Black Folk: The Roots of the Black Working Class
Blair L.M. Kelley
Named one of Smithsonian's Best Books of 2023 2024 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Book Award 2024 Philip Taft Labor History Award 2024 Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize Nonfiction Longlist 2024 L.A. Times Book Award Finalist in History An award-winning historian illuminates the adversities and joys of the Black working class in America through a stunning narrative centered on her forebears. There have been countless books, articles, and televised reports in recent years about the almost mythic “white working class,” a tide of commentary that has obscured the labor, and even the very existence, of entire groups of working people, including everyday Black workers. In this brilliant corrective, Black Folk, acclaimed historian Blair LM Kelley restores the Black working class to the center of the American story.
Award History
1 wins · 2 total
| Award | Year | Result | Category / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert F. Kennedy Book Award | 2024 | Winner | Official source |
| Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History | 2023 | Finalist | Official source |
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies
This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact.
01 Central figures
None extracted with sufficient confidence.
02 Central places
None extracted with sufficient confidence.
03 Suggested argument
The book argues that recent commentary on a “white working class” has obscured the labor and even the existence of Black working people, and that this must be corrected by centering the Black working class in American history.
Model confidence 72%
04 Reading orientation
40 / 100 academicSerious trade
An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.
Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 78%.