NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work - Nonfiction

2009

Maya Angelou. Letter to My Daughter

In this straightforward yet prosaically beautiful work, award-winning author Maya Angelou provides heartfelt advice to the masses. While imploring her readers to work hard at living well, she offers real and applicable ways in which to make the world a better place while also cultivating fulfillment within yourself.

2008

Don Cheadle & John Prendergast. Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond

Angered by the devastating violence that has engulfed Darfur and other war zones in Africa, famed actor Don Cheadle teamed up with leading human-rights activist John Prendergast to shine a spotlight on these atrocities. Here, they candidly reveal personal accounts of their experiences visiting Darfur and Northern Uganda, and highlight the stories of extraordinary people across our country who are saying that genocide and other mass atrocities should not be allowed to occur." "This book outlines six strategies that every one of us can adopt to help bring about change: Raise Awareness, Raise Funds, Write a Letter, Call for Divestment, Start an Organization, and Lobby the Government.

2007

Barack Obama. The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream

The junior senator from Illinois discusses how to transform U.S. politics, calling for a return to America's original ideals and revealing how they can address such issues as globalization and the function of religion in public life.

2006

Michael Eric Dyson. Is Bill Cosby Right?

"In May 2004 Cosby delivered a speech at the NAACP Awards in which he said he blamed what he termed the "knuckleheads" of the African American community for poor parenting, poor academic performance, sexual promiscuity and criminal behavior. The audience laughed and applauded. Here, Dyson (humanities, U. of Pennsylvania) comments on both the speech and the reaction, finding a growing cultural divide between the "Afristocracy" (the African American elite and professional classes) and the "Ghettocracy" (the African American poor, working class and incarcerated). He finds evidence of abandonment of the aims of the civil rights movement among the elite, and a growing perception that the poor have no one to blame but themselves, despite obvious, ongoing and vicious racial discrimination in America.

2005

Maya Angelou. Hallelujah! The Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories with Recipies

Maya Angelou remembers key moments in her life centering on the dinner table--and shares over 60 of her own recipes. Dishes include fried meat pies, biscuits, potato salad, smoked pork chops, Beef Wellington, chicken livers, Minnesota wild rice, pot roast, and wilted lettuce. Color photos throughout.

2004

Michael Eric Dyson. Why I Love Black Women

In an era marred by bigoted and baleful beliefs about black women--from hip-hop to the pulpit, from the streets to scholarly focus--Dyson offers a welcome reprieve from cultural madness. "Why I Love Black Women" explodes taboos while it celebrates the perseverance and the pride, the sensuality and the sophistication, of African-American women everywhere.

2003

Tavis Smiley. Keeping the Faith

An inspiring collection of personal narratives about love, loss, and faith by African Americans from all walks of life, and introduced by popular NPR talk show host Tavis Smiley.

2002

Tina Andrews. Sally Hemings, An American Scandal: The Struggle to Tell the Controversial True Story

2001

Julian Bond & Sondra Kathryn Wilson. Life Every Voice and Sing

2000

Iyanla Vanzant. Yesterday, I Cried

Vanzant, who has inspired millions with her bestselling books recalls the turning points in her own life and discusses the universal lessons they teach.

1999

Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. With Ossie & Ruby: In This Life Together

Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee are legendary stars of the American stage, television, and film, cherished not merely for their gifts as actors but also for their lifelong commitment to human rights, family values, and the black community. Now, in a joint memoir that celebrates half a century of successful marriage, they look back on the extraordinary careers that earned each a Presidential Medal for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts.