As I’ve done for the past few years, I’m choosing to recognize and celebrate the U.S. Black History Month for February, which means that I step up my ongoing focus on reading POC authors and related topics. (It’s become more of a year-long focus now, but I specifically make an effort to bring attention to POC authors/topics during these weeks.)
I’ve pulled the pile (above) as a collection of titles which fit the bill from my own TBR (plus a couple from the library), and I’m excited to see which ones appeal to me as I go on to read some of them. What’s in the pile? Let’s take a looksie.
(Top to bottom in picture):
- The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, The African – Olaudah Equiano/ Gustavus Vassa (NF/auto) 1789
- The Free People of Color of New Orleans – Mary Gehman (NF/history)
- Mr. Loverman – Bernardine Evaristo (F) 2014
- Invisible Man – Ralph Ellison (F) 1952 (?). (Read this. Wow.)
- Colour Bar: A United Kingdom – Susan Williams (NF/bio) 2017
- They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky – Benjamin Ajak, Benson Deng et al. (NF/auto) 2015
- The Underground Railroad: Authentic Narratives and First-Hand Accounts – William Still (NF/history/bio) 2011
- Eye on the Struggle: Ethel Payne: The First Lady of the Black Press – James McGrath Morris (NF/bio) 2015. In progress.
- The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears – Dinaw Mengestu (F) 2008. Post to come.
- BlackkKlansman: Race, Hate and the Undercover Investigation of a Lifetime – Ron Stallworth (NF/auto) 2018. Meh.
- I was Born in Slavery: Personal Accounts of Slavery in Texas – Andrew Waters (ed.) (NF/history/auto)
- Days of Grace: A Memoir – Arthur Ashe and Arnold Rampersad (NF/auto) (1993)
The side pile:
- The New Jim Crow – Michelle Alexander (NF/history/socio)
- Shifting: The Double Lives of Black Women in America – Charisse Jones and Kumea Short-Gooden (NF/socio)
- The Color Complex: The Politics of Skin Color in a New Millennium – Kathy Russell, Midge Wilson (NF/socio) 2013
- White Fragility: Why it’s so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism – Robin Diangelo and Michael Eric Dyson (NF/socio/history) 2018
- The Education of a WASP – Lois Mark Stalvey (1970)
As always, it’s unlikely that I’ll be able to read ALL of these, but certainly a nice pile to start with. Any titles that you’d recommend?
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I’ve heard very good things about Mr Loverman by Bernardine Evaristo – look forward to hearing what you think.
Yes, I’m really curious about that one, especially since I’ve just finished her Booker Prize title the other day (and I loved it). Nothing like a little pressure! 🙂
I’m reading Mr Loverman this month, too – trying to read more by POC but also bought it BEFORE I bought Girl, Woman, Other because I thought I didn’t fancy GWO … then I did read and love it, so now back to Mr Loverman! I’ve got “I will not be erased: our stories of growing up as people of colour” by the Gal-Dem Collective on my TBR, though on the back shelf, which looks extremely interesting.
I’ll have to a look at the Gal-Dem Collective – that’s new to me. Thanks.