Your Reading List for Black History Month and Forever

Anything Imani Perry touches is magic, and her latest nonfiction work is an ode to the color blue and its longstanding significance to Black Americans. From blues music to West African indigo dyes to the ocean and beyond, Perry makes connections that most others ignore and offers even more insight into Black American culture—the beauty and the pain, the sorrow and the joy.

Shirley Chisolm is the first Black woman to run for President of the United States and though many might know her name, few actually know details from inside that campaign. Tolliver reveals the intimate inner workings of how Black Hollywood, Black activists, and Black leaders coalesced behind a former-schoolteacher turned history-maker. In doing so, Tolliver also offers insight on how we may be able to better work together in service of new leadership today. We can build power and have fun, but it takes true community.

American workplaces and educational spaces are currently marred by debates over Black Americans’ qualifications. With attacks on affirmative action and DEI, many seem to wrongly assume that any Black person in a position of power is only there for optics. Dunn’s new book challenges this practice of “competency checking,” which requires highly qualified Black candidates—and other people of color—to constantly prove themselves and work two and three times as hard for a seat at the table. She also lays out a blueprint for employers, workers, and allies on how we fight back.

Out February 25.

Youth-led activism is not a new phenomenon and, as Omokha explores in her latest book, young Black activists in particular have been paving a path towards a more just America for more than 100 years. This book will expose you to figures you may have never heard of and those we can fight alongside today. Omokha reminds us that young Black activists have always been beacons of hope and insisted on making America live up to its promise.

Campbell’s novel explores an America without white people. What would Black Americans do if we don’t have to fight against hierarchy and racism? What battles would we still be waging? What realizations would we have to come to in order to see Blackness as more than the antithesis of whiteness?

Any body of work that opens with a Nikki Giovanni foreword is a must-buy. Not to be eclipsed by the legendary poet, Katie Mitchell takes readers on an incredible journey in her debut book that reminds us Black bookstores have always filled the void and centered Black stories. Through vivid photography, interviews, and essays, this work—part-travelogue and part-manifesto—helps us fall in love with the places that have centered Black literature as a form of resistance.

Out April 8.

How can America ever call itself post-racial while white supremacy is celebrated openly all around us? Irvin Weathersby Jr. explores this and many other questions in his book In Open Contempt, which picks apart the celebration of those whose legacies were cemented by standing on the necks of Black America. By shining a light on Confederate states and plantation tourism to sites of former massacres, Weathersby interrogates public space and how artists, architects, city planners, and others are doubling down on our racist inception story. He reimagines our society towards one that honors the world we claim to be fighting for.

As a little girl, Tamara Lanier’s mother often shared the oral history of their lineage, including an enslaved ancestor fondly referred to as “Papa Renty.” Imagine her surprise when her research led her to a photo of that same Papa Renty—an image owned by Harvard University. From These Roots is the story of Lanier’s fight to reclaim artifacts and genealogy from one of the whitest and most powerful institutions in the world. The book unravels full of suspense but begs the question: Who owns our stories and how can we fight for justice for our descendants?

This New York Times bestseller is a riveting and harrowing example of just how systematic racism has been and continues to be. Award-winning journalist Antonia Hylton tells the story of a segregated asylum, from its initial manipulation of people who might not have needed institutionalization at all to its failure to properly treat those who did. This well-researched work features never-before-heard accounts from former patients, employees, and family members who worked day and night to make sure those who needed care could access it. In doing so, Madness tells a damning story about how this country has withheld resources from those who need them most.

I love a good memoir, especially from those who have pioneered uncharted territory and opened doors for people who come after them. Jennifer Jones, the first Black Rockette, doesn’t disappoint in this beautiful account of her journey into the hallowed Radio City halls, the racism she experienced along the way, and how she made dance history while not losing sight of herself. This is a story of glamour, strength, and triumph.

Out February 18.

To kick off Black History Month, it’s important to remember that while we now loudly and proudly say “Black Lives Matter,” many of our elders died or were incarcerated for their activism. Mumia Abu-Jamal, arguably one of the nation’s most famous political prisoners, has long spoken out against racialized poverty and police brutality, earning him the title of “the world’s best-known death-row inmate” by The New York Times. This memoir offers a front-row seat into one of the most vilified racial justice organizations in American history from the perspective of the then-teenager who helped found the Philadelphia branch of the Black Panther Party.

Rosemary Bray tells a story of being bussed into a predominantly white, wealthy school where the contrast between her and her peers was beyond stark. In a moment of scarcity, Bray began taking money out of her classmate’s wallets until she was caught by a faculty member. Instead of expelling her, the school began giving Bray an allowance to meet her needs. Unafraid of the Dark insists we reimagine what it means to look out for the welfare of our most marginalized community members and what is possible when we do.

Many self-help and business books tell readers how to get ahead in the workplace without ever mentioning how difficult it is for Black people and people of color to show up authentically and find success in white spaces. Hutchinson’s How to Talk to Your Boss About Race is both a hilarious how-to guide as well as a memoir about her own experience as a Black woman insistent upon a truly inclusive work environment. Hutchinson told ELLE.com, “The book isn’t just about how to have a conversation with your boss, it aims to prepare you to change a culture as an individual even if you feel disempowered.”

Do Better is a guide in every sense of the word. Each chapter gives you personal anecdotes to connect to, questions to reflect on, and action steps to take. This is one of the best books to read as an ally, but it’s also an essential read for Black people who are looking to deepen their discussions about white supremacy.

Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain are two of the nation’s foremost anti-racist writers and educators, and their first collaborative work is a must-read. Self-described as piece of “community history,” the book fuses essays, short stories, and historical narrative to communicate what the past 400+ years have been like for Black American descendants of slavery.

Cicely Tyson is and always will be an American icon. In her memoir, the Bronx-born actress shares about her formative years, giving readers a front-row seat to her six decades on Broadway and in Hollywood.

Mariame Kaba did the unimaginable when her book on abolition— published through a non-profit, independent publisher with little-to-no marketing—became an instant New York Times bestseller. It’s a testament to how valued she is as a true thought-leader in the space of public safety, gender justice, and prison-industrial complex abolition.

Robert Jones Jr. is a writer who wields his pen more so as a wand, creating magic on each page. Here, he transports us to the antebellum South, but not for the typical slavery rendition we’re used to. Jones doesn’t sugarcoat the violence of plantation life but juxtaposes it brilliantly with the love of two enslaved Black men. In doing so, he reminds us that queer Black people not only exist now, but always have.

Black girlhood is under attack as Black girls are forced to grow up quickly in response to the racist and sexist environments they are forced to endure. In botts-ward’s collection of poetry, she bares her soul so readers can either see themselves and heal—or understand the intersecting experiences of Black women.

Abolition is not a new ideology and practice, yet its recent entrance into mainstream conversations has stirred up a lot of angst around what it means and what its implementation would mean for society at large. In this book, four of the nation’s leading racial and gender justice thinkers have joined together to talk about how abolition can be a solution to gender-based violence and support survivors far more than our current criminal legal system.