Black History Month Reading List
In the spirit of Black History Month here in the U.S., I wanted to share some books that are in my TBR pile (which is actually two huge stacks of books quickly taking over my living room). I try to make an effort to be as intersectional as possible in my reading, and while I of course don’t just read books by black authors or black stories during February, I wanted to spotlight some that I’m particularly excited to read—including nonfiction, essays, and novels.
“The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism” by Edward E. Baptist: this is the next nonfiction book I’m going to dive into. I have been doing a lot of thinking over the past year or so about wealth inequality in the U.S. and how capitalism has contributed to that, and I think we’d be remiss not to examine how slavery helped shape capitalism in this country. I’ve heard excellent things about this book and I’m excited to start reading it.
“We Were Eight Years in Power” by Ta-Nehisi Coates: Written in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, Coates examines race, the presidency of Barack Obama, and the subsequent backlash with the election of Donald Trump.
“This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) America” by Morgan Jerkins: another in my stack of books about the intersectional feminism. I think many of us white women are guilty of only reading memoirs or treatises by other white women, and I challenge you (and myself) to break outside of that box. The best way to become more empathic to others’ experiences is to read about them, directly from the source.
“If Beale Street Could Talk” by James Baldwin: I haven’t read nearly enough James Baldwin, and I want to read this one before I see the Barry Jenkins movie.
“Nickel Boys” by Colson Whitehead: I borrowed this one from Elizabeth when I was in D.C. a few weeks ago (her review here). Based on a true story, this one follows the story of two boys sent to a reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida. Certainly a “hard but good” read, I would definitely add this to your own TBR list asap.
“The Water Dancer” by Ta-Nehisi Coates: another one I should have read by now, as I received it from Book of the Month last fall. Coates’ first novel follows a slave with a magical gift who joins the fight against white slaveowners and works to rescue his family.
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