Black History Month 2025

Celebrate Black History Month 2025: Standing Firm in Power and Pride

October marks Black History Month, a time to honour and celebrate the rich heritage, achievements, and contributions of Black communities across the UK and beyond.

 

This year’s theme, “Standing Firm in Power and Pride,” invites us to reflect on stories of resilience, identity, and empowerment, and to amplify voices that have shaped history and continue to inspire change.

 

Across our libraries, we’ll be showcasing a selection of titles for Adults, Children, and Young Adults that explore Black British history, African heritage, and themes of activism, pride, and cultural identity. These booklists highlight both powerful non-fiction and compelling fiction by Black authors, offering readers of all ages the opportunity to learn, connect, and celebrate.

 

Children's Booklist

 

Picture Books

 

Halima, Superhero Princess – Emily Joof

Picture Book 9781782509066

https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/manifestations/69DC044957C3442E9D384C5DF4E074:3412363

Halima is a young Black girl who overcomes her self-doubt, rooted in feeling different from her white friends, and discovers her inner superhero princess. This is an empowering story about inner belief and self-expression from the author of 'I Will Swim Next Time'.

 

 

 

L is for Love – Atinuke

Picture Book 9781529523577

https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/manifestations/69DC044957C3442E9D384C5DF4E074:3443970

A whole family set off to sell their luscious lemons at the market in Lagos. They leave before dawn with lamps in hand and loads on heads. They have quite an adventure ahead of them - over logs, on a leaky lorry, through lightning, past lions and leopards until eventually reaching Lagos. The city is bustling and loud - there are lots of legs to get lost between! - but they can finally sell their luscious lemons.

 

 

 

Dear Black Boy – Marty

Picture Book for Older Readers 9780711297074

https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/manifestations/69DC044957C3442E9D384C5DF4E074:3441608

Written and illustrated by multitalented father and Super Bowl champion Martellus Bennett, 'Dear Black Boy' is a letter of encouragement to all boys of colour who feel like sport is their only choice.

 

 

Children’s Fiction

 

Kofi and the Brand New Vibe – Jeffrey Boakye

Children’s Fiction 9780571396436 (NYP October 2025)

Kofi is having so much fun! The success of Clipper FM has led to Kofi and his crew becoming underground stars in their local area and beyond. But then the radio recognition draws the attention of a new rapper on the scene, Snipa, who seems determined to take the top spot. Will Kofi be able to reach his dreams of success? And can he avoid getting dragged into trouble?

 

 

 

Black Girl Power: 15 Stories Celebrating Black Girlhood – ed Leah Johnson

Children’s Fiction 9780702324642

https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/manifestations/69DC044957C3442E9D384C5DF4E074:3436455

A joyous anthology full of Black girl power curated by critically acclaimed and award-winning author, Leah Johnson.

 

Breaking News – Christine Platt

L (Learning to Read) 9781529526349

https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/manifestations/69DC044957C3442E9D384C5DF4E074:3441719

Frankie's mama is leaving to cover a breaking news story. Frankie, Papa and Frankie's teenage sister, Raven, are all proud of Mama, even though they miss her when she's away. But Frankie has a great idea: she can make her own news show! After all, Mama has told her that news is happening around her all the time. With a little assistance from her friends - including her doll Farrah, Robert the toy robot, and her tabby cat, Nina Simone - Frankie prepares for her first 'broadcast'. And when she hears someone crying in the house, she knows that's the developing story she must cover.

Young Adult

 

Black Star – Kwame Alexander

Young Adult 9781839136351 (NYP 25 September 2025)

Twelve-year old Charley is set on becoming the first female pitcher to play professional baseball, even if that's a lofty dream for a Black girl in the American South in the 1920s. Even so, her grandfather Kofi's thrilling stories about courageous ancestors and epic journeys make it impossible not to dream big. She knows he has so much more to tell, but according to her parents, she isn't old enough to know about certain things, like what happened to Booker Preston that one night in Great Bridge, and why she can never play on the brand-new baseball field on the other side of town.

 

 

Needy Little Things – Channelle Desamours

Young Adult 9781526675064

When Sariyah's birthday celebrations at a music festival turn sour with the disappearance of one of her friends, she knows she can't rely on the police to find her. The authorities are no more help than they were when her friend's twin sister, another young woman of color, went missing five years earlier. Sariyah feels guilty that her uncanny ability to predict people's needs didn't help to keep her friends safe. She is determined to find out what's happened to Deja. But the more she cracks the clues leading to her, the closer she gets to home.

 

The Boy Lost In The Maze – Joseph Coelho

Young Adult 9781915659750

https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/manifestations/69DC044957C3442E9D384C5DF4E074:3458126

A spellbinding novel told in poems, blending the ancient legend of the Minotaur with the quest of a modern-day teenage boy to find his biological father.

 

 

Children’s Non Fiction

 

A Year of Black Joy – Jamia Wilson

C305.896 / 9781917366007 (NYP 25 September 2025)

Here is an uplifting and empowering anthology of joyful contributions from 52 contemporary Black voices including chef Andi Oliver, author Patrice Lawrence, space scientist Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock and climate activist Vanessa Nakate.

 

10 Children Who Changed the World  - Joseph Paterson

C305.23 / 9781526366955

These ten inspiring children grew up in a time when slavery was still legal in most of the world and people who looked like them weren't expected to become important. But they did! The ten all went on to change the world through their acts of rebellion, bravery and adventure that helped secure their freedom and the freedom of so many from slavery. But how did these inspirational people change the world? To answer that, we'll have to go back in time and met the ten aged ten, where their stories truly began.

 

 

The Story of Britain’s Black Nurses – K.N. Chimbiri

C610.73 / 9780702314452

https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/manifestations/69DC044957C3442E9D384C5DF4E074:3428771

From the outbreak of the Crimean War to the founding of the NHS, 'The Story of Britain's Black Nurses' spans some of the UK's toughest times, its trials, tribulations and the triumphs and grit of its heroic nurses.

 

Children’s Non Fiction

 

Migration – Millie Mensah

C305.896 / 9780241552803

https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/manifestations/69DC044957C3442E9D384C5DF4E074:3115355

Discover how migration has been part of British history right from the start. For example, did you know Black people lived in Britain during Roman times? Or that there was a Black trumpeter in Henry VIII's court? Discover the Black British people who campaigned for the abolition of slavery in the 18th century, like Olaudah Equiano. Find out what brought people to Britain in the 20th century and what life was like for them. Learn how migration is important to Britain's identity and history, and how it continues today.

 

 

 

Brilliant Black British History – Atinuke

C941004 / 9781526657404

https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/manifestations/69DC044957C3442E9D384C5DF4E074:3424270

Did you know that the first people who settled on the grey-green islands of Great Britain were Black? How about that some of the Roman soldiers who invaded and even ruled Britain were Black, too? After that there were Black Tudors, Georgians and Victorians. In this easy-to-read, chronological journey through our shared history, Atinuke brings her experience as an oral storyteller to carry readers through the fascinating history of Black people in Britain.

 

Adults Booklist

 

And So I Roar – Abi Dare

General Fiction 9781529383553

https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/manifestations/69DC044957C3442E9D384C5DF4E074:3463688

When Tia accidentally overhears a whispered conversation between her mother - terminally ill and lying in a hospital bed in Port Harcourt, Nigeria - and her aunt, the repercussions will send her on a desperate quest to uncover a secret her mother has been hiding for nearly two decades. Back home in Lagos a few days later, Adunni, a plucky 14-year-old runaway, is lying awake in Tia's guest room. Having escaped from her rural village in a desperate bid to seek a better future, she's finally found refuge with Tia, who has helped her enroll in school. It's always been Adunni's dream to get an education, and she's bursting with excitement. Suddenly, there's a horrible knocking at the front gate. It's only the beginning of a harrowing ordeal that will see Tia forced to make a terrible choice between protecting Adunni or finally learning the truth.

 

One of Our Kind – Nicola Yoon

General Fiction 9781398715417

https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/manifestations/69DC044957C3442E9D384C5DF4E074:3458334

When Jasmyn Williams and her husband King realise they're expecting their second child, they decide to move to the town of Liberty, California hoping to find a community of like-minded people, where their growing family can thrive in a majority-Black environment. King settles in at once, embracing the Liberty ethos, including the luxe wellness centre at the top of the hill which proves to be the heart of the community. But Jasmyn struggles to find her place. She expected to find liberals and social justice activists striving for racial equality, but Liberty residents seem more focused on booking spa treatments and ignoring the world's troubles. Then, as Jasmyn gets further into her pregnancy, she discovers a terrible secret that turns her frustration to dread. A secret that could threaten the safety of not only her family, but everything she believes in.

 

The Most Secret Memory of Men – Mohamed Mbougar Sarr

General Fiction 9781529933550

https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/manifestations/69DC044957C3442E9D384C5DF4E074:3457917

Paris, 2018. Diegane Latyr Faye, a young Senegalese writer, discovers a legendary book titled The Maze of Inhumanity. It has an immediate hold over him. No one knows what happened to the author, T.C. Elimane, who was accused of plagiarism, his reputation destroyed by the critics. Obsessed with discovering the truth about Elimane's disappearance, Faye weaves past and present, countries and continents, following the author's labyrinthine trail from Senegal to Argentina and France and confronting the great tragedies of history. Will he get to the truth at the centre of the maze?

 

 

Adult Fiction

 

James – Percival Everett

Historical 9781035031269

https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/manifestations/69DC044957C3442E9D384C5DF4E074:3445894

The Mississippi River, 1861. When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a new owner in New Orleans and separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson's Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father who recently returned to town. Thus begins a dangerous and transcendent journey by raft along the Mississippi River, toward the elusive promise of free states and beyond. As James and Huck begin to navigate the treacherous waters, each bend in the river holds the promise of both salvation and demise. With rumours of a brewing war, James must face the burden he carries: the family he is desperate to protect and the constant lie he must live. And together, the unlikely pair must face the most dangerous odyssey of them all.

 

Good Dirt – Charmaine Wilkerson

General Fiction 9780241529942

https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/manifestations/69DC044957C3442E9D384C5DF4E074:3443842

When Ebby Freeman travels to France to take a three-month hiatus from her complicated home life, the last person she expects to find is her ex-fiance Henry, with his new girlfriend in tow. Nearly twenty years earlier, the Freemans were the only African American family living in a wealthy coastal enclave in Connecticut when armed robbers invaded their home and tragedy changed their lives forever. Then, just as Ebby thought she had a new chance at happiness, her storybook romance with Henry fell apart. Now, this unexpected encounter with Henry will force Ebby to reckon with her past and to think on the other loss her family suffered that day - the destruction of a beloved stoneware jar crafted by an enslaved ancestor and passed down through the generations. A piece that might hold not only her family history, but also the key to reclaiming her future.

 

Gaslit – Femi Kayode

Crime 9781526617613

Folasade Dawodu is married to the Bishop of a Nigerian Megachurch. She is prominent, she is young, she inspires: she is the First Lady. But when Bishop Jeremiah Dawodu is arrested at the pulpit for the murder of his beloved wife, shock cuts through this tight community. The arrest is televised all around Lagos, but while Bishop consistently maintains his innocence, and his congregation believe him, the First Lady remains missing. Philip Taiwo, compassionate investigative psychologist, is asked by his sister, a member of the Dawodus' church, to take on the case: to find out the truth, whatever the cost. But as he searches for Folasade, his own beloved family begins to fracture.

 

Adult Fiction

 

Allow Me To Introduce Myself – Onyi, Nwabineli

General Fiction 9780861546879

https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/manifestations/69DC044957C3442E9D384C5DF4E074:3421405

Every second of Anuri's life has been documented on social media. Now, it's time to take back control. Anuri's stepmother, Ophelia, is the ultimate 'mumfluencer'. Throughout Anuri's childhood, she catalogued every minute, milestone and carefully curated family outing on social media, cultivating a devoted - and sizeable - following. Now twenty-five years old, life looks pretty perfect on the outside. Ophelia's fans could be forgiven for wondering why Anuri spends much of her time insulting men online for money, battling the call of alcohol, running from a PhD application, and reminding herself that she is now allowed to choose her own outfits. But when she sees her little sister being pushed down the same rocky path by Ophelia, she decides to take back control.

 

The Unicorn Woman – Gayl Jones

General Fiction 9780349016931

https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/manifestations/69DC044957C3442E9D384C5DF4E074:3463721

A cook and tractor repairman, Buddy was known as Budweiser to his army pals because he's a wise guy. But underneath that surface, he is a true self-educated intellectual and a classic seeker: looking for religion, looking for meaning, looking for love. His odyssey takes him from his hometown of Lexington, Kentucky to Memphis, Tennessee, as he recalls his love affairs in post-war France and encounters a dazzling array of almost mythical characters: circus barkers, topiary trimmers, landladies who provide shelter and plenty of advice for their all-Black clientele, proto feminists, bigots, and - most unforgettably - the Unicorn Woman herself.

Adult Fiction

 

Dream Count – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

General Fiction 9780008685737

https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/manifestations/69DC044957C3442E9D384C5DF4E074:3447801

The story of four women and their loves, longings, and desires. Chiamaka is a Nigerian travel writer living in America. Alone in the midst of the pandemic, she recalls her past lovers and grapples with her choices and regrets. Zikora, her best friend, is a lawyer who has been successful at everything until - betrayed and brokenhearted - she must turn to the person she thought she needed least. Omelogor, Chiamaka's bold, outspoken cousin, is a financial powerhouse in Nigeria who begins to question how well she knows herself. And Kadiatou, Chiamaka's housekeeper, is proudly raising her daughter in America - but faces an unthinkable hardship that threatens all she has worked to achieve. In 'Dream Count', Adichie trains her fierce eye on these women in a sparkling, transcendent novel that takes up the very nature of love itself. Is true happiness ever attainable or is it just a fleeting state?

 

Out There Screaming: an anthology of new Black horror – ed. Jordan Peele

Horror 9781035040308

https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/manifestations/69DC044957C3442E9D384C5DF4E074:3429824

Featuring an introduction by Jordan Peele and an all-star roster of beloved writers and new voices, 'Out There Screaming' is a master class in horror, and - like his spine-chilling films - its stories prey on everything we think we know about our world, and redefine what it means to be afraid. Very afraid.

 

 

Adult Non-Fiction

 

Reframing Blackness: what’s Black about ‘History of Art’? – Alayo Akikugbe

704.0396 / 9781529186406

https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/manifestations/69DC044957C3442E9D384C5DF4E074:3465221

 

In 'Reframing Blackness', art historian and founder of @ABlackHistoryOfArt, Alayo Akinkugbe challenges this void. Exploring the presentation of Black figures in Western art, as well as Blackness in museums, in feminist art movements and in the curriculum, Alayo unveils an overlooked but integral part of our collective art history. Refreshing and accessible, this promises to start a much-needed conversation in culture and education.

 

Unbreakable: the trailblazing SAS soldier who never backed down – Melvyn Downes

B/DOWN 9781529961096

https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/manifestations/69DC044957C3442E9D384C5DF4E074:3462502

A frightened boy pursued by racist bullies who grew up to become a trailblazing soldier in the British Army and then the SAS, Melvyn Downes was one of the first British-born Black men to join the elite regiment. During his 24 years of service, he was involved in secret missions across more than 50 countries and since leaving active duty has travelled to some of the world's most dangerous places, protecting charity workers and journalists amidst natural disasters and in brutal conflict zones. In this gripping memoir, Melvyn takes us behind enemy lines and onto the front line of war, never shying away from the darker side of what he endured, such as losing friends, experiencing psychological traumas and facing racial harassment head-on. Yet, he believes that with the right willpower and mindset, anyone can overcome life's challenges.

 

We Were There – Lanre Bakare

305.896041 / 9781847927477

https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/manifestations/69DC044957C3442E9D384C5DF4E074:3450415

From the late 1970s to the early 1990s Britain was in tumult: rocked by Margaret Thatcher's radical economic policy, the rise of the National Front, widespread civil unrest. With anti-immigration policies in the political mainstream, Black lives were on the frontline of a racial reckoning. But it was also a time of unrivalled Black cultural creation, organising and resistance. This was the crucible in which modern Britain came into existence. 'We Were There' brings into the spotlight extraordinary Black lives in once-rich cities now home to failing industries: the foundries of Birmingham, the docks of Liverpool and Cardiff, the mills of Bradford. We are in Wigan, Wolverhampton, Manchester and the green expanse of the British countryside. We meet feminists and Rastafarians, academics and pan-Africanists, environmental campaigners and rugby-league superstars.

Just Sayin’: My Life in Words – Malorie Blackman

B/BLAC 9781529118698

https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/manifestations/69DC044957C3442E9D384C5DF4E074:3366949

Malorie Blackman OBE is one of Britain's best loved and most widely-read writers. For over thirty years, her books have helped to shape British culture, and inspired generations of younger readers and writers. The 'Noughts and Crosses' series, started in 2000, sparked a new and necessary conversation about race and identity in the UK, and are already undisputed classics of twenty-first-century children's literature. This book is an account of that journey, from a childhood surrounded by words, to the 83 rejection letters she received in response to sending out her first project, to the children's laureateship.

Black Teacher – Beryl Gilroy

371.10092 / 9780571366989

https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/manifestations/69DC044957C3442E9D384C5DF4E074:3114031

Working in an office amidst the East End's bombsites. Serving as a lady's maid to an Empire-loving aristocrat. Being repeatedly denied jobs due to the colour bar. Marrying an English man and raising two mixed-race children in suburbia. Becoming one of the first black headteachers in Britain. Beryl Gilroy's new life wasn't what she had expected. In 1952, she moved from Guyana to London to pursue her dream of teaching, only to experience Britain's racist post-war society. After finally securing a teaching post, she faced fear and curiosity from her pupils, bigoted abuse from parents, and semi-segregation among staff. But over the course of her trailblazing career, Gilroy only grew braver, learning the value of education in combating prejudice and rising to become a pioneering headmistress. This title tells Gilroy's story in her own words.