James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938) exemplified the ideal of the American public intellectual as a writer, educator, songwriter, diplomat, key figure of the Harlem Renaissance, and first African American executive of the NAACP. Originally published anonymously in 1912, Johnson’s novel The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man is considered one of the foundational works of twentieth-century African American literature, and its themes and forms have been taken up by other writers, from Ra...

No book more vividly explains the horror of American slavery and the emotional impetus behind the antislavery movement than Frederick Douglass’s Narrative. In an introductory essay, Robert B. Stepto reexamines the extraordinary life and achievement of a man who escaped from slavery to become a leading abolitionist and one of our most important writers. The John Harvard Library text reproduces the first edition, published in Boston in 1845.

The earliest known prison memoir by an African American writer—recently discovered and authenticated by a team of Yale scholars—sheds light on the longstanding connection between race and incarceration in America.“[A] harrowing [portrait] of life behind bars . . . part confession, part jeremiad, part lamentation, part picaresque novel (reminiscent, at times, of Dickens and Defoe).”—Michiko Kakutani, The New York TimesNAMED ...

Crossing Borders is a gathering of twenty original, interdisciplinary essays on the paradigm of borders in African American literature, multi-ethnic U.S. studies, and South Asian studies. These essays by established and mid-career scholars from around the globe employ a variety of approaches to the idea of “border crossings” and represent important contributions to the discourses on modernity, diasporic mobility, populism, migration, exile, sub-nation, trans-nation, as well as the formatio...

️ "Once you learn to read, you will be forever free." ️ Frederick Douglass's Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is one of the most powerful and enduring autobiographies ever written—a firsthand account of oppression, resistance, and the unbreakable spirit of freedom. Published in 1845, this landmark work chronicles Douglass's journey from enslavement to emancipation, detailing his early life on Maryland plantations, his brutal treatment under slavery, and his ultimate escape t...

The remarkable true story of a turn-of-the-19th century murder and the trial that ensued—a showdown in which iconic political rivals Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr joined forces to make sure justice was served—from bestselling author of the Edgar finalist, Murder of the Century.In the closing days of 1799, the United States was still a young republic. Waging a fierce battle for its uncertain future were two political parties: the well-moneyed Federalist...

Ellen Craft and William Craft were slaves from Georgia who escaped to the North in 1848. They became famous due to the daring way they made their escape. Ellen, being light skinned, passed herself off as a white male, with William as her servant, allowing them to basically travel openly by train and steamboat. They eventually emigrated to England where they lived for almost 20 years. Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom is their biographical account.

A unique historical thriller takes on the true mysteries of Lincoln’s assassination "with verve, humor and impressive scholarship” (Time).In 1868, Pinkerton Detective Nicholas Cosgrove is tasked with tracking down John Wilkes Booth, a man who should be three years in his grave. Booth, President Lincoln’s assassin, was also a skilled actor and master of disguise, and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton suspects he may still be at large. But Cosgrove unearths mor...

In "The Confessions of Nat Turner," the eponymous protagonist recounts the harrowing journey that culminated in the 1831 slave rebellion in Virginia. Written in a deeply confessional style, the text oscillates between a stark realism and poignant introspection, capturing the psychological turmoil of enslaved individuals and their struggle for dignity and autonomy. The narrative stands as both a historical document and a piece of creative literature, inviting readers into the complexities o...

According to Wikipedia: "Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American abolitionist, women's suffragist, editor, orator, author, statesman and reformer. Called "The Sage of Anacostia" and "The Lion of Anacostia", Douglass is one of the most prominent figures in African-American history and United States history. In 1872, Douglass became the very first African-American nominated as a Vice Presidential candidate in the U...

This file includes: "Up From Slavery" by Booker T. Washington, "The Souls of Black Folk" by W.E.B. DuBois, "The Conjure Woman" by Charles Chesnutt, "The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man" by James Weldon Johnson, "Clotel or The President's Daughter" by William Wells Brown, "The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar", "De Turkey and De Law" by Zora Hurston, "A Century of Negro Migration" by Carter Woodson, "A Negro Explorer at the North Pole by Matthew Henson, and "The Underground Rail Ro...

Frederick Douglass's dramatic autobiographical account of his early life as a slave in America.Born into a life of bondage, Frederick Douglass secretly taught himself to read and write. It was a crime punishable by death, but it resulted in one of the most eloquent indictments of slavery ever recorded. His gripping narrative takes us into the fields, cabins, and manors of pre–Civil War plantations in the South and reveals the daily terrors he suffered.Writt...