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Looking for a steady supply of african american short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

810+ 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.

African american Short Stories – Page 4 of 55

Amen

Audrey Obuobisa-Darko

Submitted to Contest #285

TW: murder, sexual assault allegations The bar is a graveyard, Amen a tomb. He lifts his hand, rim of glass to rim of lip, does not drink, cannot drink, sets it back down. Mug on old wood, it's the only sound in the room. He hears a rustling and turns to the window and she is behind it, twenty five years ago, a sibylline thing of a girl; she is walking towards him. “You’re the new transfer boy at school, hm?” she says, perfect hand on perfect hip. His beer disagrees with him. He gulps it back down. “Me?” His beer disagrees with him aga...

4 likes

Dilemma

Doowuese Igbazua

Submitted to Contest #285

Dilemma “Will you marry me?” This was the one little question that made me pack my things and move all the way out to my family’s old lake house miles away. I know Jayden was expecting a “yes” from me, I was too, but somehow my legs moved faster than my mouth. The worst part of that moment was the tear I saw roll down his eyes before I turned around and left him, one knee down at the beach. The reality of that question was a serious wake up call for me. I had been hiding under the illusion of a promising life that I built on a lie. Now I am ...

3 likes

Suitcase Traveler

George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #286

It is cold when you are riding the rail, but what choice do I have these days. Got my bed roll unpacked in this Hooverville and we sittin’ around the campfire playin’ my harmonica to sad blues tunes and tellin’ stories of our travels. I tell ‘em I am Amos Wright from Greenville, Mississippi, son of a sharecropper who runned away. Now I was tol’ we’s somewhere north of Wichita. “So, Amos where are ya headed.” Balou, a redheaded Cajun, asks me. “Wherever there is work.” I lean back on my night roll. “Gotta be careful. Lot...

18 likes

Categories

Aiyana Henderson

Submitted to Contest #285

I remember the blooming trees that turned from summer to fall as the leaves fell down drastically. My sister and I were both born in these seasons, her summer, and I fall. Somehow, our personalities matched those seasons too. Mary-Anne Rich was full of sunshine, relaxation, and summer love, whereas I had the magnitude of feeling colorful for the upcoming holidays Halloween and Thanksgiving. I am thankful and haunting to people I encounter.That's where the similarities end. Mary-Anne and I were in different social groups in high school. She b...

5 likes

Destiny Diva Mulang

Submitted to Contest #285

I remember it was a cold, stormy night—let’s say around Christmas Eve. The kind of night where the wind howls like a banshee and the icy rain slaps your face like an unpaid debt. The streets of Harlem were slick and dark, the street lamps barely holding back the night. My fur-lined coat did little to fend off the chill as I clutched my trumpet case, my fingers numb and shaking, though not just from the cold. Poppa had just been readmitted to the hospital, coughing up his lungs thanks to all those damn cigarettes he swore he'd quit. I begged ...

7 likes

WHEN MUSIC WAS A THING

Submitted to Contest #285

Mikala Jackson stared out of her history class window letting her thoughts wonder away about the world. She looked beyond the array of students sprawled across the campus lawn engaged in deep signing conversations, pass the rows of mini semi-conductors that lined the coast, and stared at the distant ocean. This world was nothing like the world she read about in her History of the Old America course. The old America seemed so vibrant and alive. It was so much to do, so many ways to interact with each other, and most of all, the world had soun...

5 likes

Entertaining Angels

Brian Webb

Submitted to Contest #284

It was Christmas night, 1863. Mama and Aunt Beverly were finishing up the dinner dishes as my Uncle Cleon dozed in a chair in front of the fire. They had travelled from their home in Loudon County to spend the holidays with us. The aroma of roast goose still hung in the house. An apple pie sat cooling on the counter. I was reading my Christmas gift, a copy of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The wind outside rattled our shutters, pushing in a cold front wi...

6 likes

Encore

George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #285

“Hey Dwight, Dawn here.” My sister’s voice sounded as soon as I pressed the incoming call on my cell phone. “Hey Dawn, what’s up?” I asked as I worked to complete my presentation for the meeting after lunch. “Dad passed away.” She answered bluntly, but then she was never one to mince words. “Who found him?” “His care worked came calling.” She sighed and I knew she was on the verge of tears. Bryce was his care worker who checked every other day. Since dad’s stroke, he needed someone to check on him. Working for a technical co...

16 likes

Let There Be Peace

Ida M. Jones

Submitted to Contest #284

Red, green and white visible all over the house. Elf (doesn’t he have an evil eye?) on its last shelf. Bright lights: some blinking, some steady. A burned out light here and there (but the remaining lights keep on burning, so they say). Their light is superficial. The lights don’t truly illuminate anything.Christmas tree filled with ornaments. Several handmade and from years past. The white Santa (indoctrination had already started?) the oldest son made from paper when he was a toddler. The black Santa with tight curly hair on his head and b...

3 likes

Arrival

H.e. Ross

Submitted to Contest #284

The Air Jamaica jet bumped its way through the mist nine hours late and most of the lights below never grew brighter. I looked incredulously upon a wonderful scene, my first and I guess most impressive of Port au Prince. There were no tall buildings visible in the darkening landscape. A mountain grew up from the sea. Streams of traffic flowed during the commute hours on several arteries. Trees everywhere softened the outline of the architecture. Small fires trailed smoke toward me. The amber of kerosene lamps in contrast with the brightness ...

8 likes

Fragments

Elisabeth Fowler

Submitted to Contest #284

“Who’s that in my house?”The dark, handsome child turned his attention from the TV and responded. His voice was deeper than a boy’s ought to be. “We’ve been over this—that’s you. Do you want me to take it down?” I didn’t know how to answer him when the volume was missing in the room. I couldn’t understand what held his focus or mine. He rolled his eyes back to his video game when he got no response from me. Trying to make sense of what he said, I raised a tired hand towards the face in the flaking mirror. Both were pale and wrinkle...

53 likes

Silent Night

Submitted to Contest #283

I rub my eyes as I walk down the stairs, the smell of freshly brewed coffee fills the air. Momma’s sitting at the kitchen table with a full cup sitting in front of her. “Good morning, Momma! Merry Christmas!” I say to her with a smile. She looks at me and smiles. “I’m so glad I’m off for the rest of the week. I didn’t want to be bothered with people right now. You know?” I sit at the table next to her and slide the coffee cup so it’s in front of me. “Your gift is a surprise! And before you ask, it’s not a ...

2 likes

Lulu and the Complaints of the White Oak Tree

Annie Chibesakunda

Submitted to Contest #283

It was Christmas time, but the snow was taking an awful long time to fall in Lulu’s region. The ground was dry as if it had been turned to stone—like a punishment for the devil's tempting ways in the desert. The sky was a cold blue, allowing the sun to shine on the earth while freezing its rays. The birds had all flown south, leaving no life visible in the sky. The bold eagles were probably nesting nearby, but one day, when Lulu looked up, the size of the empty sky overwhelmed her, dwarfing even the majestic eagles. The trees stood nak...

5 likes

Aloha

Lily Finch

Submitted to Contest #283

Most wonderful time of the year, my ass, Jimmy thought. I detest the chaos caused by everyone's fake smiles and insincere gift-giving simply because it's the festive season.This place will never be the same since Rocko and I were stuck together at Christmas many years ago. This year, he unexpectedly appeared in my thoughts, which caused me to feel as though something was amiss.Whenever I purchase a gift for someone, I feel like I'm being watched closely or that Rocko will suddenly appear and greet me with, "Aloha, friend."Considering that we...

9 likes

Claus and Effect: A Holiday Tale of the Arts Department

Martin Ross

Submitted to Contest #282

To the real Merlin Kennedy, who brought Black Santa to town…December 17, 1966Adams ParkMillington, Illinois“Why are you stopping me?” Santa asked calmly as the officer pulled him none too gently from the “sleigh.” If there were to be one cool head this frosty Saturday morning, it would be his.The boy was blonde and blue-eyed, like Officer Friendly in a Norman Rockwell painting or the fellows used to goose-step Jews off to the livestock cars.“No way in hell you’re gonna be in this parade today,” the cop stated, leaning in. “There’s only one S...

21 likes