52 Incredible Picture Book Biographies of Black People Creating and Leading

Althea Gibson was the quickest and most fearless athlete in 1940s Harlem. Though she was able to demolish her competition in anything she tried, she wasn’t allowed to play against white athletes. Determined to become the best, though, Althea played her way to the top of Wimbledon, the first Black person to do just that.

Written in 2008 at the start of Obama’s first term as President, this book explores the wide range of experiences he had growing up in Hawaii, through Indonesia and Kenya, and ultimately Chicago and how he held on to the power of hope through his entire life and career.

Laura Wheeler Waring never saw artists who looked like her in the late 19th century—nor did she see people in art who looked like her. When she went to study art in Paris, she found herself inspired by Matisse and Gaugin and came back to Philadelphia to begin painting the people she knew best: those who looked like her.

The story of young John Coltrane and his life growing up in the 1930s south, including the inspirations for his music.

Despite experiencing regular racial discrimination in dance academy—even being told by Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo as a teenager she’d need to paint her skin white to be part—Janet Collins went on to become the first African American principle dancer at the Metropolitan Opera House.

Told from the first-person perspective, this picture book biography of Frederick Douglass explores his desire to learn to read, to write, and to understand his experiences as an enslaved person who didn’t know his father or even when he was born.

Get to know a pioneer in STEM with this book about Charles Henry Turner, the first African American entomologist. Turner explored questions about the insects around him not only through books but through his own experiments.

Unlike so many of his African American counterparts at the time, Tindley was not enslaved when he was born. His life was far from easy though, and during the long days working, he found himself learning spirituals. He also taught himself to read at night. From these experiences, he was able to become a founder of American gospel music, becoming most well-known for his Civil Rights anthem “We Shall Overcome.”

Cruz was an Afro-Latina salsa singer, and this book celebrates her life and legacy from her childhood to her worldwide fame.

Growing up in the segregated south, Coretta Scott knew how unfair her life was, and together with Martin Luther King Jr. she helped to usher in the push for change through nonviolent protest.

You know her story from Hidden Figures, but this picture book biography of NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson offers a more intimate look into how she ensured Apollo 13 made it home safely. Becker and Phumiruk dig into her childhood, her dreams, and her lasting legacy.

An incredible evocative and rich story of a man named Dave who, in 1800s South Carolina, combined his skills as an artist and poet to create pottery to tell a story far bigger than his individual experiences being enslaved.

Freelon’s grandfather was a well-known painter of the Harlem Renaissance, and his father was a businessman who attended the March on Washington in 1963. In attending architecture school, Freelon decided to focus specifically on African American and Islamic design to create communal spaces that welcomed people to connect with heritage and legacy. You may recognize his 2009 work, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

You know his music. Now get to know the life of Duke Ellington, celebrated Black musician.

Brooks was the first Black person to win a Pulitzer Prize, which she received in 1950 for poetry. Her work, known for being about real life, comes from her own experiences of growing up at the challenging intersections of race, gender, and the poverty of the Great Depression.

Chances are you’ve never heard of Mary Fields, but her legacy is one still felt today. She became the first African American stagecoach driver in 1895—when she was in her 60s—beating out the cowboys applying for the job because she was the fastest to hitch six horses. She spent much of her time in the Badlands with her pet eagle (!) protecting the mail from outlaws and animals. There’s certainly something to be said here about the challenges of her legacy with that of western settlement of the U.S., though her legacy helped allow other women and people of color to get involved as postal workers and more.

This is an autobiography written from the perspective of a girl named Misty, making it read more like a biography by the author than an autobiography. In any case, this is the story of how legendary ballerina Misty Copeland believed in her self and became a Firebird—her life-long dream.

Early in her life, Florence knew she wanted to sing. Born to formerly enslaved parents, she also knew how hard she’d have to work—and lucky for her, her incredible voice helped her make it to 1920s Broadway. While she certainly made a name for herself and inspired others, she used her hard-earned fame to champion the work of other Black performers—as well as championed civil rights.

Too often, stories of adventurers are only about white men. But they weren’t the only people exploring far-flung corners of the globe. Matthew Henson survived the Arctic Passage and made his way all the way to the North Pole.

From growing up in a challenging part of St. Louis to performing on some of the biggest stages throughout the world, this biography of Josephine Baker is one of an artist and civil rights advocate.

Get to know Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris’s beginnings as the daughter of immigrants, growing up biracial Black and Indian, and her work throughout the political system in California.

Pop culture loves to showcase white cowboys, but rarely do we see the stories of cowboys of color. This is the story of George Fletcher, one of three cowboys at the 1911 Pendleton Roundup in the final round (one was white, one was Indian, and he was Black). When the white cowboy was declared the winner, the audience was unhappy and named him the “People’s Champion,” bringing him fame and fortune greater than the win itself may have.

Before Rosa Parks, there was Lizzie: a school teacher in 1854 New York City denied entry onto a street car. The denial led her to a life-long fight for equal rights on public transportation.

Mae Jemison was the first African American woman to reach space and has become a NASA legacy.

Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm Little, has been putting out so many excellent books about her father and his legacy, including this picture book about his youth and how it helped him became the infamous Malcolm X.

There are a number of excellent MLK Jr. picture books, but this particular one uses King’s own words to tell his life story in a way that’s straightforward and feels almost like King himself authored it first-hand.

On a winter day in 1818, when scores of firefighters were sick with the flu, a small house was ablaze. Molly, who’d served as a cook for New York City’s Fire Company 11, jumped in to help out. For this, she’s considered America’s first female firefighter.

An award-winning book about the legacy of Harriet Tubman and a look at how she earned the right proper nickname Moses.

From the fields of Mississippi to a performance spaces in Chicago, Muddy Waters wouldn’t let anyone tell him he couldn’t pursue his dream of music. His blues music legacy helped pave the way for rock and roll, while also leaving an impact on the entire genre of blues itself.

Before converting to Islam and become a world-renowned boxer, Ali’s story began in Louisville, Kentucky, when another boy stole his prized possession: a red and white bicycle. The story of how Ali became a legend, beginning with his youngest years.

Mary Walker was born enslaved, freed at age 15, then married at age 20. Her life spanned the Civil War to Civil Rights, but it wasn’t until she reached the incredible age of 116 that she finally learned to read.

The incredible story of Dr. Patricia Bath, born in the 1940s and determined to become an ophthalmologist at a time when African Americans and women weren’t able to become doctors as a career path. She did it anyway, cofounded the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness, and even earned a medical patent—the first Black woman doctor to do just that.

A picture book biography of groundbreaking Afro-Latina librarian and storyteller Pura Belpré.

At a young age, Civil Rights leader John Lewis dreamed of being a preacher. So when he’s put in charge of the family chickens, he sees the perfect congregation with which to practice.

Utilizing his identity to inform his art, Basquiat’s collage-style work rose to prominence in the 1980s. The big message throughout this biography mirrors precisely what Basquait does in his work: it’s okay to be messy, imperfect, and bold.

When given a book about ballet from the librarian on her bookmobile, Sylvia Townsend teaches herself classical ballet and opens herself up to a world otherwise not accessible to her in 1950s America.

While libraries were gateways for some, they were locked gates for others, including Richard Wright. The famed author was unable to get a library card growing up because he was Black in the 1920s, despite his passion for reading. This is the story of how he persevered and made his dream of borrowing library books a reality.

This picture book biography is geared toward older readers, as it explores the depths of Maya Angelou’s experiences including the wide array of trauma in her life.

Written by his mother and sister, this picture book biography tells the story of Michael Jordan’s youth and his hope to achieve great things as an athlete and more.

George Washington Carver had a secret garden growing up where he tended to various plants, studied their life cycles, and learned how nature could harm or help the world around him. This access to nature helped him become one of the leaders in botany, science, and invention.

Growing up, Effa loved watching the Yankees play, but she never thought she’d herself be an owner of a team some day. Not only did she become owner of the Newark Eagles, but she was the first woman inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

It’s worth noting that Effa didn’t discuss her racial identity in her life, though she grew up with biracial siblings and a Black stepfather. Her biological parental identity isn’t entirely known, but many believe her to have been a light-skinned Black woman.

This list doesn’t include collective biographies—that is, books that compile numerous biographies into one place—but of course, a biography of the incredible Williams sisters and their rise to fame in tennis is not that and indeed, their stories deserve to be told together.

Pippin loved to draw from an early age. He even drew during his time in the trenches during World War I, and though he was shot and had thought he’d lost the ability to use his right arm—his drawing arm—he worked and worked until he could use it again. You can see his work in galleries around the United States today.

Eleven years old when the Wright brothers took flight, Bessie declared that she would be the first African American female pilot. Though poverty, racism, and her gender stood in the way, especially during the Jim Crow era in which she lived, she pursued her dream wholeheartedly.

Ruby Bridges tells the story of her historical move in November 1960 of walking into a segregated school as a Black girl while the entire country watched.

Thurgood Marshall became the first Black U.S. Supreme Court Justice, but even before then he was a man known for being an incredible joke teller, impeccable arguer, and absolutely eager to tear down unjust and discriminatory laws in America—including arguing in the pivotal Brown v. Board of Education case.

Troy Andrews got the nickname “Trombone Shorty” because he carried around his trombone around his New Orleans neighborhood, and it was twice the size he was. The real story of a legendary jazz musician offering a look at the cultural legacy of music in New Orleans.

A compelling look at the life of Garrett Morgan, who dedicated his life to not only inventing, but to helping make the world a better place for others.

The first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Rolle Hall of Fame, this picture book biography is the story of Aretha, starting with her start in Detroit church choirs to years and years of hoping to make a hit while in New York City to finally cracking the biggest stages in the world.

There just isn’t enough respect paid to the history and legacy of hip hop, but this book does it exceptionally well. It follows DJ Kool Herc, born in Jamaica and raised in the Bronx, who developed a new way to play music that encouraged dancing and ultimately, paved the way for the rise of breakdancing and hip hop music.

An integrated crowd of 75,000 gathered at Lincoln Memorial to hear Marian Anderson sing in 1939, a historic and groundbreaking event in American history. Though her voice is part of her story, there’s much more and this book showcases her life from youth to and beyond that tremendous moment.

No child is too young to stand up against discrimination, and that point is no clearer than in this story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, believed to be the youngest person ever arrested for taking part in a civil rights protest in Birmingham, 1963.