Ellen's Broom by Kelly Starling Lyons is about a wedding tradition that dates back to slavery. During slavery, slaves could not legally marry, so instead they would jump the broom. However, the tradition still exist today at some weddings which honors the past.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFKRg9ZHorE

Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut written by Derrick Barnes is about how going to the barbershop can shape an individual confidence and make them feel important. It also introduces readers to the diverse hairstyles that can be done at the barbershop.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1yCg2PdeEA

This Jazz Man by Karen Ehrhardt is a wonderful books for young children that introduces jazz and rhythm. It also is a numbers book that can help children to count to 10.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMu8R-AEH-g

When the Beat Was Born: DJ KOOL Herc & the Creation of Hip Hop written by Laban Carrick Hill is about how Hip Hop was created. It also shows the importance of music in bringing people together.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y2K-hKX1kQ

Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline Ransome discusses the many different roles Harriet Tubman played from slavery, underground railroad, Civil War, and the suffragist movement.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF7A53L230s

Carter Reads the Newspaper by Deborah Hopkinson tells about how Black History Month began and how Carter G. Woodson studied history and got a doctorate despite his mother being born into slavery.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RoNODVKDvk

The Great Migration: Journey to the North written by Eloise Greenfield is about the issue happening in the South such as racism, segregation, Ku Klux Klan, and few job opportunities that led to many African-Americans moving North. The book tells of the difficulties in moving and leaving the place you grew up and how families were separated as fathers went North to find work.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNykLc7wHNE

Show Way by Jacqueline Wood tells African-American history from slavery, to slaves escaping North, to sharecropping, to the Civil Rights movement, and current times through a generational tale.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1r8Rtu2PLJ0

I Am Enough written by Grace Byers is about believing in oneself. The authors message is that you can do anything you want to do, despite the color of your skin or what you may look like.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_l4jeZH84k

Sulwe by Lupita Nyong'o is about a young girl who has darker skin that the rest of her family. Her sister is lighter skin toned and seems to make more friends, while Sulwe struggles to make friends and is called mean nicknames. Sulwe tries to change the color of her skin by erasing it, covering it with makeup, and even praying for a different skintone to no avail. Sulwe instead begins to accept the color of her skin with the help of her mother and a story about day and night.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vujbTOuzg2Q

Being You written by Alexis Pate tells of the disguises that many children wear acting tougher, stronger, or mischievous, and how children truly want to be seen for who they are smart, powerful, loving, funny, and compassionate children.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPbieMYT_Ks

I Am Everything Good by Derrick Barnes is about positively seeing oneself and his or her own worth, even when the world may not see your worth. It is a good reminder that every child is good and worthy of love, compassion, and kindness.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2YGzxzF-0

Something Happened in Our Town: A Child's Story About Racial Injustice written by Ann Hazzard is about an incident that happened in the town that involved a Black man being shot by a police officer. This book shows how a White family and a Black family may discuss the incident.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcOhOFGcWm8

Let the Children March written by Monica Clark-Robinson is about how Martin Luther King Jr. allowed children to march in peaceful protest. The children took up the torch to protest against segregation due to parents fear of losing jobs.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNa6BrGp488

The Teacher's March!: How Salem's Teacher's Changed History by Sandra Neil Wallace talks about African-American teachers marching for voting rights in 1965.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkgQc5L7h70

Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down written by Andrea Davis Pinkney is about the sit in at Woodsworth counter. This was a peaceful demonstration against segregation where the four friends tried to be served in a Whites only section.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO5mkbqY0AQ

Buzzing with Questions: The Inquisitive Mind of Charles Henry Turner written by Janice N. Harrington talks about scientist Charles Henry Turner's education and many experiments. Charles Henry Turner did many experiments on insects such as bees, ants, water bugs, and even arachnids such as spiders. Through these experiments Chales Henry Turner made discovers that better help us understand bugs.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqP08Fp9IRE&t=821s

Dream Builder: The Story of Architect Philip Freelon written by Kelly Starling Lyons is a true story of a boy who dreamed of becoming an architect and was able to design the National Museum of African American History and Culture on the Mall in Washington.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULMa_poKfpo&t=472s

Five Brilliant Scientist by Lynda Jones is about five African-American scientist that have left an impact on our society. The scientist include George Washington Carver, Shirley Jackson, Ernest Just, Percy Julian, and Susan McKinney Steward.

Read Aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoMukQp429k (Susan McKinney's and George Washington Carter's story)

Patricia's Vision: The Doctor Who Saves Sight by Michelle Lord is about a book about Dr. Bath who became an eye doctor. During her work, she was passionate about helping those who could not afford medical procedures, as she saw eyesight as a human right. She also invented a special laser to destroy cataracts in eyes. This book tells of Dr. Bath's accomplishments and her kind heart.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSiThVKYE40