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Black History Month- Book Celebrations 📚
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items In honor of Black History Month, these are some of my favorite go-to books. Take the time to look through them, share them, or buy them. These stories matter — not just in February, but all year long.
One man’s radical transformation from the streets to the global stage. A masterclass in self-reinvention, conviction, and truth-telling that never gets old.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Maya Angelou surviving trauma with grace and turning pain into poetry. One of the most honest memoirs ever written.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou
What it truly feels like to exist in a room and still not be seen. Ralph Ellison wrote this in 1952 and it reads like it was written yesterday.
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
A deep dive into the full history of racist ideas in America. Dense, challenging, and worth every single page.
Stamped from the Beginning: History of Racist Ideas
Michelle Alexander exposes mass incarceration as a racial caste system. The data alone will change how you see the justice system forever.
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration & Colorblindness
Michelle Obama’s journey from the South Side of Chicago to the White House. Grounded, inspiring, and refreshingly real.
Becoming: Obama, Michelle: 9781524763138
Trevor Noah’s moving and often hilarious account of growing up mixed-race in apartheid South Africa. One of the most accessible and eye-opening books on this list.
Born a Crime: Stories from South Africa
Resmaa Menakem explores how racial trauma lives not just in the mind but in the body. Healing-focused and deeply necessary right now.
My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma
Toni Morrison’s haunting masterpiece about the lasting psychological wounds of slavery. One of the greatest American novels ever written, full stop.
Beloved (Beloved Trilogy, #1) by Toni Morrison
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George M. Johnson’s unapologetic memoir about growing up Black and queer. One of the most banned books in the country right now, which is exactly why you should read it.
The queer survival and coming-of-age book I needed as a child - Scalawag
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Brit Bennett’s page-turning story of twin sisters who live on opposite sides of the color line. A brilliant exploration of identity, colorism, and family that feels urgent right now.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett