As the year winds down, it’s natural for us to think about our goals and ambitions for the upcoming year. For many Black youth, that includes graduating high school and the journey that follows.
From figuring out finances and career planning to discovering one’s strengths and life’s purpose, the books on this list will guide Black teens to success, no matter what path they choose to take.
Employment and Career Planning for Black Students
Your Choice, Three Options: College, Military or Trade School
This book breaks down the most common paths after high school: going to college, joining the military, or enrolling in trade school. As Barron Smith chose all three, he has a wealth of experience to help teens figure out their next steps. Click here for more information.
(Editor’s note: I could not find any other books about trade school that were written by Black authors or geared towards a Black audience. Same for books about military careers. As such, here are a few links to other resources for those interested in these career paths: Skilled Trade Career Planning For Teens, Apprenticeship Career Planning For Teens, Building Success in the Trades, Joining The U.S. Military: Everything You Need To Know Your Recruiter Won’t Tell You, The US Military: Is This the Career for You?: A Guide to Military Enlistment)
Who Needs a Career Coach Anyway?: The Ultimate Tell-All And Dream Career Navigation Guide To Take You From Where You Are—To Where You’re Meant To Be
From writing an eye-catching resume to negotiating the offer, this book offers key tips to succeed in the job market. Read more about the book here.
Y’all Hiring?: The Black Teen’s Guide to Navigating Employment
This book provides career planning tips for Black teens, including advice about challenging workplace discrimination, maintaining your integrity, improving your resume, managing workplace stress, and strategically exiting the position to further your career. Read more about the guide here.
Financial Literacy for Black Teens
Black Girl Finance
Black Girl Finance is an approachable guide to talking about money while dealing with the reality of the wage gap. Selina Falvius provides advice on budgeting, saving, and investing, as well as on changing the financial skills and money mindsets that have held many of us back. Click here for more information.
Get Good with Money: Ten Simple Steps to Becoming Financially Whole
Written by “The Budgetnista,” this book is a roadmap toward “financial wholeness.” Tiffany Aliche provides a treasure chest of resources to develop key skills, build a plan, promote introspection, and create sustainable change. Click here for more information.
Financial Literacy Boot Camp for Teens and Young Adults: Six Steps to Living a Life of Financial Freedom
This financial guide is designed to give teens and young adults a solid financial foundation. Readers will learn a range of skills from finding a fulfilling career and creating a budget, to preparing for the future via investing and insurance. Read more about the book here.
Books to Empower Black Teens to Live Their Purpose and Reach Success
The Purpose Living Teen: A Teen’s Guide To Living Your Dreams
In this book, Darrell “Coach D” Andrews has created a guide to help teenagers overcome challenges and create a plan to live their purpose. Read more about the guide here.
It’s About Damn Time: How to Turn Being Underestimated Into Your Greatest Advantage
The founder and managing partner of Backstage Capital, Arlan Hamilton built her venture capital firm while homeless. She had no contacts in Silicon Valley, financial knowledge, or a college degree. Now she invests in other “underestimated” founders. In this memoir-turned-guide, she explains the lessons she’s learned along the way, helping readers to overcome the odds to find their own paths to success. Click here for more information.
Be Extraordinary: The Teenager’s Roadmap to Success!
Motivational speaker Darryl Ross shares strategies to help teens raise their own standards and reach success. Read more about the book here.
The Purpose Driven Teenager: A Teenager’s Guide to Discovering and Fulfilling Purpose
This book was written to help teens discover their talents, design a vision for their lives, and create goals to get there. Read more about the guide here.
College and Scholarship Resources for Black Students
101 Scholarship Applications – 2024 Edition: What It Takes to Obtain a Debt-Free College Education
This book contains over 101 scholarship applications, 300 scholarship sources—including award amounts, eligibility requirements, and website links—and strategies to graduate with as little debt as possible. Click here for more information.
The Black Family’s Guide to College Admissions: A Conversation about Education, Parenting, and Race
This resource will foster an open dialogue between parents, college-bound students, and the realities of the admissions process. This second edition will go deeper into current issues in the light of social justice movements, artificial intelligence, and the Supreme Court decision on affirmative action. Read more about the guide here.
College Bound: A Black Girl’s Guide: Everything You Need to Know Before Starting College
This book is designed to accompany Black girls from their junior year of high school through college graduation. From college applications to finding community on campus, Rahkal C. D. Shelton has created a series of tools to be successful all throughout their journey. Read more about the guide here.
The Ultimate Guide to HBCUs: Profiles, Stats, and Insights for All 101 Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Written in collaboration with The Princeton Review, Dr. Braque Talley has created this all-in-one guide about HBCUS (historically black colleges and universities). Click here for more information.
(Editor’s note: I plan on aggregating the resources specifically about HBCUs at a later date.)
Don’t Want to be the Only Black There: Successful Black Students Tell How Predominantly White Colleges Can Help Them Graduate
This book tells the story of 16 Black college students at PWIs (predominantly white institutions)—and how these colleges could help Black students succeed in the future. Click here for more information.
They Said This Would Be Fun: Race, Campus Life, and Growing Up
In this memoir, Eternity Martis recalls her experience as one of the few Black students at a Canadian university. A story of isolation and resilience, she fought through discrimination, found inner strength, and built a support system with other women of color. Click here for more information.
The African American Student’s Guide to STEM Careers
Authored by three specialists in the academic development of African Americans and minority students, this book is a comprehensive, practical guide to careers and higher education in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). It also includes contact information for schools and support systems, in addition to personal stories from professionals and students in STEM. Click here for more about the book.
Black Excel African American Student’s College Guide: Your One-Stop Resource for Choosing the Right College, Getting in, and Paying the Bill
This resource is designed to help Black students and their parents prepare for college. Issac Black guides teenagers to not sell themselves short, get in the best schools possible, and find the funds to pay for it. As a note, the original version was written in 2000, with a Kindle update in 2008. Read more about the guide here.
A Career Guide For Black Male Student Athletes: An Alternative To The Pros
Written by a former student athlete, this resource is designed to help others figure out the next step of their career and education—with or without sports. Read more about the book here.