Black History Month is an important 28 days in which we are called to celebrate the storied history of African Americans as well as reflect on the struggles and oppression that this population has endured. One of the ways I try to honor Black History Month is by reading books by Black authors. To that end, I have compiled a list of four books by Black authors that elucidate sociopolitical issues relating to race, the complexity of the Black experience, and the pervasiveness of systemic racism.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett is a story about white-passing twin sisters, Desiree and Stella Vignes, who choose to live completely different lives after becoming estranged as teenagers. While Desiree embraces her Black racial identity, Stella elects to live her life as a white woman. Bennett explores themes of colorism, identity, and choice through the diverging lives of not just the Vignes sisters, but their children as well. This book powerfully illuminates the complexity and nuances of white privilege.
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson is a book in which Stevenson, a death row lawyer, chronicles his fight to vindicate a man who was sentenced to death for a crime he didn’t commit. Along the way, Stevenson shares other tragic stories of attempts to defend death row inmates which, more often than not, were unsuccessful. Simultaneously heartbreaking and hopeful, Just Mercy exposes the deep-rooted flaws of the criminal justice system and demonstrates the redeeming power of mercy.
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid examines performative activism and implicit racial bias through the lens of Amira, a young, Black babysitter who is accused of kidnapping the white child she babysits. The rest of the novel follows fallout from the incident, specifically how it affected the ways in which her overbearing, perky white boss, Alyx, and the man who witnessed the incident, Kelley, relate to her.
Better, Not Bitter: Living on Purpose in Pursuit of Racial Justice by Yusef Salaam is a memoir in which Salaam painfully reflects on his experience of being one of the Central Park Five, a group of Black men who were wrongfully convicted of brutally raping a white woman. Despite having years stolen from him, Salaam’s memoir glimmers with optimism, steadfastness and faith. As the memoir’s title suggests, Salaam somehow came out of a situation plagued by injustice and racism better, not bitter, and helps readers to see the humanity in our flawed criminal justice system in an unexpectedly uplifting way.