Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619–2019 is a 2021 anthology of essays, commentaries, personal reflections, short stories, and poetry, compiled and edited by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain.

Conceived and created to commemorate the four hundred years that had passed since the arrival of the first Africans in Virginia, the book concerns African-American history and collects works written by ninety Black writers.

A winner or finalist of multiple awards in its print and audiobook editions, Four Hundred Souls has been widely praised by reviewers for its prose and historical content.

[2] Kendi and Keisha N. Blain collaborated to compile and edit the book project, titled Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619–2019, and together they invited ten poets and eighty writers from a diverse range of professions—including historians, anthropologists, journalists, novelists, economists, theologians, educators, and more—to contribute.

[3] Reviewer Don Polite called the resulting contributor list a "who's who of African America" and "a remarkable cross section of the Black community".

[2] While contrasting with past single-author histories of Black America,[1] Four Hundred Souls also emerges in a tradition of Black-written anthologies "of historical observations, poetry, scholarship, and vignettes" in the vein of Abraham Chapman's Black Voices: An Anthology of Afro-American Literature and Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

Others feature only as narrators in the audiobook; this cast includes actress Danai Gurira, broadcast journalist Soledad O'Brien, and singer Phylicia Rashad, among many others.

[3] The book portrays "the endurance and resilience of how Blacks resisted, revolted, organized, demanded, protested and rebelled", as reviewer George McCalman describes.

[4] The poetry, punctuating every forty-year section, contributes to humanizing and "elaborat[ing] on the historical narratives", enhancing the punch of academic information by giving it a personal edge.

[17] The cover, designed by Michael Morris, features artwork by Bayo Iribhogbe that according to editor Blain depicts the book's "spirit of community".

"[10] Writing for Booklist, Leslie Williams wrote that Four Hundred Souls "crackles with rage, beauty, bitter humor, and the indomitable will to survive.

Kirkus singled out the essays of Raquel Willis, Robert Jones Jr., Barbara Smith, and Esther Armah as the "standouts" in the book.

[21] Reviewer Don Polite especially praised its essay format, suggesting the book is "almost tailor-made" to accompany undergraduate courses or inspire discussion in community spaces.

[21] The magazine BookPage recognized Four Hundred Souls' audiobook edition with a starred review and praised the cast as a "heartfelt chorus of voices".

BookPage's review noted the "layered, echoing voices" used in the audiobook's transitions and complimented the "haunting, emotional effect" achieved by such collective lines.

[16] AudioFile magazine spotlighted J. D. Jackson, Kevin R. Free, January LaVoy, and Robin Miles for being especially "masterful" while adding that "at least two dozen more" narrators deserved the same praise.