Best African American Books

1.
The Color Purple
The Color Purple 4.27 avg rating — 737,195 ratings
2.
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Their Eyes Were Watching God 3.99 avg rating — 377,787 ratings
3.
Beloved (Beloved Trilogy, #1)
Beloved (Beloved Trilogy, #1) 3.97 avg rating — 476,949 ratings
4.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
by: Malcolm X
4.37 avg rating — 285,183 ratings
5.
Invisible Man
Invisible Man 3.92 avg rating — 198,732 ratings
6.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou's Autobiography, #1)
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou's Autobiography, #1) 4.30 avg rating — 568,942 ratings
7.
The Bluest Eye
The Bluest Eye 4.13 avg rating — 288,104 ratings
8.
Kindred
Kindred 4.31 avg rating — 258,318 ratings
9.
Native Son
Native Son 4.04 avg rating — 103,287 ratings
10.
A Raisin in the Sun
A Raisin in the Sun 3.85 avg rating — 107,564 ratings
11.
Song of Solomon
Song of Solomon 4.15 avg rating — 123,933 ratings
12.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass 4.12 avg rating — 131,993 ratings
13.
The Help
The Help 4.47 avg rating — 2,962,098 ratings
14.
Black Boy
Black Boy 4.09 avg rating — 55,306 ratings
15.
The Souls of Black Folk
The Souls of Black Folk 4.31 avg rating — 44,284 ratings
16.
Roots: The Saga of an American Family
Roots: The Saga of an American Family 4.45 avg rating — 163,547 ratings
17.
Sula
Sula 4.05 avg rating — 117,011 ratings
18.
The Fire Next Time
The Fire Next Time 4.55 avg rating — 115,140 ratings
19.
The Women of Brewster Place
The Women of Brewster Place 4.20 avg rating — 21,532 ratings
20.
Push
Push
by: Sapphire
3.87 avg rating — 58,129 ratings
21.
A Lesson Before Dying
A Lesson Before Dying 3.98 avg rating — 63,055 ratings
22.
The Collected Poems
The Collected Poems 4.36 avg rating — 18,158 ratings
23.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Logans, #4)
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Logans, #4) 3.90 avg rating — 128,894 ratings
24.
Go Tell It on the Mountain
Go Tell It on the Mountain 4.05 avg rating — 78,206 ratings
25.
The Secret Life of Bees
The Secret Life of Bees 4.10 avg rating — 1,337,509 ratings
26.
The Coldest Winter Ever
The Coldest Winter Ever 4.46 avg rating — 42,219 ratings
27.
Assata: An Autobiography
Assata: An Autobiography 4.59 avg rating — 29,691 ratings
28.
Up from Slavery
Up from Slavery 4.11 avg rating — 35,601 ratings
29.
Passing
Passing 3.92 avg rating — 76,699 ratings
30.
Giovanni’s Room
Giovanni’s Room 4.34 avg rating — 226,069 ratings
31.
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl 4.17 avg rating — 56,856 ratings
32.
Between the World and Me
Between the World and Me 4.40 avg rating — 357,391 ratings
33.
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance 3.94 avg rating — 229,609 ratings
34.
Parable of the Sower (Earthseed, #1)
Parable of the Sower (Earthseed, #1) 4.20 avg rating — 238,933 ratings
35.
The Known World
The Known World 3.84 avg rating — 44,321 ratings
36.
Paradise (Beloved Trilogy, #3)
Paradise (Beloved Trilogy, #3) 3.86 avg rating — 28,535 ratings
37.
Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches
Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches 4.53 avg rating — 39,726 ratings
38.
Cane River
Cane River 4.08 avg rating — 50,067 ratings
39.
The Book of Negroes
The Book of Negroes 4.47 avg rating — 90,242 ratings
40.
Jazz (Beloved Trilogy, #2)
Jazz (Beloved Trilogy, #2) 3.90 avg rating — 36,225 ratings
41.
Black Like Me
Black Like Me 4.11 avg rating — 69,182 ratings
42.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Uncle Tom’s Cabin 3.92 avg rating — 239,364 ratings
43.
Devil in a Blue Dress (Easy Rawlins, #1)
Devil in a Blue Dress (Easy Rawlins, #1) 3.87 avg rating — 29,362 ratings
44.
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration 4.48 avg rating — 113,286 ratings
45.
The Mis-Education of the Negro
The Mis-Education of the Negro 4.49 avg rating — 9,978 ratings
46.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 4.13 avg rating — 787,054 ratings
47.
Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism
Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism 4.50 avg rating — 18,477 ratings
48.
The Color of Water
The Color of Water 4.15 avg rating — 131,556 ratings
49.
Notes of a Native Son
Notes of a Native Son 4.37 avg rating — 23,280 ratings
50.
The Temple of My Familiar
The Temple of My Familiar 4.05 avg rating — 14,859 ratings
51.
Zami: A New Spelling of My Name
Zami: A New Spelling of My Name 4.40 avg rating — 23,083 ratings
52.
Your Blues Ain't Like Mine
Your Blues Ain't Like Mine 4.23 avg rating — 7,503 ratings
53.
Letter from the Birmingham Jail
Letter from the Birmingham Jail 4.72 avg rating — 8,438 ratings
54.
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf 4.29 avg rating — 34,461 ratings
55.
To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird 4.26 avg rating — 6,688,920 ratings
56.
Selected Poems
Selected Poems 4.31 avg rating — 8,297 ratings
57.
The Ways of White Folks
The Ways of White Folks 4.46 avg rating — 5,398 ratings
58.
Wild Seed (Patternist, #1)
Wild Seed (Patternist, #1) 4.21 avg rating — 38,337 ratings
59.
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman 4.18 avg rating — 14,106 ratings
60.
Twelve Years a Slave
Twelve Years a Slave 4.22 avg rating — 123,130 ratings
61.
Jubilee
Jubilee 4.37 avg rating — 6,827 ratings
62.
Americanah
Americanah 4.31 avg rating — 401,497 ratings
63.
Another Country
Another Country 4.30 avg rating — 32,342 ratings
64.
An Autobiography
An Autobiography 4.44 avg rating — 10,447 ratings
65.
The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man
The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man 3.93 avg rating — 11,073 ratings
66.
A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches
A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches 4.57 avg rating — 2,429 ratings
67.
Mama Day
Mama Day 4.19 avg rating — 11,153 ratings
68.
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream 3.83 avg rating — 168,479 ratings
69.
The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. 4.34 avg rating — 23,718 ratings
70.
Fences (The Century Cycle, #6)
Fences (The Century Cycle, #6) 3.88 avg rating — 29,473 ratings
71.
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano 3.74 avg rating — 14,418 ratings
72.
The Street
The Street
by: Ann Petry
4.27 avg rating — 12,961 ratings
73.
Nobody Knows My Name
Nobody Knows My Name 4.37 avg rating — 4,611 ratings
74.
Dust Tracks on a Road
Dust Tracks on a Road 4.11 avg rating — 8,197 ratings
75.
Possessing the Secret of Joy
Possessing the Secret of Joy 4.09 avg rating — 15,681 ratings
76.
The Darkest Child
The Darkest Child 4.38 avg rating — 16,723 ratings
77.
Cane
Cane 3.82 avg rating — 11,324 ratings
78.
To Be Young, Gifted and Black: A Memoir with an Introduction by James Baldwin
To Be Young, Gifted and Black: A Memoir with an Introduction by James Baldwin 4.42 avg rating — 2,810 ratings
79.
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness 4.52 avg rating — 115,044 ratings
80.
Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present
Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present 4.43 avg rating — 9,664 ratings
80.
Parable of the Talents (Earthseed, #2)
Parable of the Talents (Earthseed, #2) 4.32 avg rating — 77,757 ratings
82.
Manchild in the Promised Land
Manchild in the Promised Land 4.28 avg rating — 9,113 ratings
83.
Tumbling
Tumbling 4.25 avg rating — 3,601 ratings
84.
Waiting to Exhale (Waiting to Exhale, #1)
Waiting to Exhale (Waiting to Exhale, #1) 3.99 avg rating — 17,749 ratings
85.
A Mercy
A Mercy 3.76 avg rating — 31,912 ratings
86.
Sugar (Sugar Lacey, #1)
Sugar (Sugar Lacey, #1) 4.28 avg rating — 10,035 ratings
87.
I Love Myself When I Am Laughing And Then Again When I Am Looking Mean & Impressive
I Love Myself When I Am Laughing And Then Again When I Am Looking Mean & Impressive 4.42 avg rating — 2,568 ratings
88.
Lilith's Brood (Xenogenesis, #1-3)
Lilith's Brood (Xenogenesis, #1-3) 4.37 avg rating — 21,511 ratings
89.
The Best of Simple: Stories
The Best of Simple: Stories 4.38 avg rating — 1,477 ratings
90.
A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches
A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches 4.62 avg rating — 1,161 ratings
91.
Gone Fishin' (Easy Rawlins, #6)
Gone Fishin' (Easy Rawlins, #6) 3.90 avg rating — 3,065 ratings
92.
Soul on Ice
Soul on Ice 3.97 avg rating — 14,658 ratings
93.
Erasure
Erasure 4.17 avg rating — 28,472 ratings
94.
A Little Yellow Dog (Easy Rawlins, #5)
A Little Yellow Dog (Easy Rawlins, #5) 4.07 avg rating — 4,479 ratings
95.
The Price of the Ticket: Collected Nonfiction, 1948-1985
The Price of the Ticket: Collected Nonfiction, 1948-1985 4.68 avg rating — 676 ratings
96.
Fledgling
Fledgling 3.80 avg rating — 37,689 ratings
97.
Black Betty (Easy Rawlins, #4)
Black Betty (Easy Rawlins, #4) 4.08 avg rating — 5,570 ratings
98.
The Kitchen House
The Kitchen House 4.23 avg rating — 295,478 ratings
99.
The Hate U Give (The Hate U Give, #1)
The Hate U Give (The Hate U Give, #1) 4.46 avg rating — 986,373 ratings
100.
Family
Family 4.43 avg rating — 2,717 ratings
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