Black people, like George Floyd, are routinely profiled and murdered by the police all over the world. Anything I write here is feeble in the face of that. But guess what...? It's not about me.
I feel the very least I can do, as a white booklover, is to point people in the right direction so they can experience different realities in the media they consume, not just in the tragic news they see, and develop some empathy. Here is my small contribution.
Please also consider donating to one of the funds listed here.
My favourite books by Black authors:
- Reni Eddo-Lodge - Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race
Does what it says on the tin. If you've ever been angry about the poor content of school history lessons in Britain when it comes to racial and colonial relations, this will enhance your understanding and gives concrete tips on how to be anti-racist.
- Angie Thomas - The Hate U Give
This YA novel confronts police brutality head-on. The main character's best friend is murdered by a police officer and she knows she needs to get justice for him.
- Helon Habila - Travellers
If you smugly think there's no racism in Europe, you're 100% mistaken. Helon Habila's set of connected vignettes circle around a Nigerian man, settled in the US, doing a sabbatical of sorts in Berlin. The emotional stories take down the double standard in attitudes towards "expats" and "migrants".
- Saeed Jones - How We Fight for Our Lives
Haunted by brutal anti-Black violence from a young age, Saeed Jones' tender yet powerful memoir tells a tale of what family and sex mean while you're also figuring out how to survive being a Black gay man in the US.
- Kiley Reid - Such a Fun Age
I finished this just this weekend and it was one of the best novels I've ever read. Similarly to Jordan Peele's film Get Out, it cleverly and compellingly tackles racism on the part of ostensibly well-meaning white liberals.
Honourable mentions:
- Roxane Gay - Hunger
- Alice Walker - The Color Purple
- James Baldwin - Giovanni's Room
- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Americanah
- bell hooks - Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics
Books by Black authors that I already have on my shelf/Kindle, and that I pledge to prioritise in the next few months. Maybe they will give you some inspiration for your reading list:
- Nicole Dennis-Benn - Patsy
- Akwaeke Emezi - Freshwater
- Toni Morrison - Beloved
- Leone Ross - Come Let Us Sing Anyway
- Novayo Rosa Tshuma - House of Stone
- Leah Vernon - Unashamed: Musings of a Fat, Black Muslim