These are some of the best books to learn and explore more about black history and the black experience, which has mostly been about finding grace and joy amidst exploitation and misery.

Your History: From The Beginning Of Time To Present    By J.A. Rogers
African People In World History   By John Henrik Clarke
Africa: Mother Of Civilization   By Yosef Be-Jochannon
Fifty Days On Board A Slave Vessel     By Pascoe G. Hill
The Origin Of Race And Color    By Martin R. Delany
Amazing Facts About The Negro With Complete Proof   By J.A. Rogers
The Destruction Of Black Civilization: Great Issues Of Race From 4500 B.C. To 2000 A.D.  By Chancellor Williams
From Slavery To Freedom:  A History Of African Americans    By John Hope Franklin
The Negro In The Making Of Americaby Benjamin Quarles
Frederick Douglass   By Benjamin Quarles
Harriet Tubman: The Road To Freedom  By Catherine Clinton
David Walker’s Appeal
The Strange Career Of Jim Crow   By C. Vann Woodward
The Ku Klux Spirit    By J.A. Rogers
Years Of Lynching    By Alan Ginzburg
At The Hands Of Persons Unknown: The Lynching Of Black America   By Philip Dray
The Autobiography Of W.E. B. Dubois
Up From Slavery  By Booker T. Washington
The Soul Of Black Folk     By W.E. B. Dubois
The Guardian Of Boston: William Monroe Trotter     By Stephen R. Fox
Crusader For Justice: The Autobiography Of Ida B. Wells
A Sword Among Lions: Ida B. Wells And The Campaign Against Lynching   By Paula J.Giddings
The Negro In The Civil War      By Benjamin Quarles
Black Reconstruction   By W.E.B. Dubois
Black Power U.S.A.: The Human Side Of Reconstruction 1867-1877 By Lerone Bennett
Forced Into Glory: Abraham Lincoln’s White Dream   By Lerone Bennett
The Mis-Education Of The Negro   By Carter G. Woodson
Mary Mcleod Bethune: Building A Better World: Essays And Selected Documents  Edited By Audrey Thomas Mccluskey And  Elaine M. Smith
The Philadelphia Negro   By W.E. B. Dubois
W.E.B. Du Bois: Biography Of A Race
W.E.B. Du Bois: The Fight For Equality And The American Century (winner Of The 2001 Pulitzer Prize For Biography) By David Levering Lewis
The Philosophy And Opinions Of Marcus Garvey   Edited By Amy Jacques Garvey
The Marcus Garvey And Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers  Edited By Robert A. Hill
Shades Of Freedom  By A. Leon Higginbotham
On Her Own Ground: The Life And Times Of Madam C. J. Walker   By A’lelia Bundles
Buffalo Soldiers    By Tom Willard
Here I Stand    By Paul Robeson
The Undiscovered Paul Robeson      By Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson: A Biography   By Martin Duberman
Banneker: The Afro-American Astrologer   By Will W. And David Murray
Only The Ball Was White: A History Of Legendary Black Players And All-Black Professional Teams      By Robert Peterson
I Never Had It Made   By Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson: A Biography   By Arnold Rampersad
A Hard Road To Glory: A History Of African-American Athletes (three Volumes)    By Arthur R. Ashe
Stephin Fletchit: The Life And Times Of Lincoln Perry    By Mel Watkins
Fighting For America: Black Soldiers – The Unsung Heroes Of World War Ii   By Christopher Paul Moore
Go Up For Glory     By Bill Russell
Born To Rebel: An Autobiography    By Benjamin Mays
All Deliberate Speed: Reflecting On The First Half Century Of Brown V. Board Of Education    By Charles J. Ogletree
Testament Of Hope: The Essential Writings Of Martin Luther King
An American Death:  The True Story Of The Assassination Of Dr. Martin Luther King
Code Name  Zorro: The Murder Of Martin Luther King
And The Walls Came Tumbling Down     By Ralph David Abernathy
Walking With The Wind: A Memoir Of The Movement   By John Lewis
An Easy Burden: The Civil Rights Movement And The Transformation Of America   By Andrew Young
A Time To Speak
To Praise Our Bridges: An Autobiography     By Fannie Lou Hamer
The Autobiography Of Medgar Evers: A Hero's Life And Legacy Revealed Through His Writings
In The Struggle: Sncc And Black Awakening In The 1960s    By Clayborn Carson
Sncc: The New Abolitionists     By Howard Zinn
Soon We Will Not Cry: The Liberation Of Ruby Doris Smith Robinson  By Cynthia Griggs Fleming
Lay Bare The Heart: An Autobiography Of The Civil Rights Movement  By  James Farmer
Militant Mediator: Whitney M. Young
Vernon Can Read! A Memoir     By Vernon E. Jordan
Sammy Young
Black Power: The Politics Of Liberation  By Kwame Ture (stokely Carmichael) And Charles V. Hamilton
Adam Clayton Powell
Coming Of Age In Mississippi      By Anne Moody
Bearing The Cross: Martin Luther King
Parting The Waters: America In The King Years
Pillar Of Fire: America In The King Years
At Canaan's Edge: America In The King Years
My Soul Is Rested: Movement Days In The Deep South Remembered   By Howell Raines
The Autobiography Of Malcolm X
Malcolm X: The Fbi File      By Clayborne Carson
The Muhammad Ali Reader  By Gerald Early
The Cointelpro Papers: Documents From The Fbi's Secret Wars Against Dissent In The United Statesby Ward Churchill And Jim Vander Wall
Lion In The Lobby: Clarence Mitchell Jr.’s Struggle For The Passage Of The Civil Rights Laws    By Denton L. Watson
The Longest Debate:A Legislative History Of The 1964 Civil Rights Act   By Charles Whalen And Barbara Whalen
Protest At Selma: Martin Luther King
The Informant: The Fbi
In The Shadow Of Selma: The Continuing Struggle For Civil Rights In The Rural South   By Cynthia Griggs Fleming
Thurgood Marshall: Warrior At The Bar
My Life With Martin Luther King
For Us
Standing Fast: The Autobiography Of Roy Wilkins
Jesse Jackson: The Man
The Essence Of Fred Hampton  Edited By William Hampton
Racial Matters: The Fbi’s Secret File On Black America 1960-1972  By Kenneth O’reilly
Voices Of Freedom: An Oral History Of The Civil Rights Movement From The 1950s Through The 1980s  By Henry Hampton And Steve Fayer
Open Wide Freedom’s Gates: A Memoir     By Dorothy Height
Malcolm X: A Life Of Reinvention By Manning Marable
The Black West: A Documentary And Pictorial History   By William Loren Katz
The Life And Adventures Of Nat Love     By Nat Love
The African American Century: How Black Americans Have Shaped Our Century   By Henry Louis Gates
On The Road To Freedom: A Guided Tour Of The Civil Rights Trail  By Charles E. Cobb