Native Son by Richard Wright, which was published in 1940, opens with a scene in which a family attempts to kill a rat. The protagonist, Bigger Thomas, becomes a chauffeur and eventually kills the daughter of his boss.

The Selected Poems of Langston Hughes, published in 1987, contain much of the work Hughes published, including the poem "Harlem." Hughes' s poems both protest injustice and celebrate beauty.

To Be Young, Gifted, and Black is a collection of autobiographical writings by Lorraine Hansberry published after her death in 1969. It remains one of the most well-known autobiographies of the 1960s.

Coming of Age in Mississippi, published by Anne Moody in 1968, is the story of one young woman's work during the Civil Rights movement. It focuses particularly on voter registration in the American South.

Up from Slavery is a collection of autobiographical essays by Booker T. Washington, published in 1901. Although he is often considered a hero, he seems to argue for "separate but equal" social arrangements between the races.

The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. DuBois was published in 1903. DuBois presents a more radical argument than Washington, and he predicts that "the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color line."