Changemakers

The books on this list are collections of biographies of social justice activists. There are also many excellent biographies of social justice activists for elementary and middle school, however we do not have a list for those yet. An online source we recommend is Americans Who Tell the Truth. (Note that while the books below are excellent collections, we don't agree that every profile fits the description of a social justice changemaker.)

10 True Tales: Young Civil Rights Heroes

By Allan Zullo

The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century: A Social Justice Hall of Fame

By Peter Dreier

101 Changemakers: Rebels and Radicals Who Changed US History

By Michele Bollinger (Editor), Dao X. Tran (Editor)

The Black Panthers: Portraits from an Unfinished Revolution

By Bryan Shih, Yohuru Williams, Peniel E. Joseph (Introduction by)

Fight Like a Girl: 50 Feminists Who Changed the World

By Laura Barcella

Firebrands: Portraits from the Americas

By Shaun Slifer, Bec Young

 

Heroes of the Environment: True Stories of People Who Are Helping to Protect Our Planet

By Harriet Rohmer, Julie McLaughlin (Illustrator)

Lighting the Fires of Freedom: African American Women in the Civil Rights Movement

By Janet Dewart Bell

#NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women*

 Edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale

One Earth: People of Color Protecting Our Planet

By Anuradha Rao

Rad American Women A-Z: Rebels, Trailblazers, and Visionaries Who Shaped Our History . . . and Our Future!*

By Kate Schatz, Miriam Klein Stahl (Illustrator)

 

Rad Girls Can: Stories of Bold, Brave, and Brilliant Young Women

By Kate Schatz, Miriam Klein Stahl (Illustrator)

Rad Women Worldwide: Artists and Athletes, Pirates and Punks, and Other Revolutionaries Who Shaped History

By Kate Schatz, Miriam Klein Stahl (Illustrator)

 

She Takes a Stand: 16 Fearless Activists Who Have Changed the World

By Michael Elsohn Ross

Teenage Rebels: Stories of Successful High School Activists, from the Little Rock 9 to the Class of Tomorrow

By Dawson Barrett, Mark Rudd (Foreword by)

 

Voces Sin Fronteras: Our Stories, Our Truth

By the Latino Youth Leadership Council of LAYC

Witnesses to Freedom: Young People Who Fought for Civil Rights

By Belinda Rochelle

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