A biography of the nineteenth-century woman who escaped slavery and helped many other slaves get to freedom on the Underground Railroad. --

Before John Glenn orbited the earth or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as "human computers" used pencils, slide rules and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space. Among these problem-solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women, some of the brightest minds of their generation. Originally relegated to teaching math in...

"One of the most prominent voices of her generation debuts with an extraordinarily powerful memoir: the story of a childhood defined by the ever looming absence of her incarcerated father and the path we must take to both honor and overcome our origins. For as long as she could remember, Ashley has put her father on a pedestal. Despite having only vague memories of seeing him face-to-face, she believes he's the only person in the entire world who...

This is the story of Condoleezza Rice--her early years growing up in the hostile environment of Brimingham, Alabama; her rising in the ranks at Stanford University to become the university's second-in-command and an expert in Soviet and Eastern European Affairs; and finally, in 2000, her appointment as the first black woman ever to serve as Secretary of State.

"A unique memoir explores what it feels like to grow up as Black girl in the South navigating a complex interplay of race, class, and gender while trying to find a singular voice as a writer."--

This YA biography of the former First Lady considers her journey from Chicago to the White House in the larger context of African American history.
 
Michelle Obama grew up on Chicago's South Side, and while the world outside her door was chaotic and ever-changing, her family provided a stable environment in which she could grow and flourish. This biography of the former First Lady shows how a girl from a working class...

"Did you know that Harriet Tubman helped runaway slaves escape to freedom? She took them to Canada. Find out more in Harriet Tubman, a Historical Heroes book." --

Harriet Tubman is one of the giants of American history-a fearless visionary who led scores of her fellow slaves to freedom and battled courageously behind enemy lines during the Civil War. And yet in the century since her death, next to nothing has been written about this extraordinary woman aside from juvenile biographies. The truth about Harriet Tubman has become lost inside a legend woven of racial and gender stereotypes. Now at last, historian...

Acclaimed author Marita Golden is a respected voice in both fiction and nonfiction. She is also the founder and CEO of the Hurston/Wright Foundation, whose mission is to develop, nurture and sustain the world community of writers of African descent. In this thoughtful and personal work, Golden tackles the dangerous notion that it is preferable for African-Americans to have lighter instead of darker complexions.

A former national security advisor and Secretary of State offers the compelling story of her eight years serving at the highest levels of government, including the difficult job she faced in the wake of 9/11.