Death of a king: the real story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s final year by Tavis Smiley with David Ritz

Children of fire: a history of African Americans by Thomas C. Holt

Say it loud: great speeches on civil rights and African American identity by edited by Catherine Ellis and Stephen Drury Smith

Stokely: a life by Peniel E. Joseph

Across that bridge: life lessons and a vision for change by John Lewis ; with Brenda Jones

Freedom national: the destruction of slavery in the United States, 1861-1865 by James Oakes

The empire of necessity: slavery, freedom, and deception in the New World by Greg Grandin

Belle: the slave daughter and the Lord Chief Justice by Paula Byrne

Black profiles in courage: a legacy of African American achievement by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with Alan Steinberg ; foreword by Henry Louis Gates, Jr

Respect: the life of Aretha Franklin by David Ritz

Africans in America: America's journey through slavery by Charles Johnson, Patricia Smith, WGBH Series Research Team

Becoming Belafonte: black artist, public radical by Judith E. Smith

1954: the year Willie Mays and the first generation of black superstars changed major league baseball forever by Bill Madden

It is well with my soul: the extraordinary life of a 106 -year-old woman by Ella Mae Cheeks Johnson with Patricia Mulcahy

Prince among slaves by Terry Alford

Rickey & Robinson: the true, untold story of the integration of baseball by Roger Kahn

Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad by Foner, Eric

America's great debate: Henry Clay, Stephen A. Douglas, and the compromise that preserved the Union by Fergus M. Bordewich

Satch, Dizzy & Rapid Robert: the wild saga of interracial baseball before Jackie Robinson by Timothy M. Gay