Book recommendations by Black authors for Black History Month
Sarah Austin | Lifestyle Editor
February is Black History Month, and what better way to observe it than diving into powerful books by black authors? Reflecting on what it means to be Black and teaching the struggles they have gone through ⏤ and still experience today ⏤ can even start at a young age. By continuously talking and teaching about slavery, segregation and racism we are one step closer to closing the gap and making a more inclusive and accepting society. Check the two lists below for 16 book recommendations to read as an adult, and 12 books to read to younger children.
Books for adults
- “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- “Citizen: An American Lyric” by Claudia Rankine
- “The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother” by James McBride
- “The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X” by Les and Tamara Payne
- “Exiles of Eden” by Ladan Osman
- “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas
- “Heavy” by Kiese Laymon
- “Homegoing” by Yaa Gyasi
- “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison
- “Long Way Down” by Jason Reynolds
- “Magical Negro” by Morgan Parker
- “Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools” by Monique W. Morris
- “Race Matters” by Cornel West
- “Remaking Black Power: How Black Women Transformed an Era” by Ashley D. Farmer
- “They Were Her Property” by Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers
- “Well-Read Black Girl” by Glory Edim
Books for youth
- “Brown Girl Dreaming” by Jacqueline Woodson
- “Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad” by Ellen Levine
- “It’s OK to Be Different” by Sharon Purtill
- “Juneteenth for Mazie” by Floyd Cooper
- “My Hair is a Garden” by Cozbi A. Cabrera
- “The Other Side” by Jacqueline Woodson
- “Saturday” by Oge Mora
- “Sulwe” by Lupita Nyong’o
- “Tar Beach” by Faith Ringgold
- “This Book is Anti-Racist” by Tiffany Jewell
- “The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963” by Christopher Paul Curtis
- “Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice” by Mahogany L. Browne, Olivia Gatwood and Elizabeth Acevedo
Contact the author at howllifestyle@wou.edu
