740+ African American Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Whether you want to read about African American author's hopes and resilience or their unique struggles, you'll find what you're looking for here.

⭐️ Recommended stories

“The Last Man Kneeling” by Stephanie I

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #242

(*warning; Implied racism and mentions of slavery. *) THE LAST MAN KNEELING The man in the painting was nameless, but he knew three things for certain:1. He was depicted kneeling on a plush red carpet, his face locked in a stern expression as he gazed into the flickering flames of a grand fireplace.2. The artist who had brought him to life and placed him on display was known as Asher Vanderbilt, his elegant signature adorning the bottom of the canvas in golden letters.3. And most importantly - at night, the nameless man would come alive. It ...

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“Two Sides Of The Same Coin” by Dora Acosta

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #140

I remember my childhood in bits and pieces, like framed pictures of specific events that exist independently of all the other memories. There was the time I challenged my brother to a foot race down the steps of the rocky hill on the side of my grandfather’s house. My mother warned us to never run down the hill lest we injure ourselves. But that did not thwart us at all. We waited for her to go to work and proceeded with our plans. What else was there to do in the hot summer sun but run, hide, play, and take in all of the day’s light. There ...

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“Divine Bloodline” by Shannon McGill

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #90

Divine Bloodline “How can you tell the Tree is a girl, Gran?” The shea butter applied to my scalp in neat little rows slid onto my forehead and mixed with beads of sweat as I sat on the front porch between my grandmother’s knees.  Every Sunday, we took my braids down and washed my hair. Then Gran braided it right back up again, greasing my scalp as she went. I can’t imagine a Sunday that we didn’t spend together, managing the mane that fell past my waist. It took all day, but the best part was sittin’ on that porch, listening to her t...

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“Wicked Memories” by Taryn Ariel

Submitted to Contest #277

(Sensitivity Note- This story contains curse words, sexual harassment, and bullying themes)Petunia’s heart raced rapidly as the rhythm of her high heels hit the hard tile floor. “Breathe bitch”, she silently scolded herself as she took another lingering look in the glass window of her old school’s hallway. Her freshly straightened, silky black bob floated playfully over her Ferragamo, form-fitting red dress. It gripped her hourglass hips and stopped just below her knees, accentuating her glistening, freshly fit calves.When she first tried th...

14 likes 4 comments 4

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“I've Lost Her ” by Taja Henson

Submitted to Contest #277

As I sit in the darkening living room eating my fourth peanut butter sandwich of the week I wonder If she’s ok. I dip my cup a bucket of water to quench my thirst, not the best tasting water but I’m thirsty and it’s all I have. I sit on our couch adjusting my eyes to the changing light in the room.  It’s been three days since I’ve saw her. I came home from school, turned the key and automatically could feel that she wasn’t home. I’m used to her missing for a day, that’s normal for her. But three days is new, I’m longing for her to ...

7 likes 2 comments 2

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“Fitting In ” by Lily Finch

Submitted to Contest #277

He had walked alone for too long.At the end of his life, it never emerged as a thought that flashed before his eyes as he recalled his existence just before crossing the bar.There were no parents in sight, no bright light to guide the way, and a profound sense of not belonging lingered in the air. Her eyes shut, and darkness enveloped her. At that moment, an intense heat enveloped him, accompanied by an insatiable thirst that he had never experienced before.Unbeknownst to them, the only problem lay in the fact that they had crossed the bar a...

17 likes 10 comments 10

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“The older light guy” by Janelle Garrison

Submitted to Contest #276

The older light guy. Older , short, and light skin. Oh no. He was so not my type. We use to work together in a store, a grocery store at that. We had two different positions in the store. I was a security officer, and he was a cashier. We would always laugh, and joke every time we seen each other at work. We had fun at work. Time went by fast when we worked together. This man has always been a funny guy, comedian is what he should've been in life. He knew how to make me laugh and smile. I loved that about him. I would ask him for gum almos...

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“Javon and Kimberly” by James Barrett

Submitted to Contest #276

My name is Javon Jackson. I’m a twenty-nine-year-old black cop in a black high-crime precinct in Newark, New Jersey. Besides my service revolver, I carry a blackjack. Often, the blackjack comes in handy when I need to show some perp that I mean business without threatening or, God forbid, using deadly force. Like most cops, I keep a backup piece at home: a Glock 22 semi-auto. It's under lock and key in a gun safe. The combination is my daughter's birthday.New Jersey is heavily blue and controlled by Democrats. As is their wont, they spend ot...

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“Mother/Daughter relationship ” by Shermayne Webster

Submitted to Contest #276

It's that time. Time for my mom to give birth to me. A six-pound, twelve-ounce baby girl born to happy parents. My mom told me she had a hard time coming up with a name for a girl, so she named me after her uncle’s wife, Shermayne. As I look back on my baby photos, it was clear that I spent a lot of time with my grandmother growing up, whom I absolutely love and adore. She has her flaws, but that’s another story for another day. My parents ended up splitting when I was very young, around the ages of two to three, leaving my mom to become a s...

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“Me and Andre” by Thomas Wetzel

Submitted to Contest #276

Andre was my best friend in the summer of 1982. I met him at the YMCA summer camp held at White Plains High School in Westchester County, New York when I was 13 years old. He was black and I was white. We became fast friends. We rode together on the bus every day and we shared our lunch and we played dodgeball and sometimes we stood up to the bullies together. We didn't always win, and sometimes we left bloody, but we always stood together.If you fought Andre, you were definitely gonna fight me too, and vice versa. He was skinny and lanky bu...

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“A Stroll Around the Park” by Darlene Mosley

Submitted to Contest #275

“Happy birthday, Sugar,” the man said.“Why, thank you darlin’,” the woman replied.The man bent his six-foot two frame to plant a quick kiss on the lips of his five-foot-eight wife. She accepted the kiss but then playfully slapped him on the upper arm.“You old fool,” she teased, “you always tryin’ to steal a kiss from me.”The man laughed heartily. “Woman, what you talkin’ ‘bout? I only been tryin’ to steal kisses from you since we was knee-high to a grasshopper!”She grinned, a wide broad grin that crinkled her eyes with joy.&nb...

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“The Taste: A Frightening Childhood Experiene” by M H

Submitted to Contest #274

A Frightening Childhood Experience: All that I've been tasting The mini-bus came to a halt. This should have been a relief after five whole minutes of it jerking backward and forward beyond the driver’s control. Yet the ever-so-present darkness lingering outside intertwined with the sudden moment of silence did not make it any better. This very factor completely debunked the idea of walking home no matter how close it now was. The two men got out of the vehicle with the driver sliding underneath it as the conductor directed the torch for him...

4 likes 1 comment 1

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“In The Shadows of The Night” by Damali Muhammad

Submitted to Contest #274

Since I was a young girl, it would take me some time to fall asleep at night. The dark was comforting to me, especially since my bed was near a window where I could gaze at the night sky. That was the most beautiful thing to me, watching  the moon light stretch across the sky. Before, I knew it morning had arrived.  Looking out my window at night allowed me to appreciate nature's beauty. As a child, I loved just looking up at the sky. I recall watching the heavy rain hit against the glass as lighting streaked across the sk...

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“VIBRANCE IN THE DEADENED VOID” by Lily Finch

Submitted to Contest #274

The air thickened with haunting sounds—a relentless chorus of moaning and mewling unsettled the senses. High-pitched moans pierced the air, reverberating with an unnerved intensity, sending shivers through the screamer's body. Their fear radiated, overshadowing the listeners' apprehension around them. Yet, this was a unique terrain she discovered herself traversing. Despite Sarah's efforts to block out the jarring sounds in her ears and cloud her mind, the noise continued to surge, relentless and menacing. Sarah felt the familiar sensation ...

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“Nobody Knows You're Here” by Rado Randriamamonjy

Submitted to Contest #273

I could hear the hounds' infernal yapping somewhere in the night behind us. Making decent time in these woods under these wet conditions had been harder than I’d planned. Most of the day before had been spent trudging through mud that came up to a pig’s eye. An unforeseen hitch delivered to us by that morning’s rain. Still the day’s head start was god-sent. Hattie was less positive than I. At sunset, when the hounds first sounded their cries, she cursed my name. Cursed it, and called for God to strike me down, '...

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“The Lycanthrope Society ” by Kimberly Walker

Submitted to Contest #272

The Lycanthrope SocietyI thought I wanted to be a pediatrician until a rabid wolf scratched my dog. Brownie was a curious, loving pup. He was a mixture of Shepherd and gold in color, like a Lab, with a big head like a whiskey barrel-carrying Saint Bernard. The attack nearly killed my best friend here at work. I’ve followed him throughout every stage of maturation. Four thousand dollars for two surgeries and countless days, nights, and hours of worrying made me curious about why animals do the things they do for years. I studied the...

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“Greece Jazz” by H.e. Ross

Submitted to Contest #273

   It was very hot. The only breeze was an occasional zephyr that teased the dust of the road. The dust would dance with twirling skirts of sad form then drop to the ground in exhaustion. On both sides slight twitches of bramble and round sage brush boringly applauded the occasional dust fandangos. The collar of my shirt rubbed my neck, breaking out sweat, then rubbing it dry. It pissed me off. I tried to wrap my handkerchief between the two but it would eventually slide one sided and that would piss me off also. I trudged alo...

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“My Bruja, Carmen” by H.e. Ross

Submitted to Contest #272

It lay across my chest like a moist log and I knew it was just her arm but it seemed to push down on me as I inhaled and made me gag. I sat up quickly as the bile rose in my throat, singeing the sides, forming bitter spots in my mouth. It was coming up and I could not breathe. My eyes searched shadows with moonlight hard against walls and still curtains. A little air, then a little more and more came, the bile subsiding, the throat relaxing. I knew I should not lay back down; that I should get up and get dressed as her words rang clearly bes...

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