Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry by Mildred D Taylor. I didn’t grow up in the USA, this was an interesting and insightful introduction to what life might have looked like during the seperation period
IntroductionFew1290 on
Horse by Geraldine Brooks and Hell of a Book are two that came to mind
RitoChicken on
An Autobiography – Angela Davis
Long Walk to Freedom – Nelson Mandela
The Autobiography of Malcom X – Malcom X
also any book by James Baldwin
suntzufuntzu on
Colson Whitehead is probably a great.place to start, at least for understanding Blackness in the US. The Nickel Boys and Harlem Shuffle are his most realist books. Undeeground Railroad is a bit more allegorical. But its great for understanding the dilemmas and contradictions of “freedom” in a slaving society.
EDIT: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi is a good exploration of intergenerational trauma in the African diaspora. She covers some of the same themes as Whitehead but centering womens’ experiences more.
BiWaffleesss on
Coming of age in Mississippi by Anne Moody
boba_and_mia on
How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America by Kiese Laymon! It’s a collection of short essays talking about what it means to live and grow up in the South and in the world of academia as a Black man, and touches subjects like hiphop, writing, gun violence and family dynamics.
cinqueterreluv on
Between the World and Me by Te-Nihisi Coates
The-Man-Friday on
Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins series. I’m a white boy and he’s my favorite author. His world is so lived in and each time I read a new book, I don’t always remember the plots, but I’m happy for having spent time in his universe.
particularlyprep on
Toni Morrison’s whole catalog
DawkinsSon on
Any book by James Baldwin.
thisismyecho on
A little older, but I read “makes me wanna holler” many years ago, thought it was a perspective to appreciate
12 Comments
“Black like me” read it in high school
Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry by Mildred D Taylor. I didn’t grow up in the USA, this was an interesting and insightful introduction to what life might have looked like during the seperation period
Horse by Geraldine Brooks and Hell of a Book are two that came to mind
An Autobiography – Angela Davis
Long Walk to Freedom – Nelson Mandela
The Autobiography of Malcom X – Malcom X
also any book by James Baldwin
Colson Whitehead is probably a great.place to start, at least for understanding Blackness in the US. The Nickel Boys and Harlem Shuffle are his most realist books. Undeeground Railroad is a bit more allegorical. But its great for understanding the dilemmas and contradictions of “freedom” in a slaving society.
EDIT: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi is a good exploration of intergenerational trauma in the African diaspora. She covers some of the same themes as Whitehead but centering womens’ experiences more.
Coming of age in Mississippi by Anne Moody
How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America by Kiese Laymon! It’s a collection of short essays talking about what it means to live and grow up in the South and in the world of academia as a Black man, and touches subjects like hiphop, writing, gun violence and family dynamics.
Between the World and Me by Te-Nihisi Coates
Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins series. I’m a white boy and he’s my favorite author. His world is so lived in and each time I read a new book, I don’t always remember the plots, but I’m happy for having spent time in his universe.
Toni Morrison’s whole catalog
Any book by James Baldwin.
A little older, but I read “makes me wanna holler” many years ago, thought it was a perspective to appreciate