Year
|
Author(s)
|
Title
|
Result
|
Ref.
|
2007
|
Chris Gardner
|
The Pursuit of Happyness
|
Winner
|
|
Christopher John Farley
|
Before the Legend: The Rise of Bob Marley
|
Nominee
|
|
Mike Freeman
|
Jim Brown: The Fierce Life of an American Hero
|
Nominee
|
|
Rain Pryor
|
Jokes My Father Never Taught Me
|
Nominee
|
|
Wangarĩ Maathai
|
Unbowed
|
Nominee
|
|
2008
|
David Mendell
|
Obama: From Promise to Power
|
Winner
|
|
Eddie Levert, Sr., Gerald Levert, and Lyah Leflore
|
I Got Your Back: A Father and Son Keep it Real About Love, Fatherhood, Family, and Friendship
|
Nominee
|
|
Clarence Thomas
|
My Grandfather's Son
|
Nominee
|
|
Tommie Smith and David Steele
|
Silent Gesture: The Autobiography of Tommie Smith
|
Nominee
|
|
Victoria Rowell
|
The Women Who Raised Me: A Memoir
|
Nominee
|
|
2009
|
Diahann Carroll
|
The Legs Are the Last to Go
|
Winner
|
|
2010
|
Deborah Willis and Emily Bernard
|
Michelle Obama: The First Lady In Photographs
|
Winner
|
|
Cornel West
|
Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud
|
Nominee
|
|
Terry Teachout
|
POPS: A Life of Louis
|
Nominee
|
|
LeBron James and Buzz Bissinger
|
Shooting Stars
|
Nominee
|
|
James Gavin
|
Stormy Weather: The Life of Lena Horne
|
Nominee
|
|
2011
|
Ray Charles Robinson, Jr.
|
You Don’t Know Me: Reflections of My Father, Ray Charles
|
Winner
|
|
2012
|
Harry Belafonte and Michael Shnayerson
|
My Song: A Memoir
|
Winner
|
|
Condoleezza Rice
|
No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington
|
Nominee
|
|
Dave Zirin and John Wesley Carlos
|
The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World
|
Nominee
|
|
Janny Scott
|
A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama’s Mother
|
Nominee
|
|
Manning Marable
|
Malcolm X: A Life Of Reinvention
|
Nominee
|
|
2013
|
John Lewis
|
Across That Bridge: Life Lessons and a Vision for Change
|
Winner
|
|
Kofi Annan
|
Interventions: A Life in War and Peace
|
Nominee
|
|
RJ Smith
|
The One: The Life and Music of James Brown
|
Nominee
|
|
Tom Reiss
|
The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo
|
Nominee
|
|
Will Allen
|
The Good Food Revolution: Growing Healthy Food, People, and Communities
|
Nominee
|
|
2014
|
Jeanne Theoharis
|
The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks
|
Winner
|
|
Maya Angelou
|
Mom & Me & Mom
|
Nominee
|
|
M. K. Asante
|
Buck: A Memoir
|
Nominee
|
|
Stanley Crouch
|
Kansas City Lightning: The Rise And Times Of Charlie Parker
|
Nominee
|
|
Terry Teachout
|
Duke: A Life of Duke Ellington
|
Nominee
|
|
2015
|
David Chanoff and Louis Sullivan
|
Breaking Ground: My Life in Medicine
|
Winner
|
|
Misty Copeland
|
Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina
|
Nominee
|
|
Jessye Norman
|
Stand Up Straight and Sing!
|
Nominee
|
|
Marion Barry Jr. and Omar Tyree
|
Mayor For Life: The Incredible Story of Marion Barry Jr.
|
Nominee
|
|
Rosie Perez
|
Handbook For An Unpredictable Life: How I Survived Sister Renata And My Crazy Mother, And Still Came Out Smiling (With Great Hair)
|
Nominee
|
|
2016
|
Ta-Nehisi Coates
|
Between the World And Me
|
Winner
|
|
Arthur Browne
|
One Righteous Man: Samuel Battle and the Shattering of the Color Line in New York
|
Nominee
|
|
Jan Gaye and David Ritz
|
After the Dance: My Life With Marvin Gaye
|
Nominee
|
|
Reggie Love
|
Power Forward: My Presidential Education
|
Nominee
|
|
Shonda Rhimes
|
Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person
|
Nominee
|
|
2017
|
Trevor Noah
|
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
|
Winner
|
|
Taraji P. Henson
|
Around the Way Girl: A Memoir
|
Nominee
|
|
Nathaniel Jones
|
Answering the Call: An Autobiography of the Modern Struggle to End Racial Discrimination in America
|
Nominee
|
|
Mychal Denzel Smith
|
Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching, A Young Black Man's Education
|
Nominee
|
|
Herb Powell and Maurice White
|
My Life with Earth, Wind & Fire
|
Nominee
|
|
2018
|
Susan Burton and Cari Lynn
|
Becoming Ms. Burton: From Prison to Recovery to Leading the Fight for Incarcerated Women
|
Winner
|
|
Jonathan Eig
|
Ali: A Life
|
Nominee
|
|
Lawrence P. Jackson
|
Chester B. Himes
|
Nominee
|
|
Peter Baker
|
Obama: The Call of History
|
Nominee
|
|
Gabrielle Union
|
We're Going to Need More Wine
|
Nominee
|
|
2019
|
Michelle Obama
|
Becoming
|
Winner
|
|
Franchesca Ramsey
|
Well, That Escalated Quickly: Memoirs and Mistakes of an Accidental Activist
|
Nominee
|
|
Jeffrey C. Stewart
|
The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke
|
Nominee
|
|
Nelson Mandela
|
The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela
|
Nominee
|
|
Zora Neale Hurston and Deborah G. Plant
|
Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo"
|
Nominee
|
|
2020
|
Elaine Welteroth
|
More Than Enough: Claiming Space for Who You Are (No Matter What They Say)
|
Winner
|
|
Cyntoia Brown-Long
|
Free Cyntoia: My Search for Redemption in the American Prison System
|
Nominee
|
|
Prince Rogers Nelson
|
The Beautiful Ones
|
Nominee
|
|
Prince Rogers Nelson and Randee St. Nicholas
|
My Name Is Prince
|
Nominee
|
|
Valerie Jarrett
|
Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward
|
Nominee
|
|
2021
|
Les Payne and Tamara Payne
|
The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X
|
Winner
|
|
Arshay Cooper
|
A Most Beautiful Thing: The True Story of America’s First All-Black High School Rowing Team
|
Nominee
|
|
Barack Obama
|
A Promised Land
|
Nominee
|
|
Deborah Draper
|
Olympic Pride, American Prejudice
|
Nominee
|
|
Willie O’Ree
|
Willie: The Game-Changing Story of the NHL’s First Black Player
|
Nominee
|
|
2022
|
Will Smith
|
Will
|
Winner
|
|
Cicely Tyson
|
Just As I Am
|
Nominee
|
|
Tarana Burke
|
Unbound: My Story of Liberation and the Birth of the Me Too Movement
|
Nominee
|
|
Billy Porter
|
Unprotected: A Memoir
|
Nominee
|
|
Keisha Blain
|
Until I Am Free
|
Nominee
|
|
2023
|
Michael K. Williams
|
Scenes from My Life: A Memoir
|
Winner
|
|
Cynt Marshall
|
You’ve Been Chosen: Thriving Through the Unexpected
|
Nominee
|
|
Jenifer Lewis
|
Walking in My Joy: In These Streets
|
Nominee
|
|
Michelle Obama
|
The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times
|
Nominee
|
|
Raphael G. Warnock
|
A Way Out of No Way: A Memoir of Truth, Transformation, and the New American Story
|
Nominee
|
|
2024
|
Tanisha C. Ford
|
Our Secret Society: Mollie Moon and the Glamour, Money, and Power Behind the Civil Rights Movement
|
Winner
|
|
Maya Moore Irons
|
Love and Justice: A Story of Triumph on Two Different Courts
|
Nominee
|
|
Rich Paul
|
Lucky Me: A Memoir of Changing the Odds
|
Nominee
|
|
Nicole Walters
|
Nothing Is Missing
|
Nominee
|
|
Stephen A. Smith
|
Straight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes
|
Nominee
|
|