Black History Is Your History by Taylor Cassidy

What I would give to have been as confident a teenager as Taylor Cassidy! As this book progresses, it becomes clear that good parenting played a huge role in raising such a well-adjusted, intellectually curious, boundlessly creative person who, in turn, wants to shine a bright, warm light for others to follow and be inspired by.

But this isn’t about her parents, tho the book is definitely about her antecedents (and she does open the volume with a lovely dedication to her family and friends.) Not being on TikTok, I didn’t know of Ms Cassidy before this book, but what an excellent book! Given everything happening in US politics right now, I definitely felt the need to read something that would help me push back against the truly diabolical whitewashing being put out by large sectors of government and media. Black History Is Your History is the perfect, accessible antidote to the bizarre idea that we’re a country that doesn’t benefit from diversity, equity and inclusion.

For her book, Ms Cassidy carefully selects twelve famous Black people who’ve represented the struggle for equal rights, representation and opportunity throughout US history. These aren’t necessarily the most famous — tho everyone has likely at least heard of Maya Angelou, or so I’d hope — but do cover a broad spectrum, from Benjamin Banneker to Tommie Smith to Marsha P Johnson to Mae Jemison. Each person gets a biographical chapter that’s presented in straightforward, lively language that highlights their accomplishments and important role in Black and American history.

Each of these chapters is interspersed with something called a Tay-Story. I was at first surprised by these interjections in the middle of each biography. Soon into reading the first one, however, I was hooked. Ms Cassidy takes the lessons of each famous person’s life and relates them to events in her own, translating what can feel like a past episode set in stone into something visceral and breathing and very much akin to the struggles of our everyday existence. Think you’re too young to effect meaningful change, for example? Claudette Colvin was only fifteen when she started making good trouble by refusing to give a white woman her seat on the bus. Sure, the Civil Rights movement ultimately felt that Rosa Parks was a more palatable/sympathetic figurehead for their bus boycotts, but this crucial fight in the courts — and in the hearts and minds of the public — was sparked by a teenager refusing to be seen as lesser because of her skin color.

The Tay-story in this chapter talks about how the author, feeling frustrated at the ignorance she faced in school regarding Black history, decided to make a series of TikTok videos on the subject. She, like Claudette, did not expect her actions to blow up the way they did, garnering national attention and catapulting her to fame while also upholding the twinned causes of truth and justice. Each of the following chapters continues in the same vein, to excellent effect. I was not only affected and inspired by the stories of these Black icons but also by how they affected and inspired the author in turn.

Ms Cassidy is an engaging writer and gorgeous soul who deserves all the flowers for her commitment to being a force for good. Her debut book is a knockout, especially with illustrations by Adriana Bellet and the inclusion of the author’s own personal photographs. I can’t recommend this book highly enough, especially in these turbulent times.

Black History Is Your History by Taylor Cassidy was published October 14 2025 by Atheneum Books For Young Readers and is available from all good booksellers, including