There’s nothing better than a beautifully written, well-narrated audiobook. Whether I want to learn about a historical moment or just relax, audiobooks have become one of my favorite ways to read. And when it comes to audiobooks about Black history, I have a wide and wonderful world to choose from. When I choose audiobooks, I look for two things: an interesting, well-written book and a narrator who can do it justice. In fact, good audiobook narrators can do much more than that. They can bring a story to life. Their accent and intonation, the emotion they bring to the narrative—all of these things create an experience that makes audiobooks unique.
Books have been around for a long time, but audiobooks are a uniquely modern medium. They bring the tradition of oral storytelling to life in our homes and make stories and great storytelling accessible to so many. That’s why you’ll never hear me say that reading audiobooks isn’t real reading. Haven’t we learned better by now?
Set in the United States, Canada, France, Uganda, and Nigeria, these historical audiobooks about black people tell incredible and heartbreaking stories, often both. Brave characters, wronged men, headstrong women, and communities fighting back against injustice fill these stories to the brim. They are tough, hopeful, and honest, even if reality isn’t always what it seems. So sit back and let these stories be told to you.
The American Daughters by Maurice Carlos Ruffin
Teller: Lynnette R. Freeman
In this Civil War-era novel about slavery, sisterhood, and the fight for freedom, a sharp-witted girl named Ady joins a secret society of black women who are united to undermine the Confederacy. When Ady and her beloved mother are separated, she is helpless. But when she meets a free black woman at the Mockingbird Inn, she is introduced to a secret group called The Daughters. For the first time in a long time, Ady can imagine a future where she is free and has her new sisters by her side.
Kintu by Jennifer Makumbi
Teller: Kalungi Ssebandeke
Following the generations of the Kintu Kidda clan from the 1750s, Kintu explores a family’s “cursed bloodline.” On his way to pledge allegiance to the new leader of the Buganda Kingdom in modern-day Uganda, Kintu Kidda inadvertently triggers a curse that will torment his family for centuries. He and four of his descendants must learn to live with the curse as they try to build a better future for themselves.
The Rib King by Ladee Hubbard
Teller: Korey Jackson and Adenrele Ojo
When the Barclays, a once wealthy white family, fall into distress, they decide to sell their talented black chef’s rib sauce as their own, along with a caricature of August working as their gardener. Neither August nor Miss Mamie are paid for their share, although the Barclays make a profit. August feels anger growing inside him, and soon his emotions explode over this injustice, with terrible consequences for everyone involved.
At night all blood is black by David Diop
Teller: Dion Graham
A Senegalese man fighting on the side of the French in World War I, he is known for his brutality on the battlefield. But what his comrades don’t understand is that he is reliving the gruesome death of his childhood friend on the battlefield, enacting horrors before showing them the mercy he could not show Mademba. It is grief – and perhaps a touch of madness – that drives Alfa, not anger. The audiobook is narrated by Dion Graham, who brings Alfa and Mademba to life through Diop’s haunting prose. It is a masterpiece of surreal historical fiction.
The last gift of the master artists by Ben Okri
Teller: Ashley Zhangzha
Before the arrival of the transatlantic slave trade in Africa, two young lovers meet by chance. One is a prince, the other a gifted daughter of a mysterious tribe. Their feelings are there almost immediately and the two swear to see each other again. But when their reunion never takes place, the prince sets out to find his love, whatever the cost.
Mademoiselle Revolution by Zoe Sivak
Teller: Imani Jade Powers
After escaping the Haitian Revolution, the daughter of a white plantation owner and a slave finds herself in the midst of another revolution taking shape in France. Sylvie only begins to understand her complicity in the events in Haiti when she joins forces with revolutionary Maximilien Robespierre and his equally brilliant lover Cornélie Duplay. Robespierre sees her as a symbol of a more egalitarian world, while Cornélie offers her the chance to open her mind and her worldview. But as her emotions are torn apart and violence comes to Paris, Sylvie must once again decide where she stands.
In the Oberland by Kai Thomas
Teller: Milton Barnes, Tymika Tafari and Wesley French
Dunmore, Canada, in the 19th century is a town where people fleeing slavery in the United States can settle. But when a slave hunter is shot by a recently arrived old woman, a journalist named Lensinda is called in to record her story before she can be tried for her crime. The woman, however, will not confess. Instead, she proposes a trade: a story for a story. As their stories unravel, Lensinda is forced to confront the past she has tried to bury if she wants to learn the truth about the woman before her.
Storm by Beverly Jenkins
Teller: Kim Staunton
A mail-order bride accidentally shoots her new husband, Dr. Colton Lee, during their first meeting. It’s not exactly the meeting the two expected. But Reagan is the kind of woman who would leave everything behind to move to Wyoming Territory and marry a widower without ever having seen him. Neither expects to find love in this relationship, but soon love starts looking for them anyway.
The grocery store “Heaven and Earth” by James McBride
Teller: Dominic Hoffman
A black and Jewish community in 1970s Pennsylvania is shocked when a skeleton is recovered from the bottom of a well. They all know who the skeleton belonged to and how it got there. The residents of Chicken Hill did what they had to do to protect themselves and each other. But now the truth is coming out, and they all have to face it.
Carolina built by Kianna Alexander
Teller: Shayna Small and Leon Nixon
This historical novel tells the story of real-life pioneer and real estate magnate Josephine N. Leary. Josephine has always dreamed of making a better life for herself and her family. As a self-taught businesswoman, she is determined to build a legacy. But it’s hard to balance her life as a mother, daughter, wife, and granddaughter with her ambitions. But that won’t stop her.
If you want to read more excellent audiobooks on Black history, check out these recommendations:
Black historical novels to read in your book club
#OwnVoices Black historical youth books
Black girls in historical youth literature
