“It is important to celebrate Black Music Month because it’s a recognition and ownership of our culture. It’s something that we need to be proud of.”-Dyana Williams, Co-Founder of Black Music Month
Black Music Month was first observed in June of 1979 by President Jimmy Carter during a reception at the White House, but it took a few years of tireless lobbying by Dyana Williams before an official proclamation was issued in 2000 by President Bill Clinton. In this article, Williams expresses how it is important to know and understand how influential and inspirational Black music is around the world. She says it is “a source of pride and a source of great history as well.” The fiction and nonfiction books listed cover various genres of music history and themes, from spiritual to hip hop. For jazz selections check the book selection from April’s Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM).
1. Song in a Rainstorm: The Story of Musical Prodigy Thomas Blind Tom Wiggins
Glenda Armand | Brittany Jackson | Albert Whitman | 2021 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
2. Double Bass Blues
Andrea J. Loney | Rudy Gutierrez | Knopf BYR | 2020 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
3. A Voice Named Aretha
Katheryn Russell-Brown | Laura Freeman| Bloomsbury | 2020 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
4. Sing a Song: How “Lift Every Voice and Sing” Inspired Generations
Kelly Starling Lyons | Keith Mallett | Nancy Paulsen Books | 2019 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
5. Roots of Rap: 16 Bars on the 4 Pillars of Hip-Hop
Carole Boston Weatherford | Frank Morrison | little bee books | 2019 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
6. Beyoncé: Shine Your Light
Sarah Warren | Geneva Bowers | HMH BYR | 2019 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
7. Early Sunday Morning
Denene Millner | Vanessa Brantley-Newton | Agate Bolden | 2017 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
8. I See the Rhythm of Gospel
Toyomi Igus | Michele Wood | Zonderkidz; Har/Com | 2010 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
9. Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat
Nikki Giovanni | Alicia Vergel de Dios | Damian Ward, et al | Sourcebooks | 2008 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
10. All Night, All Day: A Child’s First Book of African-American Spirituals
Ashley Bryan | Atheneum BYR, 1991 | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
11. VIP: Mahalia Jackson: Freedom’s Voice
Denise Lewis Patrick | Jennifer Bricking | HarperCollins | 2021 | ChBk | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
12. Simon B. Rhymin’
Dwayne Reed | Little, Brown BYR | 2021 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
13. Trailblazers: Beyoncé: Queen of the Spotlight
Ebony Joy Wilkins | Random House BYR | 2020 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
14. Melody: Never Stop Singing
Denise Lewis Patrick | American Girl | 2019 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
15. The Sweetest Sound
Sherri Winston | Little, Brown BYR | 2017 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
16. Clayton Byrd Goes Underground
Rita Williams-Garcia | Frank Morrison | Amistad | 2017 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
17. I and I Bob Marley
Tony Medina | Jesse Joshua Watson | Lee & Low Books | 2009 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
18. Garvey’s Choice
Nikki Grimes | Wordsong | 2016 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
19. Rhythm Ride: A Road Trip Through the Motown Sound
Andrea Davis Pinkney | Roaring Brook Press | 2015 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
20. The Blues Singers: Ten Who Rocked the World
Julius Lester | Lisa Cohen | Jump At The Sun, 2001 | Amazon | IndieBound
21. Let Me Hear a Rhyme
Tiffany D. Jackson | Katherine Tegen Books | 2019 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
22. On the Come Up
Angie Thomas | Balzer & Bray/Harperteen | 2019 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
23. Spin
Lamar Giles | Amistad | 2017 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
24. Solo
Kwame Alexander | Mary Rand Hess | Blink | 2017 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
25. Show and Prove
Sofia Quintero | Knopf BYR | 2015 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
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