LibGuides: Black History Month: Books and eBooks

Finding Books with Koha

When searching our online catalog, Koha, be sure to utilize the Advanced Search option since it allows you to search using different criteria such as subject, author or keyword, as well as choose a specific format such as eBook (electronic book). Try a catalog search in the box below.

Search Suggestions

An example of a subject heading search in the online catalog would include typing one of the subject headings listed below in the empty text box next to the subject field. Examples of subject headings:

African-American History

African-American Literature

African-American Culture

Please note, if you want information on a specific African-American topic, below are sample subject headings for those.

African-American Artists

African-American Physicians

Famous African-Americans

African-American Scientists

African-American Poetry

Finding Books on the Shelves

When browsing the rows of books you will notice that the Library organizes its collection with the Dewey Decimal Classification system (DDC). The call numbers located on the spine of the book coordinate with the call numbers listed in the online catalog and indicates the area where the book is located in the rows.

Each number in the DDC represents predefined subjects and the books for this subject are located in the areas. Popular call numbers are highlight below.

323.0 Civil and Political Rights

326.0 Slavery and Emancipation

704.0396 African American Art

781-783 Jazz/Blues/Negro Spirituals

810.9896 African American Literature

973.0496 Civil Rights History

After a search when viewing your search results, you might notice that some titles have an alpha character as part of their call number. These alpha characters signify which collection holds the item. Listed below are widely used examples:

B Biography collection

BLU Audio Visual collection

CD Audio Visual collection

DVD Audio Visual collection

J Juvenile collection

JB Juvenile Biography collection

H Special Collections

R Reference collection

YA Young Adult collection

Z Special Collections

Books

Waking from the Dream by David L. Chappell
Call Number: 323.092 CHA
ISBN: 9781400065462
Publication Date: 2014-01-14
Presents a controversial study of the civil rights movement after the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., drawing upon congressional testimony, court cases, press releases, and other sources to document the battle over King's image and legacy.
Harlem Stomp! by Laban Carrick Hill; Christopher Myers (Illustrator)
Call Number: J 810.9896 HIL
ISBN: 0316814113
Publication Date: 2004-01-01
A whirlwind tour of the Harlem Renaissance era of the early 20th century. Lavishly illustrated with sepia-tone photographs, reproductions of historical documents, and full-color paintings, "Harlem Stomp!" is both a historical exploration and a lively celebration of the Harlem Renaissance.
Without Mercy by David Beasley
Call Number: 364.6608 BEA
ISBN: 9781250014665
Publication Date: 2014-01-28
David Beasley's Without Mercy is the harrowing true story of the Great Depression, the New Deal, and the violent death throes of the Klan, but most of all it is the story of the stunning injustice of these executions and how they have seared distrust of the legal system into the consciousness of the Deep South, and it is a story that will forever be a testament to the death penalty's appalling inequality that continues to plague our nation.
Walking on the Wind by John Lewis; Michael D'Orso
Call Number: B LEW LEW (Browse shelf)
ISBN: 0684810654
Publication Date: 1998-06-01
Forty years ago, a teenaged boy named John Lewis stepped off a cotton farm in Alabama and into the epicenter of the struggle for civil rights in America. The ideals of nonviolence which guided that critical time of American history established him as one of the movement's most charismatic and courageous leaders.In "Walking with the Wind", John Lewis recounts his life with the fierce simplicity for which he is known, both in public and private. It began in rural poverty but within the bosom of a loving and resilient family. It has ranged across almost every battlefield in the most dramatic struggles for racial justice -- from Selma to Montgomery to Birmingham and beyond.
The Death of Rhythm and Blues by Nelson George
Call Number: 781.7296 GEO
ISBN: 9780394552385
Publication Date: 1988-06-12
This passionate and provocative book tells the complete story of black music in the last fifty years, and in doing so outlines the perilous position of black culture within white American society. In a fast-paced narrative, Nelson George’s book chronicles the rise and fall of “race music” and its transformation into the R&B that eventually dominated the airwaves only to find itself diluted and submerged as crossover music.
Down to the Crossroads by Aram Goudsouzian
Call Number: 323.1196 GOU
ISBN: 9780374192204
Publication Date: 2014-02-04
"On June 5, 1966, the civil rights hero James Meredith left Memphis, Tennessee, on foot. Setting off toward Jackson, Mississippi, he hoped his march would promote Black voter registration and defy racism. The next day, he was shot by a mysterious white man and transferred to a hospital. What followed was one of the key dramas of the civil rights era ... Tracking rural demonstrators' courage and impassioned debates among movement leaders, [the author] reveals the complex legacy of an event that would both integrate African Americans into the political system and inspire an era of bolder protests against it"-- Provided by publisher.
Freedom Summer by Susan Goldman Rubin
Call Number: J 323.1196 RUB
ISBN: 9780823429202
Publication Date: 2014-03-14
An account of the civil rights crusade in Mississippi 50 years ago that brought on shocking violence and the beginning of a new political order.
Ashley Bryan by Ashley Bryan (Illustrator); Bill McGuinness (Photographer)
Call Number: J 818.54 BRY
ISBN: 9781416905417
Publication Date: 2009-01-06
Ashley's autobiography is full of art, photographs, and the poignant never-say-never tale of his rich life, a life that has always included drawing and painting. Even as a boy growing up during the Depression, he painted -- finding cast off objects to turn into books and kites and toy and art. Even as a solder in the segregated Army on the beaches of Normandy, he sketched -- keeping charcoal crayons and paper in his gasmask to draw with during lulls.

eBooks

A Mighty Long Way by Carlotta Walls Lanier; Lisa Frazier Page; Bill Clinton (Foreword by)
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 9780345511003
Publication Date: 2009-08-25
When fourteen-year-old Carlotta Walls walked up the stairs of Little Rock Central High School on September 25, 1957, she and eight other black students only wanted to make it to class. But the journey of the "Little Rock Nine," as they came to be known, would lead the nation on an even longer and much more turbulent path, one that would challenge prevailing attitudes, break down barriers, and forever change the landscape of America.

Digital Media Zone (DMZ) eBooks offer thousands of free ebooks and audiobooks to choose from. Checkout 5 at a time for up to a two week checkout using your Kindle, iPad, iPod, Nook, Sony Reader, and many more devices. New titles added several times a month in partnership with 3 other north Alabama library systems. Visit any library branch to set up your library account which then gives you access to eBooks. Select the link or use the search or go straight to dmz.hmcpl.org.

Why We Can't Wait by Martin Luther King
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 9780807001127
Publication Date: 2011-01-11
Dr. King's best-selling account of the civil rights movement in Birmingham during the spring and summer of 1963

In 1963, Birmingham, Alabama, was perhaps the most racially segregated city in the United States, but the campaign launched by Fred Shuttlesworth, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and others demonstrated to the world the power of nonviolent direct action.

Often applauded as King's most incisive and eloquent book, Why We Can't Wait recounts the Birmingham campaign in vivid detail, while underscoring why 1963 was such a crucial year for the civil rights movement. King examines the history of the civil rights struggle and the tasks that future generations must accomplish to bring about full equality. The book also includes the extraordinary "Letter from Birmingham Jail," which King wrote in April of 1963.
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 9780679444329
Publication Date: 2010-09-07
In this epic, beautifully written masterwork, Pulitzer Prize--winning author Isabel Wilkerson chronicles one of the great untold stories of American history: the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a better life. From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America. Wilkerson compares this epic migration to the migrations of other peoples in history. She interviewed more than a thousand people, and gained access to new data and official records, to write this definitive and vividly dramatic account of how these American journeys unfolded, altering our cities, our country, and ourselves.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Call Number: eBook with DMZ
ISBN: 9781400052189
Publication Date: 2011-03-08
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells--taken without her knowledge in 1951--became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more. Henrietta's cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can't afford health insurance. This phenomenal New York Times bestseller tells a riveting story of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; of scientific discovery and faith healing; and of a daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew.
All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes by Maya Angelou
Call Number: eBook with DMZ
ISBN: 9780679734048
Publication Date: 1991-06-04
In 1962 the poet, musician, and performer Maya Angelou claimed another piece of her identity by moving to Ghana, joining a community of "Revolutionist Returnees" inspired by the promise of pan-Africanism. All God's Children Need Walking Shoes is her lyrical and acutely perceptive exploration of what it means to be an African American on the mother continent, where color no longer matters but where American-ness keeps asserting itself in ways both puzzling and heartbreaking. As it builds on the personal narrative of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Gather Together in My Name, this book confirms Maya Angelou's stature as one of the most gifted autobiographers of our time.
Malcolm X by Manning Marable
Call Number: eBook with DMZ
ISBN: 9780143120322
Publication Date: 2011-12-28
Hailed as "a masterpiece" (San Francisco Chronicle), the late Manning Marable's acclaimed biography of Malcolm X finally does justice to one of the most influential and controversial figures of twentieth-century American history. Filled with startling new information and shocking revelations, Malcolm X unfolds a sweeping story of race and class in America. Reaching into Malcolm's troubled youth, it traces a path from his parents' activism as followers of Marcus Garvey through his own work with the Nation of Islam and rise in the world of black nationalism, and culminates in the never-before-told true story of his assassination. Malcolm X is a stunning achievement, the definitive work on one of our greatest advocates for social change.