Our collection of picture books featuring Black and Indigenous Peoples and People of Color (BIPOC) is available to the public.
*Inclusion of a title in the collection DOES NOT EQUAL a recommendation.*
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6 matching books
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Freedom on the Sea: The True Story of the Civil War Hero Robert Smalls and His Daring Escape to Freedom
“This is the thrilling story of Robert Smalls and the Confederate ship that he used to liberate himself, his family, and more than a dozen others from enslavement. On the night of May 13, 1862, as the Civil War raged on in the United States, sixteen enslaved people decided they would reach freedom or die trying. Filled to the brim with suspense, this true story details how Robert Smalls commandeered a confederate ship through the Charleston harbor toward the Union blockade and liberation.” — publisher
Blue: A History of the Color as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky
“For centuries, blue powders and dyes were some of the most sought-after materials in the world. Ancient Afghan painters ground mass quantities of sapphire rocks to use for their paints, while snails were harvested in Eurasia for the tiny amounts of blue that their bodies would release. And then there was indigo, which was so valuable that American plantations grew it as a cash crop on the backs of African slaves. It wasn’t until 1905, when Adolf von Baeyer created a chemical blue dye, that blue could be used for anything and everything–most notably that uniform of workers everywhere, blue jeans.” — Publisher
I Heard: An American Journey
“A powerful and poetic picture book about Black history in the United States, from the shores of Africa and slavery, to the civil rights and Black Lives Matter movements.” — publisher
Breaking the Chains: African American Slave Resistance
“Centering Black voices and the narratives of enslaved people, this illustrated young adult history offers a thoroughly researched account with first-hand testimonies of how people in bondage were themselves a driving force behind their own emancipation. Generations of American history students have grown up believing that enslaved people accepted their lot and became attached to their enslavers, that rebellion was rare, and that liberation from slavery happened thanks to the enslavers.” – publisher
Lewis Latimer (Bright Minds)
Born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, in 1848, Lewis Latimer was an inventor, a leader, a teacher, and a creator. He knew how to draw, knew the law, wrote books and poetry, and spoke several languages. Among his many accomplishments, he contributed to the design of the light bulb, and brought the electric light to cities around the world. It is time to remember how Lewis Latimer’s inventions and his contributions changed our society… and our world!
A Long Time Coming : A Lyrical Biography of Race in America from Ona Judge to Barack Obama
“Drawing on extensive research and numerous primary sources, Ray Anthony Shepard’s A Long Time Coming tells the story of racism in the United States, revealing that racial justice has been, and still is, a long time coming. Shepard shows the ways in which each paved the way for those who followed. From freedom seeker Ona Judge, who fled her enslavement by America’s first president, to Barack Obama, the first Black president, all of Shepard’s protagonists fight valiantly for justice for themselves and all Black Americans in any way that they can. Full of daring escapes, deep emotion, and subtle lessons on how racism operates, this book reveals the universal importance of its subjects’ struggles for justice. But it is also a highly personal book, as Shepard — whose maternal grandfather was enslaved — shows how the grand sweep of history has touched his life, reflecting on how much progress has been made against racism, while also exhorting readers to complete the vast work that remains to be done.” – publisher
