Wil Haygood Books in Order

Wil Haygood and Stan Grossfeld recount a journey along the Mississippi River, following it from its Minnesota headwaters to the Gulf of Mexico. Their account traces the full length of one of America's defining waterways.

Wil Haygood follows the life of Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Harlem's influential congressman and pastor. His biography explores Powell's civil rights achievements alongside the flamboyance, personal controversies, and political conflicts that shaped his public career.

Wil Haygood recalls growing up in Columbus, Ohio, tracing the lives of his relatives and the neighborhood around them. His family memoir considers how changes in their community shaped the experiences and relationships of his childhood.

Wil Haygood traces Sammy Davis Jr.'s rise from vaudeville to Broadway, Hollywood, and Las Vegas. The biography examines the racial barriers he faced and crossed, revealing the complicated life behind his carefully maintained public persona.

Wil Haygood follows Sugar Ray Robinson from a childhood shaped by racial violence to boxing stardom and life in Harlem. His biography places Robinson's celebrated fights, glamorous image, and ambitions beyond the ring within a changing America.

Through White House butler Eugene Allen's decades of service, Wil Haygood explores American presidents and the struggle for civil rights. Allen's experiences connect decisions made inside the White House with the racial inequalities facing his family and community.

Thurgood Marshall’s contentious Supreme Court confirmation hearings frame an account of his life and civil rights work. His legal victories and political opponents reveal the racial conflicts surrounding a nomination that transformed the nation’s highest court.

Paintings, photographs, sculpture, literature, and music illuminate the Harlem Renaissance and its lasting influence. The book explores the artists and social history behind a movement that reshaped African American culture and reached far beyond Harlem itself.

In a nation shaken by assassinations and racial unrest, Columbus’s segregated East High School pursues an extraordinary sporting achievement. Its basketball and baseball teams bring their community together while competing for state championships during the turbulent 1968-1969 school year.

A century of Black filmmaking unfolds alongside the struggle for civil rights in America. Actors, directors, and producers confront exclusion and stereotypes while creating films that change who appears on screen and who controls the stories.

Black Americans fighting in Vietnam confront another struggle for equality at home. The lives of soldiers, medical workers, journalists, and activists reveal how military service, racism, and the civil rights movement collided during a generation of upheaval.