Happy Black History Month! Books that share Black stories express Black joy, creativity and innovation, while also creating important representation and facilitating critical dialogue. These titles, ranging from the 1980s to present day and spanning locations from Nigeria to the United States, explore themes of race, resilience and community. Happy reading!
“How the Sun Does Shine” by Anthony Ray Hinton
In this powerful memoir, Hinton tells his story as a Black man who spent 30 years on death row for a murder he did not commit. In 2015, he won his release, but this heart-wrenching book tells his journey as he grapples with issues of truth, justice and the prison system. Raw and resilient, Hinton’s story points to some of the most pressing problems surrounding the American criminal justice system.
“Beloved” by Toni Morrison
“Beloved” is a poignant novel about the difficult coexistence of slavery and motherhood. The book follows Sethe, a free woman who is still virulently affected by memories of her life as a slave. Morrison’s characters are deep and moving and the story is immersive. Though haunting and difficult to read, “Beloved” portrays both the grief and beauty of freedom from slavery after generations of abuse. Morrison explores the complicated themes of love, violence and family through lenses of gender and race, highlighting the inescapable relevance of the history of racial violence.
“Freshwater” by Akwaeke Emezi
Emezi’s debut novel, “Freshwater” is an autobiographical fiction told from the perspectives of the main character’s different identities. A coming-of-age story, Emezi incorporates Nigerian deities and spiritual experiences that make the story feel transcendental. Readers will come to love the main character, Ada, as she discovers her identity and undergoes a process of healing. Dark, poetic and profound, Emezi’s novel will leave readers of all backgrounds with questions about fate and consciousness.
“The Vanishing Half” by Brit Bennett
“The Vanishing Half” tells the story of twins Stella and Desiree Vignes. The twins grow up with an inseparable bond, but end up on very different paths as young adults. Stella and Desiree grew up in a small town of “light-skinned” Black individuals, isolated in their own community in the 1960s.
As a teenager, Stella leaves the small town where they grew up to “pass” as a white woman. She marries a white man, has children and hides her true identity from her coworkers and neighbors. Desiree remains in their hometown and raises her own child as a single mother. The dichotomy of the Vignes twins' lives functions as a bittersweet tale about family, identity and race, family bonds ultimately bringing the twins back together. The characters are lovable and the story is all-consuming.
“Rabbit” by Patricia Williams
This memoir is written by Patricia Williams, a Black comedian who grew up in Atlanta at the height of the crack epidemic. Her neighborhood and family struggled with extreme poverty and Williams opens up about her upbringing with an alcoholic mother, five siblings and two kids of her own by age 15. Williams, determined to create a better life for her children, narrates the difficulty of finding a way out while also finding humor and joy in her experiences.
