Book cover of Black Folk: The Roots of the Black Working Class

Book description

There have been countless books, articles, and televised reports in recent years about the almost mythic "white working class," a tide of commentary that has obscured the labor, and even the very existence, of entire groups of working people, including everyday Black workers. In this brilliant corrective, Black Folk, acclaimed…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Black Folk as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Weaving in her own ancestral history, Kelley knits an extraordinary journey of the Black working class from slavery to our contemporary world—from Georgia to Philadelphia, Florida to Chicago, Texas to Oakland, we engage generations of mostly unheralded workers whose radical genius shaped our labor history and forged nourishing and joyful lives out-of-view of most white accounts of the working class.

Kelley’s prose celebrates and brings to the surface the hidden lives that improved our contemporary world. 

If you love Black Folk...

Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

Want books like Black Folk?

Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Black Folk.

Browse books like Black Folk

Book cover of The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration
Book cover of Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin
Book cover of All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake

Share your top 3 reads of 2026!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

186

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like Black Folk, you might also like...

Book cover of Child of Vanris

Child of Vanris by Nikki McCormack,

At five years old, Kasiel was found with the pointed ends of his ears cut off. Despite that brutal start, he’s lived twelve peaceful years with the man who took him in. Keeping his hair long over his mutilated ears helps him hide the fact that he is Vanrian, a…

Book cover of Almost Home

Almost Home by Howard Means,

Almost Home is a fictional retelling of the last great tragedy of the Civil War.

In late April 1865, almost 2,000 newly freed Union prisoners of war are packed onto the steamer Sultana, in poor repair and with a listed capacity of 376 passengers. Among them are four Indiana soldiers…

5 book lists we think you will like!