10 Best Books to Read for Black History Month
Black History Books to Feel Empowered
The top books to read for Black History Month. Black History is everyday for Black people, and knowledge is power.
- Dirty Little Secrets by Claud Anderson, Ed.D
Never has there been a book so concise and entertaining with such complex and infuriating information. An easy-to-reference read with facts regarding Black History that you couldn’t imagine. Dirty Little Secrets is definitely the most necessary read to get a holistic view on Black History in America and beyond. Book can be purchased here.
- Four Hundred Souls:: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019, Edited by Ibram X. Kendi (Editor) and Keisha N. Blain (Editor)
With an entirely new approach on presenting Black History, this book encompasses over ninety different writers who offer unique perspectives through anecdotes, historic essays, short stories, and more. This book carries the premise that Black culture and therefore Black people represent far more than just one group.
Book can be purchased here.
- Sula by Toni Morrison (or ANY novel by Toni Morrison)
What does it really mean to be a Black woman? That journey is not always so clear, but almost always sexualized, mocked, and/or criminalized for simply existing. This beautiful work of fiction – the only fiction work on this list – showcases real perspectives on how absurd the standards society have set for Black women. This book also could potentially show you a new lens with a timeless tale. Her work was ahead of its time, and timeless for Black culture. A Black woman’s history in intimate detail.
Book can be purchased here.
- The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Slavery is not over just because we had a Black president. It’s just not, and this book gives you the tantalizing facts to back up the claims most Black folks already know. It’s thick and packed with statistics, verified stories, and psychological facts that showcase how mass incarceration today mirrors the Jim Crow era for Black people in America. The New Jim Crow is well worth the read.
Book can be purchased here.
- The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
“To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a state of rage almost, almost all of the time.” – James Baldwin. The Fire Next Time is an intimate observation of what it’s like to be conscious in Black existence that is as disturbingly relevant today as it was in the 1960s.
Book can be purchased here.
- Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X Kendi
A clear understanding of how racist ideas found their way into every way of Black existence from beginning until now. A definite precursor to recently published work Four Hundred Souls.
Book can be purchased here.
- Pussy Prayers: Sacred and Sensual Rituals for Wild Women of Color by Black Girl Bliss
Due to all of the trauma, suppression and confusion around Black female sexuality, this book offers a much needed breath of fresh air for Black women reclaiming their power and the true essence of how wonderful sex (and sensuality) truly can and should be. The sex ed Black women deserve, but valuable to both Black men and women.
Book can be purchased here.
- Medical Apartied:The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present by Harriet A. Washington
In the world of scientific research, many Black people know that we have been seen as experiments rather than people inhabiting those bodies. This book shows just how exactly Black people have been mistreated in the medical industry, and how the gap affects Black people to this day.
Book can be purchased here.
- Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
A memoir that depicts clearly that having Black skin is not only an American issue, but a global one as well. From the South African regime to the States, this memoir shows a restless, adventurous boy whose life began with a crime that was punishable up to five years: being born.
Book can be purchased here.
- The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health: Navigate an Unequal System, Learn Tools for Emotional Wellness, and Get the Help You Deserve by Rheeda Walker, PhD
Black people have been disproportionately affected by lack of mental health services. It goes without saying that in America, Black people arguably need mental health services the most, but have the least access to it due to finances, accessibility, insurance (or lack thereof), or just not “believing” in it. However, Black people deserve to feel good, and content, and whole after so many years of continuous fighting (throughout slavery, mass incarceration, police brutality, etc.) that still happens today.
Mental health care for Black people is severely underrated, and is an integral part of Black empowerment – for the self and for the community. There is a lot of healing and peace Black people have not been afforded; this book opens the door to that. This book can be purchased here.
Photo Provided by Thought Catalog on Unsplash
Tags: Black History Month, Black History reads, Black people, woke dancer, Black History books
