Black History Month: Recommended Reading
February 8, 2021
In honor of Black History Month, Global G.L.O.W. Program Manager Binta Freeman and Program Coordinator Olivia Jaffe-Pachuilo compiled an extensive reading list that includes books, poems, and articles that are appropriate for all ages. This list also includes Black “Bookstagrammers” that we recommend following all year long. Enjoy!
Books for Youth:
- Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry
- I am Perfectly Designed by Karamo Brown
- Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o
- The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles
- I Am Enough by Grace Byers
- Poetry by Ijeoma Umebinyuo
- A Kid’s Book about Racism by Jelani Memory
- A Kid’s Book about Empathy Daron K. Roberts
- A Kid’s Book about Systemic Racism by Jordan Thierry
- A Kid’s Book about White Privilege by Ben Sand
- Ida B. Well: Let the Truth Be Told by Walter Dean Myers
- Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters by Barack Obama
- The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander
- Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-Winning Stamped from the Beginning by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
Fiction by Black Authors for Teenage Youth:
- Dear Martin by Nic Stone
- Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
- Purple Hibiscus Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Children of Blood and Bone and Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi
- The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert
- One of the Good Ones by Maika and Maritza Moulite
- Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
- Charming as a Verb by Ben Phillips
- Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant
- Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston
- The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds
- I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest
- The Hate U Give and On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
- The Broken Earth Series by NK Jemisin
- Legend Born by Tracy Deonn
- From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks
- Piecing Me Together by Renee Washington
- Brown Girls Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
- One Crazy summer by Rita Williams Garcia
- Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
Books for Mentors/Adults:
- A Black Women’s History of the United States by Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross
- Freedom is a Constant Struggle: Gerguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Y. Davis.
- Black Girl Dangerous on Race, Queerness, Class and Gender by Mia McKenzie
- So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
- The Heart of Whiteness: Confronting Race, Racism and White Privilege by Robert Jensen
- Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together at the Cafeteria by Beverly Daniel Tatum
- Tips for Leading with Intention and Taking Action Steps in the Fight for Racial Justice from MENTOR New York
