Here’s a list of books recommended by Black women, written by prolific Black women that address timely topics including intersectional feminism, race, gender, immigration and more.
On May 25, George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis officer Derrick Chavin, who kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes. An independent autopsy reports that Floyd died of “asphyxiation from sustained pressure”, caused by the brutal misconduct of the Minneapolis Police Department. Following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, the hypervisibility of black death and police brutality have sparked global outrage, igniting protests worldwide.
Amidst the calls to action, donations, and petitions to government officials, increased efforts to amplify Black voices and academic discourses on racism have become vital tools to propel the #BlackLivesMatter movement forward. Educational texts and resources afford opportunities to address existing manifestations of institutional violence, highlighting the fallacy of a “post-racial society” — unearthing our implicit biases and challenging insidious forms of discrimination.
In a collaborative effort, we have compiled a list of books recommended by Black women, written by prominent Black women activists, academics, thinkers and authors. Ranging from critical race theory, black intersectional feminism, post-colonial theory, immigration and more, these texts are insightful and informative explorations on the globalization of anti-black racism, as well as the structural forms of racial and gender-based violence that have plagued our communities. Now more than ever, it is imperative to learn and unlearn in order to achieve impactful change and dismantle systemic oppression.
Here is a selection, in our own words, of 10 books that provide a greater understanding of our current political and social climate, as well as the historical effects of racism through the lens of black women.
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo It is times like these Black women contemplate how much intellectual labor they should endure when white people constantly approach them on where to start with doing the work of facing their privilege and bias. Ijeoma Oluo’s debut, So You Want to Talk About Race, is an honest entry point, as the writer and social critic tackles intersectionality, affirmative action, the notion of “model minorities” and more and how they infect almost every aspect of American life. –Antoinette Isama, Culture Journalist
Thick by Tressie McMillan Cottom Writer and sociologist Tressie McMillan Cottom expertly identifies her positionality as a thick Black woman and addresses the struggles she has faced because of it. I enjoyed reading this because I am constantly seeking to address my privilege and fatphobia as one that doesn’t get spoken about much. Plus she gives helpful tips she has defined her legitimacy in academia that I use in my writing today: “Excluded as I am from the ethos, logos, and pathos of academic, literary arts, humanities, and Professional Smart People, I have had to appeal to every form of authority simultaneously in every single thing that I have ever written,” she says. “That means mixing personal stories—some intimate and painful—with statistics, research, and quotations from eminent thinkers like Foucault.” This is my favorite quote from the book. I have it written on my white board in New York and always look at it before I write something. –Camille Thomas, Actress
Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge discusses race and racism in Britain. As a Black woman who has been educated in the U.K., it is always touted that British people are more racially tolerant, or that the U.K. treats all members of their society equally. However, author and journalist Reni Eddo-Lodge exposes these statements as falsehoods as she meticulously combs through anti-blackness in multiple aspects of British society, from the Windrush era to the contemporary British education system. This seminal critique forces its readers to question their past, present and future experiences within British society. –Isioma Oramah, Film Student at Queen Mary University London
Unbowed: A Memoir by Wangari Maathai “A tree has roots in the soil yet reaches to the sky. It tells us that in order to aspire we need to be grounded and that no matter how high we go it is from our roots that we draw sustenance. It is a reminder to all of us who have had success that we cannot forget where we came from. It signifies that no matter how powerful we become in government or how many awards we receive, our power and strength and our ability to reach our goals depend on the people, those whose work remains unseen, who are the soil out of which we grow, the shoulders on which we stand.”
Wangari Maathai, prolific Kenyan environmental and political activist, recounts her journey to the election of parliament in Kenya against the KANU party. I read this book as a child in sixth grade and it taught me the importance of environmental conservation, political activism, and fighting back in the face of oppression at a young age. -Talia Smith, Culture Journalist & Founder of Yung Lords Media
Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde “To the racist, Black people are so powerful that the presence of one can contaminate a whole lineage; to the heterosexist, lesbians are so powerful that the presence of one can contaminate the whole sex.”
Sister Outsider is the first book I’ve read which I felt validated both parts of my identity as a queer Black woman. Throughout the book, author, feminist and activist Audre Lorde highlights the tactics of racist oppressors as well as addresses homophobia within the Black community. Her essays and speeches resonated with me in a visceral way, bringing words and examinations to feelings and observations I’ve always had, but have never seen expressed. –Blanche Akon, Filmmaker
Superior: The Return of Race Science by Angela Saini Saini is a science journalist with a mission to debunk myths of race and ethnicity within the scientific field and beyond. The idea of race science is prevalent in the way our current society thinks of and perceives race relations, making it difficult to separate ourselves from harmful stereotypes that have been perpetuated for years.
The idea of humanity not being created equally biologically is forcefully debunked by Saini, who highlights how many eugenicist organisations continue to perpetuate these ideals in peer reviewed journals and museums built off the back of stolen artefacts.
Fan of Darwin? You won’t be after Superior. –Maxine Sibihwana, Poet & Publishing Trainee at HarperCollins Publishers
Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Y. Davis “Whenever you conceptualize social justice struggles, you will always defeat your own purposes if you cannot imagine the people around whom you are struggling as equal partners.”
Freedom is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by iconic activist Angela Y. Davis is a collection of essays in which Davis analyzes a global, collective effort of justice. She examines how systems of injustice exist in different parts of the world; she uses an interdisciplinary approach of Black Feminist Thought, Prison Abolition, and Community Liberation to address how freedom can be possible. I enjoy this book because it has broadened my perspective on struggles around the world, and it shows how we’re more alike than different. –Romie N. Williams, High School Educator & Founder of Roaming with Romie
Heart of the Race by Beverly Bryan, Stella Dadzie & Suzanne Scafe Heart of the Race seeks to provide a detailed account of modern Black British history from the Windrush era to the 1980s from the perspective of Black Caribbean women — a perspective that is often erased from history. Through the lenses of race, class and gender, the book provides a comprehensive and illuminating insight into the struggles and resistance of black women in Britain. Modern British history, being whitewashed and patriarchal, creates vacuums of understanding of where the current problems Black Brits originate from. I appreciate the efforts that the three writers have taken to record the perspective of many Black Caribbean women in navigating a racist, classist and sexist post-war Britain, especially as a Black Brit of Nigerian descent. –Yemisi Anifowose, Masters Graduate in ‘Political Economy of Europe’ from the London School of Economics and Political Science
Second Class Citizen by Buchi Emecheta Second Class Citizen by novelist Buchi Emecheta is a semi-autobiographical account that portrays the life of Adah, a Nigerian girl born during World War II. The novel skillfully portrays a dichotomy of two worlds both riddled with white supremacy and imperialism: a life in Nigeria as a middle-class woman, and a life in the UK as a second-class citizen.Throughout the book, Emecheta dissects racism, sexism, domestic violence and motherhood in an effort to draw parallels between the two continents. This book, for me, was pivotal in my exploration of life as a Black woman both in the US and in Ghana—a life where the outside world is for battling racism and the home is for surviving misogyny.
Applicable to the current climate is this quote that summarizes Adah’s reconciliation of white supremacy: “Adah could not stop thinking about her discovery that the whites were just as fallible as everyone else. There were bad whites and good whites, just as there were bad blacks and good blacks! Why then did they claim to be superior?” –Maame Boatemaa, Travel Blogger & Founder of The Garlic Project
Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment by Patricia Hill Collins Hill-Collins, a race, class and gender academic, centers Black women’s perspectives and presents introspective analyses of prevalent social and political issues through the Black woman’s gaze. Her discussions on intersectional feminism and the “intersectional paradigms” of our identities, reveal “that oppression cannot be reduced to one fundamental type, and that oppressions work together in producing injustice.”
As a dark- skinned Black woman, Collins’ book sparked internal personal reflections on how racism, sexism and colorism have impacted how I navigate the world. As a straight cisgender women, this facet of my identity is privileged in a world that has historically marginalized and suppressed the LGBTQIA+ community. Her book expanded my understanding of what feminism and allyship truly means, highlighting the many ways our multifaceted experiences can both be a marker of privilege or disenfranchisement. Black Feminist Thought provides space for Black women who have been historically sidelined and silenced for far too long in western white feminist discourse, as well as provides an inclusive approach to activism and political empowerment. –Adaora Oramah, Creative Strategist
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Adaora Oramah is a Nigerian-American photographer and creative strategist with a specialized interest in highlighting business developments and trends in Africa’s cultural and creative industries. Adaora has worked at reputable media companies as well as advertising and design agencies including VICE, OkayAfrica, Omnicom’s RAPP Worldwide and Aruliden. Keep up with her on Instagram, LinkedIn and her website.
