Go find my other posts on books by black authors here
I’ve done a few posts on black authors and book recommendations for black history month, but I wanted to share my black history curriculum! Books that I either own already and haven’t read yet or books I’m sourcing from my library that sound interesting and important to me. Books that help me support black authors, black lives, black communities, black history, black education, and black own voices.
If you want to create a personal curriculum for yourself, like the online trend that I am all for, then why not create a Black Voices Curriculum? If you’re interested, here is my list of books for your Black Voices Curriculum/ Black Representation Curriculum/ Black Lives Curriculum/ Black Education Curriculum… you get the idea!
Representation in the publishing industry matters. Let’s support our black authors and educate ourselves on diverse voices in the industry. There’s plenty of excellent books written by black authors in every genre. Just take a look…
My library offers these black lives audiobooks of interest to me:
(Check out what is available at your own local libraries and online using BorrowBox, an app for library users to download ebooks and audiobooks for free from your library.)
Non fiction:
Brit(ish) by Afua Hirsch
Inglorious Empire by Shashi Tharoor
How to Be An Anti-Racist by Ibram X Kendi
Mouth Full of Blood by Toni Morrison
Biased by Dr Jennifer Eberhardt
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
Timelines of Black History by DK books
Homecoming by Colin Grant
Black British Lives Matter by Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder
Manifesto by Bernadine Evaristo
Coming to England by Floella Benjamin
Rising to the Surface by Lenny Henry
Black in Time by Alison Hammond and E L Norry
The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama
What Are You Doing Here? by Floella Benjamin
Bits and Pieces by Whoopi Goldberg
Just Sayin’ by Malorie Blackman
Afropean by Johny Pitts
Notes on a Native Son by James Baldwin
My Black Motherhood by Sandra Igwe
Girl by Kenya Hunt
Fiction:
Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
Black Klansman by Rom Stallworth (I’ve watched the film, it’s great!)
Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly (again, film is great)
Ordinary People by Diana Evans
Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
The Beauty of Breaking by Michele Harper
The Fraud by Zadie Smith
The Stuff of Nightmares by Malorie Blackman
Mr Loverman by Bernadine Evaristo
Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson
My Life is an Ice Cream Sandwich by Ibi Zoboi
Black Enough by Ibi Zoboi
Books I own but haven’t read yet by black authors:
- Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid –
- Dr. No by Percival Everett –
- Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead –
- Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo – brilliant
- N-W and White Teeth by Zadie Smith – literary fiction
- The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki –
- Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor –
- James by Percival Everett – retelling of
- Twin Ambitions by Mo Farah – memoir of famous British Olympian Mo Farah
- Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah – dystopian, Hunger Games vibes
- Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Abike-Iyimide – young adult dark academia thriller
- Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas – dark academia
- The Bread the Devil Knead by Lisa Allen-Agostini – literary fiction
- The Fifth Season by N K Jemison – epic fantasy
- Slay in Your Lane by Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinene – non-fiction
- Loud Black Girls by Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinene – non-fiction
- Black and British by David Olusoga – non-fiction
- How to Argue with a Racist by Adam Rutherford – non-fiction
Please share any great books for black authors that you think I should read. Remember: don’t only read black authors or about black characters during Black History Month! Every month is black history month…
Therapy, wellbeing and support services specifically designed for the needs of Black communities:
· Black Mind – a grassroots art-as-activism organisation that centres the collective mental health, wellbeing, justice and joy of Black people in Britain.
· Black Minds Matter – Free, one to one, culturally appropriate talking therapy for Black people in the UK.
· Mind.org – Where to get support during Black History Month.
· Bounce Black – The community hub helping Black talent thrive holistically.
· The Motherhood Group – supporting Black Mum’s in the UK.
· The Empowerment Group – supports people of Black African and Caribbean heritage aged 14 and over in the UK facing mental health challenge through free online 1:1 culturally appropriate therapy.
· BAATN – The largest community of Counsellors and Psychotherapists of Black, African, Asian and Caribbean Heritage in the UK.
Sincerely,
S. xx
S. R. Crawford 