African American History Month

Celebrate African American History Month

Members of the Junior NAACP in 1923. Photo from Los Angeles Public Library's Shades of L.A. Collection: African American Community.
Members of the Junior NAACP / Shades of L.A. Collection

For African American History Month, we reflect on the African American community of early Los Angeles. Arriving in the region in search of the California Dream, African American migrants relied on the institutions they created—particularly churches, Black-owned newspapers, and civic organizations—to strengthen their community against the backdrop of racial discrimination.

When California became a U.S. state, Los Angeles had fewer than two thousand residents, with about a dozen of those being African American. A slow trickle of African American migrants arrived in the coming years, and they formed a small network of friends which planted the seed for a budding community.


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African American History Month: Political Leaders

  • Barbara Jordan : speaking the truth with eloquent thunder

    Barbara Jordan : speaking the truth with eloquent thunder

    Jordan, Barbara, 1936-1996.
  • Dark days, bright nights : from Black power to Barack Obama

    Dark days, bright nights : from Black power to Barack Obama

    Joseph, Peniel E.
  • Marshalling justice : the early civil rights letters of Thurgood Marshall

    Marshalling justice : the early civil rights letters of Thurgood Marshall

    Marshall, Thurgood, 1908-1993.
  • Silent covenants : Brown v. Board of Education and the unfulfilled hopes for racial reform

    Silent covenants : Brown v. Board of Education and the unfulfilled hopes for racial reform

    Bell, Derrick A.
  • A way out of no way : the spiritual memoirs of Andrew Young.

    A way out of no way : the spiritual memoirs of Andrew Young.

    Young, Andrew, 1932-
  • All eyes are upon us : race and politics from Boston to Brooklyn

    All eyes are upon us : race and politics from Boston to Brooklyn

    Sokol, Jason.
  • An Easy Burden: The Civil Rights Movement and the Transformation of America

    An Easy Burden: The Civil Rights Movement and the Transformation of America

    Young, Andrew
  • Barack Obama : the official inaugural book

    Barack Obama : the official inaugural book

  • Bayard Rustin : troubles I've seen : a biography

    Bayard Rustin : troubles I've seen : a biography

    Anderson, Jervis.
  • Black congressmen during Reconstruction : a documentary sourcebook

    Black congressmen during Reconstruction : a documentary sourcebook

  • Black firsts : 4,000 ground-breaking and pioneering historical events

    Black firsts : 4,000 ground-breaking and pioneering historical events

  • Blackballed : the Black vote and US democracy

    Blackballed : the Black vote and US democracy

    Pinckney, Darryl, 1953-
  • Bridging the divide : my life

    Bridging the divide : my life

    Brooke, Edward W. (Edward William), 1919-2015.
  • Civil rights and the promise of equality : photographs from the National Museum of African American History and Culture

    Civil rights and the promise of equality : photographs from the National Museum of African American History and Culture

  • Equal justice-- under law : an autobiography

    Equal justice-- under law : an autobiography

    Motley, Constance Baker, 1921-2005.
  • Fighting Shirley Chisholm.

    Fighting Shirley Chisholm.

    Haskins, James, 1941-2005.
  • Great African-American lawyers : raising the bar of freedom

    Great African-American lawyers : raising the bar of freedom

    Weatherford, Carole Boston, 1956-
  • Jesse : the life and pilgrimage of Jesse Jackson

    Jesse : the life and pilgrimage of Jesse Jackson

    Frady, Marshall.
  • Julian Bond: Black rebel.

    Julian Bond: Black rebel.

    Neary, John, 1937-
  • Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption

    Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption

    Stevenson, Bryan
  • Kamala's way : an American life

    Kamala's way : an American life

    Morain, Dan
  • Lay bare the heart : an autobiography of the civil rights movement

    Lay bare the heart : an autobiography of the civil rights movement

    Farmer, James, 1920-1999.
  • Lying down with the lions : a public life from the streets of Oakland to the halls of power

    Lying down with the lions : a public life from the streets of Oakland to the halls of power

    Dellums, Ronald V., 1935-
  • Ralph Bunche—An American Life

    Ralph Bunche—An American Life

    Urquhart, Brian
  • Roy Wilkins : the quiet revolutionary and the NAACP

    Roy Wilkins : the quiet revolutionary and the NAACP

    Ryan, Yvonne, 1961-
  • Showdown : Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court nomination that changed America

    Showdown : Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court nomination that changed America

    Haygood, Wil,
  • Soldier : the life of Colin Powell

    Soldier : the life of Colin Powell

    DeYoung, Karen, 1949-
  • The Black presidency : Barack Obama and the politics of race in America

    The Black presidency : Barack Obama and the politics of race in America

    Dyson, Michael Eric,
  • The handy African American history answer book

    The handy African American history answer book

    Smith, Jessie Carney, 1930-
  • The loneliness of the Black Republican : pragmatic politics and the pursuit of power

    The loneliness of the Black Republican : pragmatic politics and the pursuit of power

    Wright Rigueur, Leah, 1981-
  • The rebellious life of Mrs. Rosa Parks

    The rebellious life of Mrs. Rosa Parks

    Theoharis, Jeanne.
  • The senator and the socialite : the true story of America's first black dynasty

    The senator and the socialite : the true story of America's first black dynasty

    Graham, Lawrence.
  • The voting rights war : the NAACP and the ongoing struggle for justice

    The voting rights war : the NAACP and the ongoing struggle for justice

    Browne-Marshall, Gloria J,
  • This little light of mine : the life of Fannie Lou Hamer

    This little light of mine : the life of Fannie Lou Hamer

    Mills, Kay.
  • Tom Bradley: The Impossible Dream: A Biography

    Tom Bradley: The Impossible Dream: A Biography

    Payne, J. Gregory (James Gregory).
  • Watch me fly : what I learned on the way to becoming the woman I was meant to be

    Watch me fly : what I learned on the way to becoming the woman I was meant to be

    Evers-Williams, Myrlie.
  • Womanpower Unlimited and the Black freedom struggle in Mississippi

    Womanpower Unlimited and the Black freedom struggle in Mississippi

    Morris, Tiyi Makeda,

Essential Readings for Adults and Teens

  • March: Book One

    March: Book One

    Lewis, John
  • 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

    Wilkerson, Isabel.
  • Between the World and Me

    Between the World and Me

    Coates, Ta-Nehisi
  • Black Is the New White

    Black Is the New White

    Mooney, Paul, 1941-
  • Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood

    Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood

    Noah, Trevor
  • Chokehold: Policing Black Men

    Chokehold: Policing Black Men

    Butler, Paul, 1961-
  • Dear Martin

    Dear Martin

    Stone, Nic
  • Genesis Begins Again

    Genesis Begins Again

    Williams, Alicia
  • How Not to Get Shot: And Other Advice From White People

    How Not to Get Shot: And Other Advice From White People

    Hughley, D. L. 1963-
  • How to Be an Antiracist

    How to Be an Antiracist

    Kendi, Ibram X
  • I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

    I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

    Angelou, Maya.
  • I'm Not Dying with You Tonight

    I'm Not Dying with You Tonight

    Jones, Kimberly
  • Lighting the Fires of Freedom: African American Women in the Civil Rights Movement

    Lighting the Fires of Freedom: African American Women in the Civil Rights Movement

    Bell, Janet Dewart

    Learn more about nine women who made significant contributions to the Civil Rights Movement, and their experiences with discrimination by

  • Long Way Down

    Long Way Down

    Reynolds, Jason
  • March: Book Three

    March: Book Three

    Lewis, John

    March books one through three are a modern classic of graphic nonfiction with starred reviews from every major reviewer.

  • March: Book Two

    March: Book Two

    Lewis, John

    March books one through three are a modern classic of graphic nonfiction with starred reviews from every major reviewer.

  • Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor

    Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor

    Saad, Layla F
  • Monster

    Monster

    Myers, Walter Dean, 1937-2014.
  • One Person, No Vote (YA edition): How Not All Voters Are Treated Equally

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

    Anderson, Carol
  • Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools

    Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools

    Morris, Monique W., 1972-
  • Remembering Slavery: African Americans Talk About Their Personal Experiences of Slavery and Emancipation

    Remembering Slavery: African Americans Talk About Their Personal Experiences of Slavery and Emancipation

  • So You Want to Talk About Race

    So You Want to Talk About Race

    Oluo, Ijeoma
  • Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America

    Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America

    Kendi, Ibram X.
  • Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

    Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

    Kendi, Ibram X.
  • The Bluest Eye

    The Bluest Eye

    Morrison, Toni
  • The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America

    The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America

    Rothstein, Richard
  • The Hate U Give

    The Hate U Give

    Thomas, Angie
  • The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

    The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

    Skloot, Rebecca, 1972-
  • The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

    The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

    Alexander, Michelle.
  • The Underground Railroad

    The Underground Railroad

    Whitehead, Colson

    Historical fiction meets magical realism in Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel

  • Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria: And Other Conversations About Race

    Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria: And Other Conversations About Race

    Tatum, Beverly Daniel.

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