Press Release: More than 50,000 Books by Black Authors or about Black History Borrowed from DC Public Library in the Past Year

News Release — DC Public Library

For Planning/Immediate Release

February 13, 2020

Media Contact: George Williams, Media Relations Manager

Michelle Obama’s “Becoming” Ranks Number One in Titles Overall and Non-Fiction

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, DC Public Library released its list of the most popular titles by black authors and/or related to black history in the past year. According to their records, more than 50,000 books by or about African-Americans have been borrowed since February 2019 including works by Pulitzer Prize-winning authors, children’s books and local authors.

Top Titles Overall

1. Becoming by Michelle Obama
2. An American Marriage: A Novel by Tavari Jones  
3. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas  
4. Washington Black: A Novel by Esi Edugyan
5. Heads of the Colored People: Stories by Nafissa Thompson-Spires
6. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
7. The Nickel Boys: A Novel by Colson Whitehead
8. Sing, Unburied, Sing: A Novel by Jesmyn Ward
9. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
10. Chocolate City: A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation’s Capital by Chris Myers Asch and George Derek Musgrove

Top Fiction Titles

1. An American Marriage: A Novel by Tavari Jones
2. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
3. Washington Black: A Novel by Esi Edugyan
4. Heads of the Colored People: Stories by Nafissa Thompson-Spires
5. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
6. The Nickel Boys: A Novel by Colson Whitehead
7. Sing, Unburied, Sing: A Novel by Jesmyn Ward
8. On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
9. The Water Dancer: A Novel by Ta-Nehisi Coates
10. The Bluest Eye: A Novel by Toni Morrison

Top Non-Fiction Titles

1. Becoming by Michelle Obama
2. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
3. Chocolate City: A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation’s Capital by Chris Myers Asch
4. Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom by David W. Blight
5. The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
6. Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon
7. How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
8. The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
9. Spying on the South: An Odyssey Across the American Divide by Tony Horwitz
10. Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” by Zora Neale Hurston

To learn what the Library has planned in celebration of Black History Month, visit https://www.dclibrary.org/blackhistory Not sure which book to read? Interested in a different title? The Library offers curated readings lists for Black History Month and a variety of other topics. Librarians can also personalize recommendations for cardholders. To learn more, visit dclibrary.org or a DC Public Library location. 

#