17 Books You Should Read This Black History Month

Written by Civil Rights activist, sociologist, and cofounder of the NAACP W.E.B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk examines race and ethnicity in the Untied States during the turn of the 20th century. First published in 1903, the collection of essays addresses topics such as the Freedmen's Bureau, the ideologies of Booker T. Washington, the importance of higher education, the concepts of the "color line" and "double consciousness," black oppression, and equal rights. The widely read text is often acknowledged as the foundation of African-American literature.