Books to Read for Black History Month 

Few activities have the capacity to make you a more informed, well-rounded, and empathetic person like reading has. Where else can you get as close to walking a mile in somebody’s shoes than in the pages of a book? 

In honor of Black History Month, check out these books that explore Black history and celebrate Black culture. From inspirational classics and newly award-winning novels to radical verse and breathtaking biographies, these few suggestions cover only a tiny fraction of the immense range of literature that may help broaden your horizons in February and beyond. 

Fiction 

Step out of your own experience and into another world with these novels whose characters reflect the struggles as well as the triumphs of Black people both past and present.  

• If Beale Street Could Talk — This is a James Baldwin love story set in Harlem in the early 1970s. Tish and Fonny are betrothed, but Fonny is falsely accused of a crime and imprisoned. The book follows each of their families as they set out to clear Fonny’s name and reunite the young couple. Oscar-winning director Barry Jenkins adapted the book into a gorgeous film in 2018.

• Let Us Descend — Jesmyn Ward has quickly become one of the biggest names in American arts and letters. You may know some of her previous novels, such as Sing, Unburied, Sing, which won the National Book Award in 2017. Let Us Descend, published in 2023, brings readers to the dark days of the American slave trade, following a young woman named Annis as she’s forced to march from the Carolinas to a slave market in New Orleans.  

Biographies and memoirs

Follow the true accounts of people whose lives helped shape the course of history. 

• Becoming — Michelle Obama’s memoir is sometimes gripping and tense, sometimes heartfelt and uplifting, and always authentic. She is unflinching and deeply personal about her experience as the First Lady of the United States, as well as her relationship with just being Michelle.   

• The Autobiography of Malcolm X — Published in 1965, just nine months after he was assassinated, this book provides an unparalleled view into the heart and mind of a world-renowned civil rights figure. Readers walk away with the definitive statement on the so-called American Dream.  

Essays 

Let these inquisitive writers take you by the hand as they examine some of the world’s most interesting questions, great and small. 

• Feel Free — Novelist, playwright, and essayist Zadie Smith navigates everything from climate change and Brexit to social media and the iconic art of Jay-Z. 

• Orpheus in the Bronx — Reginald Shepherd’s collection of essays on identity and politics also includes beautifully lyrical passages about growing up in a ghetto of New York. This volume is a testament to the sense of escape and empowerment that books offer.  

Poetry 

Here, there are no rules. Pick up a book that communicates the human experience in a radically authentic and personal way.  

• American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin — Amid the tumult of 2016, Terrance Hayes put together more than seventy compact and distinctly American poems that weave deftly through themes of political alienation, masculinity, and spirituality. 

• Magical Negro — Morgan Parker’s book of poems from 2019 is a catalog of everyday existence, family, imagination, folk heroes, music, womanhood, language, and self-acceptance. All this and more is mixed up in a blender of wit and sparkle.  

Share your reading list inspired by Black History Month

Whether you choose these suggested titles or others, your Black History Month books will not only inspire, entertain, and educate you, but can also act as a social engine. With a great book club, reading becomes a conversation starter, a shared experience, and a bridge toward deeper connection.
Find an active Meetup group or create your own book club, and share the wisdom of great writers with like-minded bookworms today.

Last modified on January 29, 2024