African-Americans have created a rich and diverse literary culture from the time of the slave narrative to today, with its own literary movements and tropes often tackling subjects such as racism, slavery, family, religion, and class. This index collects this literature.
Themes of racial identity may also take precedence - older works tend to deal with the complexities of passing and modern works tend to deal with assimilation versus keeping one's identity, and class divides within the community. Contemporary fiction may focus on colorism, feminism, the centrality of the church, and urban life
. Historical fiction may deal with slavery, Jim Crow, the great migration, the Pan Africanism movement, and the Civil Rights movement.
Notable movements include the Harlem Renaissance and The Black Arts movement.
Speculative Fiction may draw on Afro-Futurist themes, avert Humans Are White and In the Future, Humans Will Be One Race.
They may also feature No Equal-Opportunity Time Travel and Persecution Flip. They may be influenced by steampunk (sometimes called 'steamfunk') or sword and sorcery (sometimes called 'sword and soul').
Some works make use of African American Vernacular English and others employ characters that code switch.
Compare African Literature. This index includes American authors of African descent only.
See also African-American Creators.
Lit Fic:
- The Autobiography Of An Ex Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
- Black Boy by Richard Wright
- Blackbird (1986) by Larry Duplechan
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
- Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
- Coffee Will Make You Black by April Sinclair
- The Color Purple by Alice Walker
- Getting To Happy by Terry McMillan
- Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
- Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
- God Dont Like Ugly by Mary Monroe
- Home by Toni Morrison
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
- Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
- I Wish I Had A Red Dress by Pearl Cleage
- A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines
- Maud Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks
- Meridian by Alice Walker
- Moses, Man of the Mountain by Zora Neale Hurston
- Mumbo Jumbo by Ishmael Reed
- Native Son by Richard Wright
- The Narrows by Ann Petry
- Passing by Nella Larsen
- Push by Sapphire
- Roots by Alex Haley
- Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
- Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
- Waiting to Exhale by Terry McMillan
- The Wind Done Gone by Alice Randall
- Wont Be The Same Fool Twice by April Sinclair
Short Stories:
- "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin
- "Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self" by Danielle Evans
- "Drinking Coffee Elsewhere" by Z.Z. Packer
- "Talma Gordon" by Pauline Hopkins
Speculative Fiction:
- Acacia by David Anthony Durham
- The African Immortals series by Tananarive Due
- Akata Witch and Akata Warrior by Nnedi Okorafor
- Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany
- The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle
- The Binti series by Nnedi Okorafor
- The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark
- The Blue Light by Walter Mosley
- The Bone Street Rumba series by Daniel José Older
- The Book of Phoenix by Nnedi Okorafor
- The Broken Earth Trilogy by N. K. Jemisin
- The Changeling by Victor LaValle
- Chaos Seeds by Aleron Kong
- Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
- Coyote Kings of the Space Age Bachelor Pad by Minister Faust
- The "Dead Djinn Universe" Series, by P. Djèlí Clark
- Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany
- Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
- The Dreamblood Duology by N. K. Jemisin
- The Earthseed series by Octavia Butler
- Empire Star by Samuel R. Delany
- Everfair by Nisi Shawl
- Fledgling by Octavia Butler
- The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez
- The Hero of Numbani by Nicky Drayden
- The Imaro series by Charles R. Saunders
- The Inheritance Trilogy by N. K. Jemisin
- The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead
- Kindred by Octavia Butler
- The Lilith's Brood trilogy by Octavia Butler
- Lion's Blood and Zulu Heart by Steven Barnes
- Mindscape by Andrea Hairston
- Moses: The Chronicles of Harriet Tubman by Balogun Ojetade
- Mumbo Jumbo by Ishmael Reed
- The Neteru Academy series by L. A. Banks
- The Nevèrÿon series by Samuel R. Delany
- Nigerians in Space and its sequel by Deji Bryce Olukotun
- The Patternist series by Octavia Butler
- The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden
- The Shadowshaper series by Daniel José Older
- The Shadow Speaker by Nnedi Okorafor
- The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson
- A Stranger in Olondria and The Winged Histories by Sofia Samatar
- The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson
- Supernatural Investigations by B.B. Alston
- Tales of the Astonishing Black Spark by Charlie J. Eskew
- A Taste of Honey by Kai Ashante Wilson
- Triton by Samuel R. Delany
- The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
- The Vampire Huntress Legend series by L. A. Banks
- Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor
- Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor
- Zone One by Colson Whitehead
Poetry:
- Maya Angelou
- Gwendolyn Brooks
- Lucille Clifton
- Wanda Conley
- Nikki Giovanni
- Terrance Hayes
- Langston Hughes
- Audre Lorde
- Pat Parker
- Ntozake Shange
- Danez Smith
- Phyllis Wheatley
Theatre:
- Dutchman by Amiri Baraka
- Fences by August Wilson
- Fetch Clay, Make Man by Will Power
- Passing Strange (a musical) by Stew and Heidi Rodewald
- The Piano Lesson by August Wilson
- A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
Urban Fiction:
- The West End Girls series by Lena Scott
- The California Connection series by Chunichi
- Guilty Gucci by Ashley
- The Girls from da Hood series by Ashley
- Real Wifeys on the Grind by Mink Meesha
- The Coldest Winter Ever by Sista Soulja
- Midnight: A Gangster Love Story by Sista Soulja
Juvenile and Young Adult Fiction:
- The Hazelwood High Trilogy by Sharon M. Draper
- Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor, and its sequels Let the Circle Be Unbroken, and The Road to Memphis.
- When Dad Killed Mom by Julius Lester
