101 Changemakers: Rebels and Radicals Who Changed US History
Book – Non-fiction. By Michele Bollinger and Dao Tran. 2012.
A collection of 101 brief and accessible profiles of rebels, radicals, and fighters for social justice.
Time Periods: All US History
Themes: African American, Asian American, Civil Rights Movements, Democracy & Citizenship, Disability, Immigration, Labor, Language Arts, Latinx, LGBTQ, Media, Native American, Organizing, Pacific Islander, Racism & Racial Identity, Social Class, Women's History
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1919
Book — Non-fiction. By Eve L. Ewing. 96 pages. 2019.
Poetic reflections on the Chicago Race Riots of 1919 — part of 'Red Summer' — in a history told through Ewing's speculative and Afrofuturist lenses.
Time Periods: 20th Century, World War I: 1910 - 1919, Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944
Themes: African American, Art & Music, Racism & Racial Identity
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1919, The Year of Racial Violence: How African Americans Fought Back
Book — Non-fiction. By David F. Krugler. 2015.
This book details the wave of racist violence that swept the United States in 1919, through the lens of Black armed resistance and freedom struggle.
Time Periods: 20th Century, All US History
Themes: African American, Civil Rights Movements
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50 American Revolutions You’re Not Supposed to Know: Reclaiming American Patriotism
Book - Non-fiction. By Mickey Z. 2005.
A pocket-sized collection of stories about dissent throughout U.S. history.
Time Periods: All US History
500 Años del Pueblo Chicano – 500 Years of Chicano History in Pictures
Book - Non-fiction. By Elizabeth Martinez. 1991 (2nd Edition).
Chicano history as told through hundreds of pictures and bilingual text.
Time Periods: All US History
Themes: Civil Rights Movements, Immigration, Latinx, Native American
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500 Years of Chicana Women’s History
Books - Non-fiction. By Elizabeth Martinez. 2007., 899 illustrations.
Stories and photos of Chicana/Mexican-American women in politics, labor, art, health, and more.
Time Periods: All US History
Themes: Civil Rights Movements, Immigration, Latinx, Women's History
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Addicted to War: Why the U.S. Can’t Kick Militarism, An Illustrated Guide
Book - Non-fiction. By Joel Andreas. 2015.
A comic book expose on militarism in graphic format, making it accessible for high school and above.
Time Periods: All US History
Themes: Imperialism, US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
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Adicto a la Guerra: Por que el E.E.U.U. no Puede Librarse del Militarismo
Book - Non-fiction. By Joel Andreas. 2005.
Spanish-language edition of the expose on militarism in graphic novel format. Accessible for high school and above.
Time Periods: All US History
Themes: Imperialism, US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
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An African American and Latinx History of the United States
Book - Non-fiction. By Paul Ortiz. 2018. 296 pages.
This narrative, intersectional history describes the shared struggle for African American and Latinx civil rights, and argues that the “Global South” was crucial to the development of the United States.
Time Periods: All US History
Themes: African American, Imperialism, Latinx
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African Americans Against the Bomb: Nuclear Weapons, Colonialism, and the Black Freedom Movement
Book - Non-fiction. By Vincent Intondi. 2015.
History of Black activists who fought for nuclear disarmament.
Themes: African American, Civil Rights Movements, Imperialism, Racism & Racial Identity, US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
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All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life
Book - Non-fiction. By Winona LaDuke. 1999.
Native American activists provide testimonies to indigenous efforts to resist oppression and fight both cultural and environmental degradation in the face of U.S. colonialism.
Time Periods: 18th Century, 19th Century, 20th Century
Themes: Climate Justice, Environment, Imperialism, Native American
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“All the Real Indians Died Off”: And 20 Other Myths about Native Americans
Book - Non-fiction. By Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and Dina Gilio-Whitaker. 2016.
Deconstructs persistent myths about American Indians rooted in fear and prejudice—an astute and lively primer of European-Indian relations.
Time Periods: 18th Century, 19th Century, 20th Century, 21st Century, All US History
Themes: Native American
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Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A.
Book - Non-fiction. By Luis J. Rodriguez. 2005.
Memoir about a young Chicano gang member surviving the dangerous streets of East Los Angeles.
Time Periods: 20th Century
Themes: Latinx, Racism & Racial Identity
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Angel Island: Gateway to Gold Mountain
Book - Non-fiction. By Russell Freedman. 2014.
An account of Angel Island, California, the entry point for one million Asian immigrants in the early 20th century.
Time Periods: 20th Century, World War I: 1910 - 1919, Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944
Themes: Asian American, Immigration
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The Autobiography of Medgar Evers: A Hero’s Life and Legacy Revealed Through His Writings, Letters, and Speeches
Book - Non-fiction. By Manning Marable and Myrlie Evers-Williams. 2006.
Comprehensive collection of the words of slain civil rights activist Medgar Evers.
Time Periods: 20th Century, People’s Movement: 1961 - 1974
Themes: African American, Civil Rights Movements
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Beaches, Blood, and Ballots: A Black Doctor’s Civil Rights Struggle
Book – Non-fiction. By Gilbert R. Mason. 2007. 227 pages.
Dr. Gilbert R. Mason’s eyewitness account of the fight for racial justice on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi during the civil rights movement.
Time Periods: People’s Movement: 1961 - 1974
Themes: African American, Civil Rights Movements
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A Beautiful Ghetto
Book - Non-fiction. By Devin Allen. 2017. 124 pages.
Black life in Baltimore before and after the police murder of Freddie Gray and the uprising it produced, documented through short essays, poetry, and stunning photographs.
Bill Moyers Journal: The Conversation Continues
Book - Non-fiction. By Bill Moyers and edited by Michael Winship. 2011.
Fifty interviews with political figures, writers, activists, poets, and scholars.
Themes: Democracy & Citizenship
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The Black Americans: A History in Their Own Words, 1619-1983
Book - Non-fiction. Edited by Milton Meltzer. 1987.
Engaging first person stories and primary documents.
Time Periods: Civil War Era: 1850 - 1864, Reconstruction Period: 1865 - 1876, All US History
Themes: African American, Reconstruction, Labor
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Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux
Book - Non-fiction. By John G. Neihardt, Standing Bear, Raymond J. Demallie. 2008.
The life and visions of the Lakota healer Nicholas Black Elk and the history of his Sioux people.
Time Periods: Colonization: 1492 - 1764
Themes: Native American, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
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