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African American Historical Fiction (Teen)

Time Travel! These historical fiction books feature African American characters set in different time periods.

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

After being sold to a cruel couple in New York City, a slave named Isabel spies for the rebels during the Revolutionary War

Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson

Separated from his friend Isabel after their daring escape from slavery, fifteen-year-old Curzon serves as a free man in the Continental Army at Valley Forge until he and Isabel are thrown together again, as slaves once more

The astonishing life of Octavian Nothing : traitor to the nation: 1, The pox party by M Anderson

Octavian Nothing is raised by a group of rational philosophers known only by numbers. He and his mother are the only people in their household assigned names. Young Octavian begins to question the purpose behind his guardians' fanatical studies, only after he dares to open a forbidden door does he learn the hideous nature of their experiments. Various diaries, letters, and other manuscripts chronicle the experiences of Octavian, a young African American, from birth to age sixteen, as he is brought up as part of a science experiment in the years leading up to and during the Revolutionary War

The Watsons go to Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963

Copper sun by Sharon M Draper

Two fifteen-year-old girls--one a slave and the other an indentured servant--escape their Carolina plantation and try to make their way to Fort Moses, Florida, a Spanish colony that gives sanctuary to slaves

Fire from the rock by Sharon M Draper

In 1957, Sylvia Patterson's life--that of a normal African American teenager--is disrupted by the impending integration of Little Rock's Central High when she is selected to be one of the first black students to attend the school.

Day of tears : a novel in dialogue by Julius Lester

When gambling debts and greed enter into the Butler household, Pierce Butler decides to host the biggest slave auction in American history and breaks a promise by selling Emma, his most-valued slave and caretaker of his children--a decision that brings about unthinkable consequences

The rock and the river by Kekla Magoon

In 1968 Chicago, for thirteen-year-old Sam, it's not easy being the son of known civil rights activist Roland Childs. Especially when his older brother (and best friend), Stick, begins to drift away from him for no apparent reason. And then it happens: Sam finds something that changes everything forever. Sam has always had faith in his father, but when he finds literature about the Black Panthers under Stick's bed, he's not sure who to believe: his father or his best friend

Fire in the streets by Kekla Magoon

In the aftermath of Dr. King's assassination, Chicago fourteen-year-old Maxie, against everyone's wishes, longs to join the Black Panthers, and is soon caught up in the violence of anti-war and civil rights demonstrations.

Roll of thunder, hear my cry by Mildred D Taylor

A black family living in Mississippi during the Depression of the 1930s is faced with prejudice and discrimination which its children do not understand

All the days past, all the days to come by Mildred D Taylor

When she returns to her home in Mississippi after finishing law school, Cassie Logan becomes involved in voter registration drives and other aspects of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

Let the circle be unbroken by Mildred D Taylor

Four black children growing up in rural Mississippi during the Depression experience racial antagonisms and hard times, but learn from their parents the pride and self-respect they need to survive

One crazy summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

In the summer of 1968, after travelling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicatedpoet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp

After Tupac & D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson

In the New York City borough of Queens in 1996, three girls bond over their shared love of Tupac Shakur's music, as together they try to make sense of the unpredictable world in which they live

X : a novel by Ilyasah Shabazz

Follows the childhood of the civil rights leader to his imprisonment at age twenty, where he found the faith that would lead him to his path towards activism and justice.

Bud, not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father--the renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway of Grand Rapids

Their eyes were watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

When Janie Starks returns to her rural Florida home, her small black community is overwhelmed with curiosity about her relationship with a younger man

A matter of souls by Denise Lewis Patrick

A series of vignettes reveal life in the Deep South for African Americans as they experience discrimination in a doctor's office, lynching, and other forms of oppression, especially during the 1960s

Under a painted sky by Stacey Lee

Missouri, 1849: Samantha dreams of moving back to New York to be a professional musician-not an easy thing if you're a girl, and harder still if you're Chinese. But a tragic accident dashes any hopes of fulfilling her dream, and instead, leaves her fearing for her life. With the help of a runaway slave named Annamae, Samantha flees town for the unknown frontier. But life on the Oregon Trail is unsafe for two girls, so they disguise themselves as Sammy and Andy, two boys headed for the California gold rush. Sammy and Andy forge a powerful bond as they each search for a link to their past, and struggle to avoid any unwanted attention. But when they cross paths with a band of cowboys, the light-hearted troupe turn out to be unexpected allies. With the law closing in on them and new setbacks coming each day, the girls figure out they can't hide for long.

Out of darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez

Loosely based on a school explosion that took place in New London, Texas, in 1937, this is the story of two teenagers: Naomi, who is Mexican, and Wash, who is black, and their dealings with race, segregation, love, and the forces that destroy people.

Juba! by Walter Dean Myers

In Five Points, New York, in the 1840s, African American teenager William Henry "Juba" Lane works hard to achieve his dream of becoming a professional dancer but his real break comes when he is invited to perform in England. Based on the life of Master Juba; includes historical note.

Recipient of the National Medal, the nation's highest honor for libraries.