of colour, and in turn, help other white people do better, too. When Layla Saad began an Instagram challenge called #MeAndWhiteSupremacy, she never predicted it would spread as widely as it did. She encouraged people to own up and share their racist behaviours, big and small. She was looking for truth, and she got it. Thousands of people participated, and over 90,000 people downloaded the book. The updated and expanded Me and White Supremacy takes the work deeper by adding more historical and cultural contexts, sharing moving stories and anecdotes, and including expanded definitions, examples, and further resources.

White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

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BLACK HISTORY READING

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DIGITAL RESOURCES & PODCASTS

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I Heard What You Said by Jeffrey Boakye

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 17:26:02 UTC

A thought-provoking and fearless exploration of how we can dismantle racism in the classroom and do better by all our students. Before Jeffrey Boakye was a black teacher, he was a black student. Which means he has spent a lifetime navigating places of learning that are white by default. Since training to teach, he has often been the only black teacher at school. At times seen as a role model, at others a source of curiosity, Boakye’s is a journey of exploration – from the outside looking in.

BIOGRAPHIES & MEMOIRS

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Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 17:28:33 UTC

Set amid the civil rights movement, the never-before-told true story of NASA’s African-American female mathematicians who played a crucial role in America’s space program. Before Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of professionals worked as ‘Human Computers’, calculating the flight paths that would enable these historic achievements. Among these were a coterie of bright, talented African-American women. Segregated from their white counterparts, these ‘colored computers’ used pencil and paper to write the equations that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space. Moving from World War II through NASA’s golden age, touching on the civil rights era, the Space Race, the Cold War, and the women’s rights movement, Hidden Figures interweaves a rich history of mankind’s greatest adventure with the intimate stories of five courageous women whose work forever changed the world.

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 17:29:57 UTC

For Ta-Nehisi Coates, history has always been personal. At every stage of his life, he's sought in his explorations of history answers to the mysteries that surrounded him -- most urgently, the mystery of race, an abstract concept that put the safety of him and the people he loved the most, including his son, in constant jeopardy.

Here, Coates takes readers along on his journey through America's history of race and its contemporary resonances through a series of awakenings - moments when he discovered some new truth about our long, tangled history of race, whether through his myth-busting professors at Howard University, a trip to a Civil War battlefield, a journey to Chicago's South Side to visit aging survivors of 20th century America's "long war on black people," or a visit with the mother of a beloved friend who was shot down by the police. In his trademark style - a mix of lyrical personal narrative, reimagined history, essayistic argument, and reportage - Coates provides readers a thrillingly illuminating new framework for understanding race: its history, our contemporary dilemma, and where we go from here.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 17:31:46 UTC

The first and best-known of Maya Angelou's extraordinary seven volumes of autobiography is a testament to the talents and resilience of this extraordinary writer. Loving the world, she also knows its cruelty. As a Black woman she has known discrimination and extreme poverty, but also hope, joy, achievement and celebration. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou beautifully evokes her childhood with her grandmother in the American south of the 1930s.

Manifesto: On Never Giving Up by Bernardine Evaristo

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 17:34:09 UTC

Bernardine Evaristo's 2019 Booker win - the first by a Black woman - was a revolutionary moment both for British culture and for her. After three decades as a trailblazing writer, teacher and activist, she moved from the margins to centre stage, taking her place in the spotlight at last. Her journey was a long one, but she made it, and she made history. Manifesto is Bernardine Evaristo's intimate and inspirational, no-holds-barred account of how she did it, refusing to let any barriers stand in her way. She charts her creative rebellion against the mainstream and her life-long commitment to the imaginative exploration of 'untold' stories. And drawing deeply on her own experiences, she offers a vital contribution to current conversations around social issues such as race, class, feminism, sexuality and aging. This is a unique book about staying true to yourself and to your vision. It's about how to be unstoppable - in your craft, your work, your life. It is Bernardine Evaristo's manifesto for never giving up.

Becoming by Michelle Obama

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 17:37:15 UTC

In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her-from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it-in her own words and on her own terms.

Just Sayin' by Malorie Blackman

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 17:38:32 UTC

Malorie Blackman is one of Britain’s best and most beloved children’s authors, the landmark Noughts & Crosses series included amongst her many books. Her journey to becoming a writer was a long one, but throughout it all she retained a sense of wonder and humour. Before her BAFTA award wins, her OBE and appointment as Children’s Laureate in 2013, Malorie was a young girl from South London who fell in love with books and found a home in her local library and a world of words at her fingertips. From embracing her alternative way of seeing the world and all its fascinating differences and possibilities; to her desire to share that passion with others by becoming an English teacher but being told no by her careers advisor because of her race; to the doctor who told her she would be dead by thirty when she was diagnosed with sickle cell, and the eighty plus rejection letters she received from publishers before her first ever children’s book was published. Her life’s journey - has been an eventful one – marked by trauma, trials, and triumph, yet in spite of all the many setbacks in her life, she held fastidiously on to her dream of becoming a writer.

Malorie charts her life not in a succinct order of events, but against the principles which have motivated her journey and reasons for becoming a writer – wonder, loss, anger, perseverance, representation, and love. Each tenet has played a unique role in inspiring her writing, her deep resolve and infectious zest for life.

Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin

FHS_Library — 2024-10-10 17:39:11 UTC

James Baldwin's breakthrough essay collection made him the voice of his generation. Ranging over Harlem in the 1940s, movies, novels, his preacher father and his experiences of Paris, they capture the complexity of black life at the dawn of the civil rights movement with effervescent wit and prophetic wisdom.

Black Tudors by Miranda Kaufmann

FHS_Library — 2024-11-07 10:28:54 UTC

A Black porter publicly whips a white Englishman in the hall of a Gloucestershire manor house. A Moroccan woman is baptised in a London church. Henry VIII dispatches a Mauritanian diver to salvage lost treasures from the Mary Rose. From long-forgotten records emerge the remarkable stories of Africans who lived free in Tudor England… They were present at some of the defining moments of the age. They were christened, married and buried by the Church. They were paid wages like any other Tudors. The untold stories of the Black Tudors, dazzlingly brought to life by Kaufmann, will transform how we see this most intriguing period of history.

Black History for Every Day of the Year by David Olusoga, Yinka Olusoga, & Kemi Olusoga

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 07:47:46 UTC

Black History for Every Day of the Year by award-winning historian and broadcaster David Olusoga and his siblings, Yinka Olusoga and Kemi Olusoga, gives readers a unique and vital celebration of Black history, sweeping across the world and through the ages. Discover the joy of Black History - a piece for every day of the year. Meet well known figures and unsung heroes, read about famous and lesser known key cultural moments and discover brilliant information about Black people throughout history, from ancient times to the modern day.

An African History of Africa by Zeinab Badawi

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 07:50:09 UTC

Everyone is originally from Africa, and this book is therefore for everyone. For too long, Africa’s history has been dominated by western narratives of slavery and colonialism, or simply ignored. Now, award-winning journalist and broadcaster Zeinab Badawi sets the record straight. In this fascinating book, Badawi guides us through Africa’s spectacular history – from the origins of humanity, through ancient civilisations and medieval empires, to the miseries of conquest and the elation of independence. Visiting more than thirty African countries to interview countless historians, anthropologists, archaeologists and local storytellers, Badawi weaves together a gripping new history of the oldest inhabited continent on the planet, told through the voices of Africans themselves.

Where We Come From by Aniefiok Ekpoudom

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 07:51:18 UTC

Something is happening in Britain, trembling the tracks as it unfolds. Recent years have borne witness to underground genres leaking out from the inner cities, going on to become some of the most popular music in the nation. In this groundbreaking social history, journalist Aniefiok Ekpoudom travels the country to paint a compelling portrait of the dawn, boom and subsequent blossoming of UK rap and grime. Taking us from the heart of south London to the West Midlands and South Wales, he explores how a history of migration and an enduring spirit of resistance have shaped the current realities of these linked communities and the music they produce. These sounds have become vessels for the marginalised, carrying Black and working-class stories into the light. Vividly depicted and compassionately told, Where We Come From weaves together intimate stories of resilience, courage and loss, as well as a shared music culture that gave refuge and purpose to those in search of belonging. Ekpoudom offers a rich chronicle of rap, identity, place and, above all, the social and human condition in modern Britain.

Black Artists in British Art: A History Since the 1950s by Eddie Chambers

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 07:52:37 UTC

Black artists have been making major contributions to the British art scene for decades, since at least the mid-twentieth century. Sometimes these artists were regarded and embraced as practitioners of note. At other times they faced challenges of visibility - and in response they collaborated and made their own exhibitions and gallery spaces. In this book, Eddie Chambers tells the story of these artists from the 1950s onwards, including recent developments and successes. Black Artists in British Art makes a major contribution to British art history. Beginning with discussions of the pioneering generation of artists such as Ronald Moody, Aubrey Williams and Frank Bowling, Chambers candidly discusses the problems and progression of several generations, including contemporary artists such as Steve McQueen, Chris Ofili and Yinka Shonibare. Meticulously researched, this important book tells the fascinating story of practitioners who have frequently been overlooked in the dominant history of twentieth-century British art.

They Can't Kill Us All: The Story of Black Lives Matter by Wesley Lowery

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 07:54:16 UTC

A deeply reported book on the birth of the Black Lives Matter movement, offering unparalleled insight into the reality of police violence in America, and an intimate, moving portrait of those working to end it

In over a year of on-the-ground reportage, Washington Post writer Wesley Lowery traveled across the US to uncover life inside the most heavily policed, if otherwise neglected, corners of America today. In an effort to grasp the scale of the response to Michael Brown's death and understand the magnitude of the problem police violence represents, Lowery conducted hundreds of interviews with the families of victims of police brutality, as well as with local activists working to stop it. Lowery investigates the cumulative effect of decades of racially biased policing in segregated neighborhoods with constant discrimination, failing schools, crumbling infrastructure and too few jobs. Offering a historically informed look at the standoff between the police and those they are sworn to protect, They Can't Kill Us All demonstrates that civil unrest is just one tool of resistance in the broader struggle for justice. And at the end of President Obama's tenure, it grapples with a worrying and largely unexamined aspect of his legacy: the failure to deliver tangible security and opportunity to the marginalised Americans most in need of it.

Tribes by David Lammy

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 07:57:16 UTC

David was the first black Briton to study at Harvard Law School and practised as a barrister before entering politics. He has served as the Member of Parliament for Tottenham since 2000. Today, David is one of Parliament's most prominent and successful campaigners for social justice. He led the campaign for Windrush British citizens to be granted British citizenship and has been at the forefront of the fight for justice for the families affected by the Grenfell Tower fire. In 2007, inspired by the bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act and looking to explore his own African roots, David Lammy took a DNA test. Ostensibly he was a middle-aged husband & father, MP for Tottenham and a die-hard Spurs fan. But his nucleic acids revealed that he was 25% Tuareg tribe (Niger), 25% Temne tribe (Sierra Leone), 25% Bantu tribe (South Africa), with 5% traces of Celtic Scotland and a mishmash of other unidentified groups. Both memoir and call-to-arms, Tribes explores both the benign and malign effects of our need to belong. How this need - genetically programmed and socially acquired - can manifest itself in positive ways, collaboratively achieving great things that individuals alone cannot. And yet how, in recent years, globalisation and digitisation have led to new, more pernicious kinds of tribalism. This book is a fascinating and perceptive analysis of not only the way the world works but also the way we really are.

The Swans of Harlem by Karen Valby

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 07:59:00 UTC

Harlem 1969; it's the height of the Civil Rights era and the community is still reeling from the assassination of Martin Luther King. Arthur Mitchell, the first Black principal dancer at the New York City Ballet, takes his protest to the stage and establishes the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Here begins the story of the five extraordinary women at the heart of this book. Both a group biography and a story of a particular time, this is a book about ballet, the enduring allure of ballet for young girls, and about how these pioneers broke into a world that was closed to them and changed ideas of what a classical dancer could be. It is about the heart-breaking impact of the AIDS epidemic which claimed the lives of so many of the male dancers. It's about racism and activism through art. And it's about the eternal glamour of ballet; these swans appeared at the grandest opera houses and theatres, dancing at the White House, and even for the Queen. Their fans included Mick Jagger and they performed alongside the likes of Michael Jackson and Josephine Baker. But most importantly it tells the universal story of female friendship, and in particular how these five young women formed a bond - while experimenting with different ways of dying ballet shoes and tights to match their skin tones - which still endures many decades later.

A New Formation by Calum Jacobs

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 07:59:48 UTC

A New Formation is an inventive and highly original analysis of the contributions that Black British footballers have made to Black British culture. Calum Jacobs and his co-contributors - including authors Musa Okwonga and Aniefiok Ekpoudom and sports broadcaster Jeanette Kwakye - eschew the standard frameworks of trauma and oppression that are foisted upon Black narratives. Instead, they draw upon broader social and cultural history to examine Black footballers in contexts larger than themselves. By engaging with the subtle connections between football and Black cultural expression, A New Formation reveals the vibrancy and nuance of contemporary Black life in Britain.

In Black and White by Alexandra Wilson

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:00:57 UTC

Alexandra Wilson was a teenager when her dear family friend Ayo was stabbed on his way home from football. Ayo's death changed Alexandra. She felt compelled to enter the legal profession in search of answers. As a junior criminal and family law barrister, Alexandra finds herself navigating a world and a set of rules designed by a privileged few. A world in which fellow barristers sigh with relief when a racist judge retires: 'I've got a black kid today and he would have had no hope'. In her debut book, In Black and White, Alexandra re-creates the tense courtroom scenes, the heart-breaking meetings with teenage clients, and the moments of frustration and triumph that make up a young barrister's life. Alexandra shows us how it feels to defend someone who hates the colour of your skin, or someone you suspect is guilty. We see what it is like for children coerced into county line drug deals and the damage that can be caused when we criminalise teenagers. Alexandra's account of what she has witnessed as a young mixed-race barrister is in equal parts shocking, compelling, confounding and powerful.

Lady Sings the Blues by Billie Holiday

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:01:47 UTC

I've been told that no one sings the word 'hunger' like I do. Or the word 'love'.

Lady Sings the Blues is the inimitable autobiography of one of the greatest icons of the twentieth century. Born to a single mother in 1915 Baltimore, Billie Holiday had her first run-in with the law at aged 13. But Billie Holiday is no victim. Her memoir tells the story of her life spent in jazz, smoky Harlem clubs and packed-out concert halls, her love affairs, her wildly creative friends, her struggles with addiction and her adventures in love. Billie Holiday is a wise and aphoristic guide to the story of her unforgettable life.