Non-Fiction Books By Black Women
Non-fiction has always been one of my favorite genres. These stories bring me closer to people I may know by name, but have always wanted to truly understand. From autobiographies to memoirs, I love curling up with a book that invites me into someone’s lived experience.
Social media gives us a glimpse into the lives of people we admire, but when that person writes a book, it feels like a veil is lifted. Suddenly, you’re not just seeing the highlight reel, you’re witnessing their struggles, resilience, and the moments that kept them moving forward when giving up might have seemed easier.
Here is a list of non-fiction books by Black women that you must read…
107 Days by Kamala Harris
Your Secret Service code name is Pioneer.
You are the first woman in history to be elected vice president of the United States.
On July 21, 2024, your running mate, Joe Biden, announces that he will not be seeking reelection.
The presidential election will occur on November 5, 2024.
You have 107 days.
From the chaos of campaign strategy sessions to the intensity of debate prep under relentless scrutiny and the private moments that rarely make headlines, Kamala Harris offers an unfiltered look at the pressures, triumphs, and heartbreaks of a history-defining race. With behind-the-scenes details and a voice that is both intimate and urgent, this is more than a political memoir—it’s a chronicle of resilience, leadership, and the high stakes of democracy in action.
Written with candor, a unique perspective, and the pace of a page-turning novel, 107 Days takes you inside the race for the presidency as no one has ever done before.
Plain Jayne: A Memoir by Jayne Kennedy
Jayne Kennedy is one of the most photographed, glamorous, and intriguing women ever to set foot in Hollywood. Perhaps best known for her groundbreaking work in 1978–1980 on the Emmy Award–winning CBS program The NFL Today, she’s an icon and trailblazer in every sense of the word.
From becoming the first Black woman to win Miss Ohio USA, to being the only woman to host the long-running syndicated television show Greatest Sports Legends, and pioneering the fitness industry with her bestselling Love Your Body exercise videos and fitness programs, nobody has had a career trajectory quite like Jayne.
And she has never gone on the record about her personal experiences and the resulting joys and scars—until now. Her candid and conversational storytelling will endear her once again to her existing fans as well as open her up to a new audience that will admire her message of resilience and empowerment. Jayne has long been a beacon of Black and female excellence and has opened doors for female talent and media executives.
Uncommon Favor: Basketball, North Philly, My Mother, and the Life Lessons I Learned from All Three by Dawn Staley
A three-time Olympic gold medalist, six-time WNBA All-Star, and the first person to win the Naismith College Player of the Year award as both a player and coach, Staley has shattered expectations at every level of the game. While her name resonates with both longtime WNBA fans and newcomers, she has kept her personal life private.
Uncommon Favor reveals the journey that led to Staley’s success, including the challenges she faced. From dealing with sexism on the court to feeling isolated in new environments, Staley honed her skills and learned valuable life lessons about mental fortitude and maturity that have grounded her throughout her career.
Beginning with her humble origins on the North Philadelphia basketball court and her rise to national fame at the University of Virginia—where she led her team to three Final Fours—Staley recounts the key moments that shaped her winning mindset.
Grant Me Vision: A Journey of Family, Faith, and Forgiveness by Sabrina Greenlee
Sabrina Greenlee was born to teenage parents in the shadow of South Carolina’s Clemson University, and her story unfolds against the backdrop of her challenging upbringing in a family that lacked the means—financial and emotional—to offer her and her two brothers the safety, comfort, and love every child deserves.
When she was a teenager, her beloved younger brother, Dilly, died in a drunk driving accident. In her early twenties, Sabrina faced the tragic loss of her fiancé and one true love. A decade later, she was brutally and publicly assaulted, resulting in the loss of her vision.
After years of abusive relationships, Sabrina willed herself to achieve the kind of life she had always dreamed of. She became the loving and dependable mother she wished she’d had, raising four children— including star athletes—who attended college and are successful in their chosen fields.
She also found the courage to break the silence that enshrouded her life, ending the trauma that had damaged her family for generations—allowing Sabrina and her kin to heal. Today, she works to help other women assert their power and find the faith to have strength even when the future seems hopeless—just as she herself has.
Fearless and Free: A Memoir by Josephine Baker
After stealing the spotlight as a teenaged Broadway performer during the height of the Harlem Renaissance, Josephine then took Paris by storm, dazzling audiences across the Roaring Twenties. In her famous banana skirt, she enraptured royalty and countless fans—Ernest Hemingway and Pablo Picasso among them. She strolled the streets of Paris with her pet cheetah wearing a diamond collar. With her signature flapper bob and enthralling dance moves, she was one of the most recognizable women in the world.
When World War II broke out, Josephine became a decorated spy for the French Résistance. Her celebrity worked as her cover, as she hid spies in her entourage and secret messages in her costumes as she traveled. She later joined the Civil Rights movement in the US, boycotting segregated concert venues and speaking at the March on Washington alongside Martin Luther King Jr.
First published in France in 1949, her memoir will now finally be published in English.
Joy Goddess: A’Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance by A’Lelia Bundles
After inheriting her mother’s hair care enterprise, A’Lelia would become America’s first high profile black heiress and a prominent patron of the arts.
Joy Goddess takes readers inside her three New York homes—a mansion, a townhouse, and a pied-a-terre—where she entertained Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Paul Robeson, Florence Mills, James Weldon Johnson, Carl Van Vechten, W.E.B. DuBois, and other cultural, social and intellectual luminaries of the Roaring Twenties.
Now, based on extensive research and Walker’s personal correspondence, her great-granddaughter creates a meticulous, nuanced portrait of a charismatic woman struggling to define herself as a wife, mother, and businesswoman outside her famous mother’s sphere.
In Joy Goddess, A’Lelia’s radiant personality and impresario instincts—at the center of a vast, artistic social world where she flourished as a fashion trendsetter and international traveler—are brought to vivid and unforgettable life.
Firstborn Girls: A Memoir by Bernice L. McFadden
On her second birthday in 1967, Bernice McFadden died in a car crash near Detroit, only to be resuscitated after her mother pulled her from the flaming wreckage. Firstborn Girls traces her remarkable life from that moment up to the publication of her first novel, Sugar.
Growing up in 1980s Brooklyn, Bernice finds solace in books, summer trips to Barbados, and boarding school to escape her alcoholic father. Discovering the works of Alice Walker and Toni Morrison, she finally sees herself and her loved ones reflected in their stories of “messy, beautiful, joyful Black people.”
Interwoven with Bernice’s personal journey is her family’s history, beginning with her four-times enslaved great-grandmother Louisa Vicey Wilson in 1822 Hancock County, Georgia. Her descendants survived Reconstruction and Jim Crow, joined the Great Migration, and mourned Dr. King’s assassination during the Civil Rights Movement. These women’s wisdom, secrets, and fierce love are passed down like Louisa’s handmade quilt.
A memoir of many threads, Firstborn Girls is an extraordinarily moving portrait of a life shaped by family, history, and the drive to be something more.
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Ann Jacobs
Harriet Ann Jacob’s autobiography, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” documents her life as a slave and how she attained freedom for herself and her children.
Harrowing in its descriptions of sexual abuse, Jacob’s slave narrative is notable for its appeal to abolitionist women to open their eyes to the realities of slavery. Deemed too shocking for reading audiences at the time, the book was shelved for a time before it was published in 1861 near the start of the Civil War.
