YA Antiracism & Social Justice Stories

We've put together a selection (a very small selection) of young adult novels with African American protagonists, many of which feature kids fighting for social justice.  (Some of them feature African American kids as mermaids or fighting vampires!)  They all function as windows into the other or mirrors that reflect oneself—viewpoints we all need (teenager or not).

Young Adult Social Justice books

 

Anger Is a Gift: A Novel Cover Image

Anger Is a Gift: A Novel (Paperback)

By Mark Oshiro
$9.99
ISBN: 9781250167033
Availability: On our shelves now (while supplies last)
Published: Tor Teen - May 7th, 2019
Felix Ever After Cover Image

Felix Ever After (Hardcover)

By Kacen Callender
$18.99
ISBN: 9780062820259
Availability: On our shelves now (while supplies last)
Published: Balzer + Bray - May 5th, 2020
The Poet X Cover Image

The Poet X (Paperback)

By Elizabeth Acevedo
$12.99
ISBN: 9780062662811
Availability: On our shelves now (while supplies last)
Published: Quill Tree Books - April 7th, 2020
Odd One Out Cover Image

Odd One Out (Paperback)

By Nic Stone
$10.99
ISBN: 9781101939567
Availability: On our shelves now (while supplies last)
Published: Ember - September 17th, 2019
Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America Cover Image

Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America (Paperback)

By Ibi Zoboi, Tracey Baptiste, Coe Booth, Dhonielle Clayton, Brandy Colbert, Jay Coles, Lamar Giles, Leah Henderson, Justina Ireland, Varian Johnson, Kekla Magoon, Tochi Onyebuchi, Jason Reynolds, Nic Stone, Liara Tamani, Renée Watson, Rita Williams-Garcia
$10.99
ISBN: 9780062698735
Availability: On our shelves now (while supplies last)
Published: Balzer + Bray - January 7th, 2020
Let Me Hear a Rhyme Cover Image

Let Me Hear a Rhyme (Paperback)

By Tiffany D. Jackson
$10.99
ISBN: 9780062840332
Availability: On our shelves now (while supplies last)
Published: Katherine Tegen Books - May 19th, 2020
A Blade So Black (The Nightmare-Verse #1) Cover Image

A Blade So Black (The Nightmare-Verse #1) (Paperback)

By L.L. McKinney
$10.99
ISBN: 9781250211668
Availability: Not in stock at store. Will, in most instances, ship from our warehouse in 7-10 days
Published: Square Fish - September 24th, 2019
Watch Us Rise Cover Image

Watch Us Rise (Paperback)

By Renée Watson, Ellen Hagan
$10.99
ISBN: 9781547603114
Availability: On our shelves now (while supplies last)
Published: Bloomsbury YA - February 11th, 2020
Black Girl Unlimited: The Remarkable Story of a Teenage Wizard Cover Image

Black Girl Unlimited: The Remarkable Story of a Teenage Wizard (Hardcover)

By Echo Brown
$17.99
ISBN: 9781250309853
Availability: On our shelves now (while supplies last)
Published: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) - January 14th, 2020
Who Put This Song On? Cover Image

Who Put This Song On? (Hardcover)

By Morgan Parker
$18.99
ISBN: 9780525707516
Availability: Not in stock at store. Will, in most instances, ship from our warehouse in 7-10 days
Published: Delacorte Press - September 24th, 2019
A Song Below Water: A Novel Cover Image

A Song Below Water: A Novel (Hardcover)

By Bethany C. Morrow
$17.99
ISBN: 9781250315328
Availability: On our shelves now (while supplies last)
Published: Tor Teen - June 2nd, 2020
SLAY Cover Image

SLAY (Hardcover)

By Brittney Morris
$18.99
ISBN: 9781534445420
Availability: Not in stock at store. Will, in most instances, ship from our warehouse in 7-10 days
Published: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers - September 24th, 2019
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning Cover Image

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning (Hardcover)

By Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi
$18.99
ISBN: 9780316453691
Availability: On our shelves now (while supplies last)
Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers - March 10th, 2020
Two Naomis Cover Image

Two Naomis (Paperback)

By Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Audrey Vernick
$7.99
ISBN: 9780062414267
Availability: Not in stock at store. Will, in most instances, ship from our warehouse in 7-10 days
Published: Balzer + Bray - June 5th, 2018
A Young People's History of the United States: Columbus to the War on Terror (For Young People Series) Cover Image

A Young People's History of the United States: Columbus to the War on Terror (For Young People Series) (Paperback)

By Howard Zinn, Rebecca Stefoff (Contributions by)
$22.95
ISBN: 9781583228692
Availability: Not in stock at store. Will, in most instances, ship from our warehouse in 7-10 days
Published: Triangle Square - June 2nd, 2009
March (Trilogy Slipcase Set) Cover Image

March (Trilogy Slipcase Set) (Paperback)

By John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell (Illustrator)
$49.99
ISBN: 9781603093958
Availability: Not in stock at store. Will, in most instances, ship from our warehouse in 7-10 days
Published: Top Shelf Productions - September 6th, 2016
Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: A Graphic History of Women's Fight for Their Rights Cover Image

Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: A Graphic History of Women's Fight for Their Rights (Paperback)

By Mikki Kendall, A. D'Amico (Illustrator)
$19.99
ISBN: 9780399581793
Availability: Not in stock at store. Will, in most instances, ship from our warehouse in 7-10 days
Published: Ten Speed Press - November 5th, 2019
This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do The Work (Empower the Future #1) Cover Image

This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do The Work (Empower the Future #1) (Paperback)

By Tiffany Jewell, Aurelia Durand (Illustrator)
$14.99
ISBN: 9780711245211
Availability: On our shelves now (while supplies last)
Published: Frances Lincoln Children's Books - January 7th, 2020
One Person, No Vote (YA edition): How Not All Voters Are Treated Equally Cover Image

One Person, No Vote (YA edition): How Not All Voters Are Treated Equally (Hardcover)

By Carol Anderson, Tonya Bolden
$18.99
ISBN: 9781547601073
Availability: Not in stock at store. Will, in most instances, ship from our warehouse in 7-10 days
Published: Bloomsbury YA - September 17th, 2019
This Is My America Cover Image

This Is My America (Hardcover)

By Kim Johnson
$17.99
ISBN: 9780593118764
Availability: On our shelves now (while supplies last)
Published: Random House Books for Young Readers - July 28th, 2020
Piecing Me Together Cover Image

Piecing Me Together (Paperback)

By Renée Watson
$10.99
ISBN: 9781681191072
Availability: Not in stock at store. Will, in most instances, ship from our warehouse in 7-10 days
Published: Bloomsbury YA - June 5th, 2018
What Lane? Cover Image

What Lane? (Hardcover)

By Torrey Maldonado
$16.99
ISBN: 9780525518433
Availability: Not in stock at store. Will, in most instances, ship from our warehouse in 7-10 days
Published: Nancy Paulsen Books - April 14th, 2020
I'm Not Dying with You Tonight Cover Image

I'm Not Dying with You Tonight (Hardcover)

By Kimberly Jones, Gilly Segal
$17.99
ISBN: 9781492678892
Availability: Not in stock at store. Will, in most instances, ship from our warehouse in 7-10 days
Published: Sourcebooks - August 1st, 2019
Dear Martin Cover Image

Dear Martin (Paperback)

By Nic Stone
$9.99
ISBN: 9781101939529
Availability: On our shelves now (while supplies last)
Published: Ember - September 4th, 2018
All American Boys Cover Image

All American Boys (Paperback)

By Jason Reynolds, Brendan Kiely
$11.99
ISBN: 9781481463348
Availability: Not in stock at store. Will, in most instances, ship from our warehouse in 7-10 days
Published: Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books - August 29th, 2017
Punching the Air Cover Image

Punching the Air (Hardcover)

By Ibi Zoboi, Yusef Salaam
$19.99
ISBN: 9780062996480
Availability: On our shelves now (while supplies last)
Published: Balzer + Bray - September 1st, 2020
We Are Not Yet Equal: Understanding Our Racial Divide Cover Image

We Are Not Yet Equal: Understanding Our Racial Divide (Paperback)

By Carol Anderson, Tonya Bolden
$10.99
ISBN: 9781547602520
Availability: On our shelves now (while supplies last)
Published: Bloomsbury Children's Books - October 29th, 2019
Just Mercy (Adapted for Young Adults): A True Story of the Fight for Justice Cover Image

Just Mercy (Adapted for Young Adults): A True Story of the Fight for Justice (Paperback)

By Bryan Stevenson
$10.99
ISBN: 9780525580065
Availability: On our shelves now (while supplies last)
Published: Ember - September 10th, 2019
A Black Woman Did That Cover Image

A Black Woman Did That (Paperback)

By Malaika Adero, Chanté Timothy (Illustrator)
$11.99
ISBN: 9781941367513
Availability: On our shelves now (while supplies last)
Published: Downtown Bookworks - February 18th, 2020
The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person Cover Image

The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person (Hardcover)

By Frederick Joseph
$17.99
ISBN: 9781536217018
Availability: On our shelves now (while supplies last)
Published: Candlewick - December 1st, 2020
Concrete Rose Cover Image

Concrete Rose (Hardcover)

By Angie Thomas
$19.99
ISBN: 9780062846716
Availability: On our shelves now (while supplies last)
Published: Balzer + Bray - January 12th, 2021