Black History in YA Fiction: A Time Line

It’s black history month, and rather than offer up a straightforward book list of young adult titles that highlight aspects of black history in the United States, I wanted to do something different — and something that would be much more visually arresting.

I pooled together as many YA books that were historical fiction (meaning no magical/fantastical elements) and featured black main characters or stories. The pickings were so meager, I also looked at middle grade novels which could appeal to young adult readers. But even with those titles included, I hope that this time line is not only illuminating in terms of what is out there, but I hope it’s even more illuminated about what books are not out there. It should be noted, too, many of these titles are older, and some may no longer be available to purchase.

Since the image below is long and narrow, feel free to click it below to make it bigger, or you can download a .pdf copy of the time line by clicking here. If you would like a copy of the titles and authors of the books without the visual aspect, I’ve included a list beneath it, as well.