Story of the Negro

Story of the Negro by Arna Bontemps is a children's history book which was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1949. The non-fiction book begins with a history of major African civilizations such as the Ghana and Mandingo Empires. The horrors of the Atlantic slave trade are described, together with the causes and conditions of slavery in America, the Haitian Slave Revolt, and the Underground Railroad. Several influential black leaders are examined, including Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and W. E. B. Du Bois. Revised editions of the book extend the history through the late 1960s.