African Diaspora
Works by Black authors about their experience in the Americas, enslavement, Black nationalism, and more.
Introduction to Black Studies
Author: Maulana Karenga
Intended to be a textbook for introductory courses, in this book Maulana Karenga explores the multi-faceted field of Black Studies. Most importantly both defining what it is, and why it's vitally important to our greater conception of history.
Black Reconstruction in America
Author: W. E. B. DuBois
One of the most important and foundational texts in Black Historiography, Black Reconstruction covers the history and achievements of Black people in the United States during the Reconstruction era (1860-1880) and seeks to combat the popular narrative of the era that sidelines Black men and women in favor of the white perspective.
Seize the Time:
The Story of the BPP and Huey Newton
Author: Bobby Seale
Through the eyes of Bobby Seale, we see the history of the Black Panther Party unfold. It's cause and principles are shown in stark contrast to the brutal and oppressive response from the United States government, which does everything in its power to crush the movement.
Black Bolshevik:
Autobiography of an Afro-American Communist.
Author: Harry Haywood
An absolutely fascinating book about the struggle of being a Black Communist, Harry Haywood has truly done it all. Born to formerly enslaved parents, Haywood fights in the First World War, goes to school in the USSR, witnesses the power struggle between Stalin and Trotsky firsthand, fights in the Spanish Civil War, was a member of both the CPUSA and CPSU, and more!
Freedom is a Constant Struggle
Author: Angela Davis
Released in the aftermath of the Ferguson protests and the creation of the Black Lives Matter movement. Freedom is a Constant Struggle is a collection of interviews, essays, and speeches in which Angela Davis examines a wide range of issues in the world and the modern day left.
Negro Liberation
Author: Harry Haywood
Published in 1948, this is undoubtedly Harry Haywood's most important work. In it, he discusses the Black national question inside the United States through the lens of Marxism-Leninism. He provides a materialist analysis of the Black belt in the south, how it constitutes an oppressed nation within a nation, and why the liberation of Black people is key to the greater liberation struggle of the American working class.
Long Memory:
The Black Experience in America
Author: Mary Frances Berry
Lynching:
A Weapon of National Oppression
Author: Harry Haywood
The Assassination of Fred Hampton
Author: Jeffrey Haas
War Against the Panthers:
A Study of Repression in America
Author: Huey P. Newton
Malcolm X Speaks
Author: Malcolm X
Utilizing an African American Studies Course
Author: Blaze Campbell
Exactly what it says on the tin. This paper explores how PWIs (Predominantly White Institutions) can substantively back up their commitment to "diversity" in their institution by effectively utilizing Black Studies courses.
The Crisis of Negro Reformism and the Growth Of Nationalism
Author: Harry Haywood
Passing the Buck
Author: Michael L. Blakey
A merciless critique of the field of anthropology where Blakey, himself an anthropologist, explains how the science began as a pseudoscientific means to support "scientific" racism in Europe. He then showcases how many cultural and physical anthropological concepts that have become popular in the modern day (such as individualism) still exist to subtly support racism and give Euro-Americans a pass in their ignorance of it.
