Books By Black Women You Need To ReadLike this list

38 items

• Training School for Negro Girls

  Acker, Camille, 1978-

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  This debut collection from Feminist Press shares the stories of Black girls and women in Washington D.C. It is separated into two sections: "The Lower School" for the Black girls and teenagers, and "The Upper School" for the Black women — and covers…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Black Women's History of the United States

  Berry, Daina Ramey

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  According to the publisher, “'A Black Women's History of the United States' reaches far beyond a single narrative to showcase Black women's lives in all their fraught complexities ... The result is a starting point for exploring Black women's…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The New Jim Crow

  Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

  Alexander, Michelle

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  You may have seen Michelle Alexander in Ava DuVernay’s Netflix documentary, "13th," or read her column in the New York Times, but if you haven’t read her book "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness," you’re missing out.…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Thick

  and Other Essays

  Cottom, Tressie McMillan,

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  Called “a Black woman's cultural bible,” "Thick" is perhaps the best essay collection of 2019. In the book, Tressie McMillan Cottom explores topics including beauty, competence, the Obama election, and as the publisher notes, “all that is right and…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Girl Who Smiled Beads

  a Story of War and What Comes After

  Wamariya, Clemantine

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  Clemantine Wamariya left her home in Rwanda and migrated through seven African countries with her older sister before arriving in the United States as a refugee — all before she became a teenager. In this memoir, Wamariya writes, “When you don't…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Citizen

  An American Lyric

  Rankine, Claudia, 1963-

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  This award-winning book of poetry is a staple on Black History Month reading lists, for a good reason. Before you even open the book, you’re forced to reckon with the impact of the racial aggressions it describes by simply looking at the sparse yet…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Shadow King

  a Novel

  Mengiste, Maaza

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  This novel explores a little-known part of World War II history: the Italian invasion of Ethiopia. I highly recommend listening to Mengiste’s interview on the Reading Women podcast, in which she describes how her (badass!) great-grandmother’s…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Grace

  A Novel

  Deón, Natashia

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  It goes without saying that slave narratives are never fun or easy to read, but Grace is one of the best ones I've encountered. Utterly devastating from the very first chapter, this novel tells the story of a runaway slave in the American South and…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Kintu

  Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

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  This sprawling novel traces a family curse that begins in Uganda in 1750 and continues to affect generations for centuries to come. It is certainly not a quick read—the book is separated into six different sections, if that gives you any idea of its…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Fifth Season

  Jemisin, N. K.

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  To be quite honest, I’m embarrassed I haven’t read this book yet, so I’m including it here so you can all keep me accountable to finally read it this year! "The Fifth Season" is the first book in the critically-acclaimed and widely popular "The…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Behold the Dreamers

  a Novel

  Mbue, Imbolo

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  This debut novel follows the lives of two families in New York City during the 2008 recession: The Jongas, who are Cameroonian immigrants, and the Edwardses, a wealthy white family who employs them. As you might imagine, discussions of power and…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Women of Brewster Place

  Naylor, Gloria,

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  This collection of interconnected short stories (perfect for fans of "Girl, Woman, Other") earned Gloria Naylor a National Book Award for First Fiction in 1983. The book spotlights seven Black women living in the same building in New York City and…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Black Women's History of the United States

  Berry, Daina Ramey,

  Add A Black Women's History of the United States to your for later shelf

• A Black Women's History of the United States

  Berry, Daina Ramey,

  Add A Black Women's History of the United States to your for later shelf

• The New Jim Crow

  Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

  Alexander, Michelle

  Add The New Jim Crow to your for later shelf

• The New Jim Crow

  Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, 10th Anniversary Edition

  Alexander, Michelle

  Add The New Jim Crow to your for later shelf

• The New Jim Crow

  Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

  Alexander, Michelle

  Add The New Jim Crow to your for later shelf

• Thick

  and Other Essays

  Cottom, Tressie McMillan

  Add Thick to your for later shelf

• The Girl Who Smiled Beads

  a Story of War and What Comes After

  Wamariya, Clemantine,

  Add The Girl Who Smiled Beads to your for later shelf

• The Girl Who Smiled Beads

  A Story of War and What Comes After

  Wamariya, Clemantine,

  Add The Girl Who Smiled Beads to your for later shelf