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It’s the most wonderful time of the year. February marks Black History Month—the moment this country pauses to acknowledge the Black community and our contributions to American history at large. This annual observance first began as “Negro History Week,” introduced by Carter G. Woodson to fill the void in public school curriculums. Over the next 40 years, that solitary week would continue growing in popularity until 1969 when students at Kent State University, following a period of deep activism, decided that seven days wasn’t enough time to educate ourselves.
The next year, those students held the first Black History Month celebration, initiating a tidal wave of cultural advocacy. Finally, in 1976, President Gerald Ford heeded the call and officially recognized Black History Month as an “opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” Today, these 28—and occasionally 29—days are an opportunity to really look at how society treats those who have contributed the most to the America we know today.
The 28 books below have been curated to guide anyone and everyone in recommitting to Black liberation. With titles ranging from fiction to memoir to poetry to self-help and beyond, this list will not only leave you more aware, but also offer ways to transform that awareness into action. And while these books are available everywhere books are sold, we strongly encourage you to pick one up at your nearest Black-owned bookstore.
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1 We Want Freedom: A Life in the Black Panther Party by Mumia Abu-Jamal 2 Unafraid of the Dark by Rosemary L. Bray 3 How to Talk to Your Boss About Race: Speaking Up Without Getting Shut Down by Y-Vonne Hutchinson 4 Do Better: Spiritual Activism for Fighting and Healing from White Supremacy by Rachel Ricketts 5 Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 edited by Ibram X. Kendi & Keisha N. Blain 6 Just as I Am by Cicely Tyson 7 We Do This ’til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice by Mariame Kaba 8 The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr. 9 mourning my inner[blackgirl]child by reelaviolette botts-ward 10 Abolition. Feminism. Now. by Angela Y. Davis, Gina Dent, Erica R. Meiners, and Beth E. Richie 11 The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story created by Nikole Hannah-Jones 12 An American Marriage by Tayari Jones 13 You Don’t Know Us Negroes and Other Essays by Zora Neale Hurston 14 The Birds of Opulence by Crystal Wilkinson 15 Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, and the Pursuit of Freedom by Derecka Purnell 16 Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson 17 Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson 18 Caul Baby by Morgan Jerkins 19 How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith 20 The Mothers by Brit Bennett 21 Angel of Greenwood by Randi Pink 22 Bird Uncaged: An Abolitionist’s Freedom Song by Marlon Peterson 23 The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation by Anna Malaika Tubbs 24 Systematic Land Theft by Jillian Hishaw 25 The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Fall Apart by Alicia Garza 26 Black Girl, Call Home by Jasmine Mans 27 South to America: A Journey Below the Mason Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Imani Perry 28 Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow Brea Baker Brea Baker is racial and gender justice activist working locally and nationally towards the liberation of all oppressed people with an emphasis on Black people and women.
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