Diverse Books: Social Justice

After the traumas of slavery and the Civil War came the Reconstruction era. Lasting from 1865 to 1877, the period saw huge gains made as Black people built political power and established… Read More →

The Civil War began when eleven Southern states refused to give up the practice of slavery and seceded to form the Confederate States of America. In both the Union and the Confederacy,… Read More →

On November 14, 1960, first graders Leona Tate, Tessie Prevost, and Gail Etienne stepped into history by going to school. Escorted by U.S. Marshals and facing swarms of shouting protestors,… Read More →

Isabella changed her name to Sojourner Truth because she “was to travel up an’ down this land…to declare truth to the people.” Her strong voice and faith forced people to listen to her, in… Read More →

Sojourner Truth was born to slaves. She had no choice. But when she grew to be a young mother herself, she ran away with her child looking for freedom. She used her voice to speak for all… Read More →

This important follow-up to the bestselling, groundbreaking, and inspiring Something Happened in Our Town is a much-needed story to help communities in the aftermath of gun violence. When… Read More →

A Minneapolis Children’s Theatre Company Original World Premiere Production A NEW YORK TIMES and #1 INDIEBOUND BEST SELLER American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom's Top… Read More →

In this realistic and empowering tale, Carmen learns that through community and love, she can find strength in herself and maintain her connection with her Papi, who has been detained because Read More →

Arguably one of the most prominent US Supreme Court Justices at the moment, Sonia Sotomayor has paved her own way to enact profound changes and reforms, despite the obstacles that stood in… Read More →

Associate justice Sonia Sotomayor is the first Hispanic person and third woman to serve on the US Supreme Court. She has been breaking barriers since reading detective novels and watching… Read More →

Stacey Abrams is a lawyer, entrepreneur, and voting rights activist. After working in government, she founded Fair Fight Action to improve voting access. Learn about Abrams's early life and… Read More →

Acclaimed creator Melanie Gillman (Stonewall Award Honor Book As the Crow Flies) brings together two unlikely partners, a Latinx outlaw and a trans runaway, for a rollicking queer western… Read More →

Silence. That was the response at Cafe Society the first time Billie Holiday performed a song called "Strange Fruit." In the 1930s, Billie was known as a performer of jazz and blues music,… Read More →

Sarah E. Goode was one of the first African-American women to get a US patent. Working in her furniture store, she recognized a need for a multi-use bed and through hard work, ingenuity, and… Read More →

Following a heated argument between two students, a teacher demonstrates how one person can inspire change. In this book, students in a futuristic classroom learn about topics like individual Read More →

David Hogg was 18 and just a few months from graduation when a shooter entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, killing 17 people and injuring 17 others. David used his phone to record… Read More →

In the United States, the conversation about teen incarceration has moved from one extreme to another. For centuries, execution of juvenile offenders was legal. By the twenty-first century,… Read More →

What do you know about the American Indian rights movement? You may have heard about modern pipeline protests, but this resistance has its roots in the early years of the United States, when… Read More →

Who were the jujitsuffragettes? In the early twentieth century, women in England demanded the right to vote—and faced violent retaliation. Rather than back down, the suffragist group Women's… Read More →

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor, ALA Notable Children's Book, CCBC Best Children's Book of the Year, Jane Addams Children's Book Award, Kirkus Best Children's Books, NCTE Notable… Read More →