Black AF History [Indie Bookstore Exclusive Edition]: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAACP IMAGE AWARD NOMINEE • AMAZON’S TOP 20 HISTORY BOOKS OF 2023 • B&N BEST OF EDUCATIONAL HISTORY • THE ROOT’S BEST BOOKS OF 2023 • CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2023

From acclaimed columnist and political commentator Michael Harriot comes a searingly smart and bitingly funny retelling of American history that challenges the myths we’ve been taught and centers the experiences of Black Americans.

America’s origin story has long been wrapped in whitewashed mythology: the Pilgrims building a nation, George Washington and the cherry tree, Abraham Lincoln in a log cabin, and enslaved Africans somehow appearing in America with nothing but “strong backs” and spirituals. It’s a carefully edited legend built on selective memory and historical omission.

In Black AF History, Michael Harriot strips away the sugarcoating to reveal a fuller, more honest account of America’s past. Drawing from primary sources and the groundbreaking work of Black historians, scholars, and journalists, Harriot places Black people at the center of the American story—where they have always belonged.

With razor-sharp wit, provocative insight, and meticulous research, Harriot uncovers little-known stories that expose the contradictions of American democracy and illuminate the resilience, ingenuity, and influence of Black Americans throughout history. From Africans who arrived in the Americas before 1619 to the outlaw whose resistance inspired America’s first police force, Black AF History delivers a powerful corrective to the traditional narrative.

For too long, American history has been told as white history. Black AF History tells the story differently.