The Ten Best Black Books of 2014

1.         Justice While Black: Helping African-American Families Navigate

and Survive the Criminal Justice System

            by Robbin Shipp, Esq. and Nick Chiles 

           2.         An Obama's Journey: My Odyssey of Self-Discovery across Three Cultures

            by Mark Obama Ndesandjo

3.         Who We Be: The Colorization of America

            by Jeff Chang

4.         Blessed Experiences: Genuinely Southern, Proudly Black

            by Congressman James E. Clyburn (D-SC)

            Foreword by Alfre Woodard

5.         Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina

            by Misty Copeland

6.         One Nation: What We Can All Do to Save America’s Future

            by Dr. Ben Carson and Candy Carson

7.         Finding Your Roots

            by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. 

8.         What the Word Be: Why Black English Is the King’s (James) English

            by Diane Proctor Reeder

9.         Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Final Year

             by Tavis Smiley 

             with David Ritz

10.       Culture Worrier: Reflections on Race, Politics and Social Change

             by Clarence Page

Honorable Mention

Why Vegan is the New Black

by Deborrah Cooper

The Lawyer as Leader: How to Plant People and Grow Justice

by Dr. Artika R. Tyner

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption

by Bryan Stevenson

Stokely: A Life

by Peniel E. Joseph

Brown Girl Dreaming

by Jacqueline Woodson

The Light of Truth: Writings of an Anti-Lynching Crusader

by Ida B. Wells 

Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Mia Bay

General Editor: Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

The Rise

Creativity, the Gift of Failure, and the Search for Mastery

by Sarah Lewis

Success through Stillness: Meditation Made Simple

by Russell Simmons

The Imperfect Marriage

Help for Those Who Think It’s Over

by Darryl and Tracy Strawberry 

Inside the Hotel Rwanda: The Surprising True Story… and Why It Matters Today

by Edouard Kayihura and Kerry Zukus

Handbook for an Unpredictable Life: How I Survived Sister Renata and My Crazy   

Mother, and Still Came out Smiling (with Great Hair)

by Rosie Perez

The Global Obama: Crossroads of Leadership in the 21^st Century

Edited by Dinesh Sharma and Uwe P. Gielen

Black and White: The Way I See It

by Richard Williams

Transforming Pain to Power: Unlock Your Unlimited Potential

by Daniel Beaty

Story/Time: The Life of an Idea

by Bill T. Jones

Place, Not Race: A New Vision of Opportunity in America

by Sheryll Cashin

Old School Adventures from Englewood--South Side of Chicago

by Elaine Hegwood Bowen

The Man from Essence

by Edward Lewis with Audrey Edwards

Foreword by Camille O. Cosby

Nine Lives of a Black Panther: A Story of Survival

by Wayne Pharr

Rainbow in the Cloud: The Wisdom and Spirit of Maya Angelou

by Maya Angelou

Cosby: His Life and Times

by Mark Whitaker

A Black Gambler’s World of Liquor, Vice and Presidential Politics: William   

Thomas Scott of Illinois, 1839-1917

by Bruce L. Mouser

Foreword byDr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

The Myth of Race, The Reality of Racism

by Mahmoud El-Kati

Our Ancestors, Our Stories

by Harris Bailey, Jr., Bernice Alexander Bennett, Ellen LeVonne Butler, Ethel Dailey, Vincent Sheppard and Dr. Orville Vernon Burton

Things I Should Have Told My Daughter: Lies, Lessons and Love Affairs

by Pearl Cleage

Yoga, Meditation and Spiritual Growth for the African-American Community

by Daya Devi-Doolin

How the Poor Can Save Capitalism: Rebuilding the Path to the Middle Class

by John Hope Bryant 

Foreword by Ambassador Andrew Young

The Justice Imperative: How Hyper-Incarceration Has Hijacked the American   Dream

by Brian E. Moran, Esq. 

Not for Everyday Use: A Memoir

by Elizabeth Nunez

This Nonviolent Stuff’ll Get You Killed: How Guns Made the Civil Rights Movement Possible

by Charles E. Cobb, Jr.

America’s Music: Jazz in Newark

by Barbara Kukla

240 Ways to Close the Achievement Gap: Teachers Only Workbook (Vol. 2)

by M. Donnell Tenner, Joy Gay and Dr. Marti Dryk

Misdiagnosed: The Search for Dr. House

by Nika C. Beamon

Racial Innocence: Performing American Childhood from Slavery to Civil Rights

by Robin Bernstein

Guiou: The Other Blacks - The Afro-Jamaican Presence in Guatemala

by Gloria J. Arnold

Dollar Democracy: With Liberty and Justice for Some

by Peter Mathews

Pageants, Parlors & Pretty Women: Race and Beauty in the 20^th Century South

by Blain Roberts

Unbreak My Heart: A Memoir

by Toni Braxton

Thirty-Three Days of Praise: Seeing the Good in Cancer

by Karrie Marchbanks