Reading Recommendations: Black History Month

Hello readers! In light of Black History Month I thought I would share my own recommendations of books to read throughout this month. The following books spotlights the stories of people of color as the main/lead characters or are written by African-American authors. I chose six amazing reads that range from children, YA, an adult novels. I hope you enjoy these picks!

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Synopsis: For the first time, Angelou reveals the triumphs and struggles of being the daughter of Vivian Baxter, an indomitable spirit whose petite size belied her larger-than-life presence—a presence absent during much of Angelou’s early life. When her marriage began to crumble, Vivian famously sent three-year-old Maya and her older brother away from their California home to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. The subsequent feelings of abandonment stayed with Angelou for years, but their reunion, a decade later, began a story that has never before been told.

This is the first book I’ve read my Maya and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was an eye opening reading book about her life and relationship with her mom. It’s deep, thought-provoking, sad, and heartfelt too. I also like how it’s a commentary on the relationships of mothers and daughters. A recommended read!

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Synopsis: Trapped in sunny, stifling, small-town suburbia, seventeen-year-old Morgan knows why she’s in therapy. She can’t count the number of times she’s been the only non-white person at the sleepover, been teased for her “weird” outfits, and been told she’s not “really” black. Also, she’s spent most of her summer crying in bed. So there’s that, too.

Lately, it feels like the whole world is listening to the same terrible track on repeat–and it’s telling them how to feel, who to vote for, what to believe. Morgan wonders, when can she turn this song off and begin living for herself?

This novel is read like a diary and each chapter felt like a personal essay of some sorts. I felt like the story is relatable and talks about how mental illness is stigmatized in the Black community. I thought the narrative important because lots of Black women of all ages are going through the same things Morgan is. (Review)

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Synopsis: When Esquire magazine planned an issue to salute the American jazz scene in 1958, graphic designer Art Kane pitched a crazy idea: how about gathering a group of beloved jazz musicians and photographing them? He didn’t own a good camera, didn’t know if any musicians would show up, and insisted on setting up the shoot in front of a Harlem brownstone. Could he pull it off? In a captivating collection of poems, Roxane Orgill steps into the frame of Harlem 1958, bringing to life the musicians’ mischief and quirks, their memorable style, and the vivacious atmosphere of a Harlem block full of kids on a hot summer’s day.

This is a wonderful Children’s picture book about a gathering of Jazz greats to take a photo that would be come legendary. I love the colorful illustrations and how we to get to see each Jazz musicians. What’s even better is that there is a glossary of the musicians bio’s in the back of the book so you can learn more about their backgrounds.

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Synopsis: When America achieves milestones of progress toward full and equal black participation in democracy, the systemic response is a consistent racist backlash that rolls back those wins. We Are Not Yet Equal examines five of these moments: The end of the Civil War and Reconstruction was greeted with Jim Crow laws; the promise of new opportunities in the North during the Great Migration was limited when blacks were physically blocked from moving away from the South; the Supreme Court’s landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision was met with the shutting down of public schools throughout the South; the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 led to laws that disenfranchised millions of African American voters and a War on Drugs that disproportionally targeted blacks.

This highlights moments such as the Great Migration, the case of Brown vs. Board, and other significant moments in civil rights/political history.I loved this book and I appreciated the solid timeline layout as well as the diagrams about legislature passed that made it easier for the reader to understand. I also like the inclusion of photos that referenced the events discussed in the book to really connect readers with the text. (Review)

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Synopsis: Explosive fantasy set in a world of magic and legend, where one girl must sacrifice her life, year by year, to gain the power necessary to fight the mother she has never been good enough for.

When strange premonitions befall her family and children in the kingdom begin to disappear, Arrah undergoes the dangerous and scorned process of selling years of her life for magic. This borrowed power reveals a nightmarish betrayal and a danger beyond what she could have imagined. Now Arrah must find a way to master magic, or at least buy it, in order to save herself and everything she holds dear.

Kingdom of Souls is a fantasy novel enriched with African culture.  What I love most about this book is that it is such an immersive reading experience. Barron creates a world different from our own. From the beginning to the end the reader is just pulled into the story. Though it’s fast paced, I liked the great attention to detail in the world building process. (Review)

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Synopsis: Robinson’s latest essay collection is a call to arms. She tackles a wide range of topics, such as giving feminism a tough-love talk in hopes it can become more intersectional; telling society’s beauty standards to kick rocks; and demanding that toxic masculinity close its mouth and legs (enough with the manspreading already!), and get out of the way so true progress can happen. 

This book is a collection of humorous, but serious discussions on race, gender, dating, and other timely topics in today’s society.  What I enjoyed most about reading this book is that Robinson does not shy away from being very open about topics that people skirt around. And the manner in which she opens up these discussions with sheer honesty is refreshing and interesting. (Review)

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That concludes my Black History Month reading recommendations! What books do you recommend? Comment below! 🙂

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