Between Toni Morrison, Ta-Nehisi Coates and Maya Angelou, Black authors have written some of the most impactful and inspiring literature throughout history. But Black authors, along with Black-owned bookstores, rarely get the attention they deserve.
We reached out to three Black bookstore owners across the country to get their recommendations on books by Black authors they think others would enjoy.
Hannah Oliver Depp, co-owner of Loyalty Bookstores in Washington, D.C., and Silver Spring, Maryland, recommends “Legendborn” by Tracy Deonn, the first installment of a young-adult contemporary fantasy series featuring a young Black female protagonist.
Jeffrey Blair is the owner of EyeSeeMe African American Children’s Bookstore in St. Louis, Missouri. He recommends everyone, but especially children, check out “A Boy and His Mirror” by Marchánt Davis and Keturah A. Bobo. The book follows a young boy who learns to love his curly hair and himself.
Michelle Lewis, owner of Third Eye Books Accessories & Gifts in Portland, Oregon, recommends Tricia Hersey’s “Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto,” which encourages all of us to push back against capitalism and allow ourselves to rest as a way to achieve healing and justice.
Listed below are some Here & Now staff favorites for books by Black authors we recommend you check out:
- “Sula” by Toni Morrison
- “Restore Me” by JL Seegars
- “The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family” by Ibtihaj Muhammad
- “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou
- “Heavy: An American Memoir” by Kiese Laymon
- “All About Love: New Visions” by Bell Hooks
- “The Office of Historical Corrections” by Danielle Evans
- “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston
- “Song of Solomon” by Toni Morrison
- “Brown Girl, Brownstones” by Paule Marshall
- “Crick Crack, Monkey” by Merle Hodge
- “Breath, Eyes, Memory” by Edwidge Danticat
- “The Nickel Boys: A Novel” by Colson Whitehead
- “The Vanishing Half” by Brit Bennett
- “Native Son” by Richard Wright
- “My Sister, the Serial Killer” by Oyinkan Braithwaite.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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