For Black History Month 2024, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is celebrating the Black experience in art, centering both Black artists and subjects. Historically, Black artists have and continue to create, shape, inspire, and pioneer visual arts, music, cultural movements and more. Join us as we honor the Black experience through book displays, resources, library programs and community events happening this February and throughout the year! Celebrate Black History Month with these book picks!

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If you need help using our Digital Media tools to access these selections, visit our Online Resources Support page.

If you’re looking for more book suggestions, we’re happy to recommend them to you! Use this Book Recommendation form to send us some information about what you like to read and we’ll curate a list just for you.

If you have any additional questions, you can call us at 412-622-3114 or email us at info@carnegielibrary.org. You can find additional ways to contact us on the Need Help? page.

In the Catalog

Ablaze With Color

Ablaze With Color

A Story of Painter Alma Thomas

Jeanne Walker Harvey

Tells the story of painter and teacher Alma Thomas, discussing her childhood, teaching career and activism.

From the Catalog
The Artivist

The Artivist

Nikkolas Smith

Motivated by the realization of global inequities, a young boy embraces his dual identities as an artist and activist, becoming an “Artivist” to make a difference by using his viral mural as a catalyst for positive change.

From the Catalog
Chef Edna

Chef Edna

Queen of Southern Cooking, Edna Lewis

Melvina Noel

Edna loved to cook. Growing up on a farm in Freetown, Virginia, she learned the value of fresh, local, seasonal food from her Mama Daisy, as well as how to measure ingredients for biscuits using coins and to listen closely to her cakes to know when they were done.

From the Catalog
From Hoopla
Feed your Mind

Feed your Mind

A Story of August Wilson

Jen Bryant

Like many of his plays, Feed Your Mind is told in two acts, revealing how Wilson grew up to be one of the most influential American playwrights. The book includes an author’s note, a timeline of August Wilson’s life, a list of Wilson’s plays, and a bibliography.

From the Catalog
From Libby
Holding Her Own

Holding Her Own

The Exceptional Life of Jackie Ormes

Traci N. Todd

The story of Jackie Ormes, the first Black woman cartoonist to be nationally syndicated in the United States.

From the Catalog
Between the Lines

Between the Lines

How Ernie Barnes Went From the Football Field to the Art Gallery

Sandra Neil Wallace

Discover the true story of NFL star Ernie Barnes, a boy who followed his dreams and became one of the most influential artists of his generation.

From the Catalog
Legacy

Legacy

Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance

Nikki Grimes

From Children’s Literature Legacy Award-winning author Nikki Grimes comes a feminist-forward new collection of poetry celebrating the little-known women poets of the Harlem Renaissance– paired with full-color, original art from female African-American illustrators.

From the Catalog
From Libby
Nina

Nina

A Story of Nina Simone

Traci N. Todd

An illustrated biography of Nina Simone, an acclaimed singer whose music gave voice to the struggle for racial equality during the Civil Rights Movement.

From the Catalog
From Libby
There Was A Party for Langston

There Was A Party for Langston

Jason Reynolds

A celebration of Langston Hughes and African American authors he inspired, told through the lens of the party held at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in 1991.

From the Catalog
From Libby
We Can

We Can

Portraits of Power

Tyler Gordon

Partially-deaf, teenage prodigy Tyler Gordon presents bold paintings of more than 30 groundbreaking icons whose brave examples helped him deal with bullying. Brief commentaries explain Gordon’s choices and share insights about his painting process.

From the Catalog
You Gotta Meet Mr. Pierce!

You Gotta Meet Mr. Pierce!

The Storied Life of Folk Artist Elijah Pierce

Chiquita Mullins Lee

Based on the true story of artist Elijah Pierce and his community barbershop, this picture book biography is a new and engaging offering on a hidden figure in Black art history.

From the Catalog