11 Books by Black Authors Y'all Should Read in College

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Published on February 4, 2021 · Updated on November xviii, 2021

11 Books by Black Authors You Should Read in College

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Black History Calendar month holds special significance in the Us. It's an annual commemoration in the calendar month of Feb that honors the historic, artistic, intellectual, and cultural achievements made by African Americans.

The monthlong observance was first conceived by Black faculty and the Black United Students group at Kent State University in February 1969. Half dozen years later on, Black History Month became a national celebration, and many educational institutions and community centers hold commemorative events to recognize the momentous achievements of Black Americans.

This year'southward Black History Month takes on a unique significance and calls for a continued understanding of not simply the personal and professional accomplishments of Black Americans, but also an acknowledgment of their ongoing strife and adversity.

Black History Month is a groovy opportunity to learn about the contributions of Black Americans and expand your understanding of issues related to disinterestedness, diversity, and inclusion.

Every bit our country celebrates Kamala Harris, the start Black and Indian American vice president, nosotros must also recognize the incredible amount of work left to do to ensure that Black and brown Americans have access to all social, political, and economic opportunities.

With publicized incidents of police force brutality confronting Black men and women, and connected public displays of racism, Blackness History Month is a slap-up opportunity to learn about the contributions of Black Americans and expand your agreement of issues related to disinterestedness, diversity, and inclusion.

In that sense, it's besides critical to celebrate the literary contributions of Black authors. In honor of Black History Month this year, we've compiled a list of 11 notable books past Black authors.

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11 Books past Black Authors College Students Should Read

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

By Malcolm X and Alex Haley

Published in 1965, this autobiography was voted i of Time'southward 10 most important nonfiction books of the 20th century. Journalist Alex Haley co-authored the book, which is based on a series of in-depth interviews he conducted between 1963 and Malcolm X's 1965 assassination.

This autobiography chronicles the life and contributions of civil rights activist Malcolm X, an African American Muslim government minister who advocated for Black economic and political autonomy. In contrast to Martin Luther King Jr.'s strategy of nonviolence and ceremonious disobedience, Malcolm X urged Black people to engage in self-defense if met with resistance or opposition.

Malcolm X's memoir does an extraordinary job of articulating the trials and tribulations of Black Americans in the 1960s, while also advocating for Black nationalism and supremacy. Haley wrote the volume'due south epilogue after Malcolm X's death.

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The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

By Michelle Alexander

Released in 2010, "The New Jim Crow" was named i of the most influential books of the last 20 years by The Chronicle of Higher Education. In this book, Michelle Alexander — a civil rights advocate, legal scholar, and New York Times columnist — finer debunks the myth that racial discrimination was eradicated with the end of the civil rights movement and the Jim Crow era.

With the 2008 election of Barack Obama and now the election of the showtime Blackness and Indian American vice president, at that place's a widely held belief that America is finding itself in a post-racial or colorblind society, in which race no longer impacts i's chances in life. Alexander argues that the state of war on drugs, as well as the mass incarceration of primarily low-income African American men, has created a racial caste organization and led to decreased opportunities for social and economical advancement for Black Americans.

This volume challenges our conventional thinking nearly race and sheds light on how institutions continue to disempower Blackness and brown communities.

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War Girls

Past Tochi Onyebuchi

Fans of Marvel Studios' action-packed pic "Black Panther" will love the 2019 book "War Girls." Ready in the twelvemonth 2172 in a globe ravaged by climatic change and nuclear disaster, this unique tale chronicles the lives of 2 sisters, Onyii and Ify, who are separated by war. Despite the violence and political unrest that make full their lives, they long for a future of peace and prosperity. Using bionic limbs, artificial organs, and advanced technology, the two sisters must fight their way back to each other in a futuristic Nigeria.

This book is a great read for young adults, as information technology provides them valuable insight virtually the impact of war on children and families. With its wild imagination and inspirational themes of hope and perseverance, "War Girls" is bound to leave every reader satisfied.

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Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower

By Brittney Cooper

"Eloquent Rage" (2018) is an ode to both Black history and women'south history, highlighting the singular focus of modernistic-twenty-four hour period feminism and how women of colour take reshaped the mainstream feminist movement. Author Brittney Cooper — who is too a professor, pop culture critic, social activist, and adept on intersectionality — explores how sexism, racism, and classism piece of work together to produce cumulative disadvantages for Black women.

The book provides a bright and brilliant portrayal of Blackness womanhood, examining how Black women must deal with the racism perpetuated past white society while also encountering sexism and misogyny. Cooper does a profound task connecting her personal stories to the larger social and political realities of the Usa; her ancedotes include experiences with racial discrimination, attending predominantly white schools, and relationships with Black men and women.

"Eloquent Rage" validates the experiences of Blackness women, while giving other racial groups a comprehensive agreement of the complication of Blackness womanhood.

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The Water Dancer

By Ta-Nehisi Coates

Written by Ta-Nehisi Coates — who is arguably one of our country's well-nigh talented Black male person writers and race and cultural analysts — "The Water Dancer" (2019) is both a New York Times bestseller and Oprah'southward Volume Club choice. In this poignant debut novel, Coates provides a moving account of the emotional and psychological toll of slavery on families.

The story centers on Hiram Walker, a fugitive slave who possesses a mysterious ability that allows him to send people over long distances. Hiram serves as an agent in the Cloak-and-dagger, an organization committed to the eradication of slavery in the United states of america during the mid-1800s. Hiram attempts to defeat slave owners, rescue slaves, and reunite with his family unit in this compelling tale that not only highlights the atrocities of enslavement, simply likewise restores the humanity of those who have been enslaved.

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Becoming

By Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama is an icon and inspiration to women all around the earth. Having served as the first Black adult female in a first lady role, she made the position uniquely her ain. Named the most admired woman in America three years in a row by Gallup, Obama remains a tenacious and strong advocate for women, as well as a office model for young girls.

Her 2018 memoir, "Becoming," is an honest and intimate narrative of promise, tragedy, and triumph, from the perspective of a young daughter growing upward in the Due south Side of Chicago to that of the nation's first Black beginning lady. Obama is more than simply a married woman and quondam offset lady, though — she is the daughter of working-class parents, a graduate of Princeton Academy and Harvard Police School, a lawyer, and a female parent.

Her bestselling memoir candidly retells her life story and explores the complexities of motherhood, piece of work, and relationships, while giving readers nuggets of wisdom related to finding yourself and your vocalism.

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An Untamed Land

By Roxane Gay

Acclaimed writer and professor Roxane Gay is an practiced on topics similar Blackness womanhood, LGBTQ+ rights, body image, racial inequality, and sexual violence. Her 2014 debut novel, "An Untamed State," illuminates women'southward experiences with sexual attack, trauma, and patriarchy, with Gay challenging the "strong Black woman" trope past demonstrating the complexities of the relationships between romance, vulnerability, forgiveness, and betrayal.

The book centers on Mireille Duval Jameson, the daughter of a wealthy construction businessman from Haiti, who is kidnapped while visiting family in Port-au-Prince and held for bribe. Her father refuses to provide aid to her, leaving Mireille to endure and fight her way out of continuous assault and torment.

This suspenseful novel leaves readers on edge every bit nosotros learn the ability and forcefulness of a adult female's body and how much women endure actual harm for the misdeeds of men.

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The Hate U Give

By Angie Thomas

Terminal year diameter witness to the continued devaluation of Black bodies at the easily of police force enforcement in the United States. "The Hate U Give" (2017) is a young adult novel, inspired by the police shooting of Oscar Grant and the Black Lives Matter movement.

The story follows Starr Carter, a 16-twelvemonth-sometime Black daughter from a low-income neighborhood who attends an aristocracy, predominantly white private schoolhouse in an affluent role of the city. As Starr balances her two conflicting worlds, she becomes the master and only witness in the death of her childhood friend, Khalil, who is shot by a white police officer.

Chronicling the internal and public battle Starr must face as she learns to speak her truth and share her story despite public judgment, "The Detest U Requite" is riveting and suspenseful, and an boggling tale of gimmicky race relations.

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Born a Crime: Stories From a Due south African Childhood

past Trevor Noah

In this 2016 autobiography, famed comedian and "The Daily Show" host Trevor Noah details his trials and tribulations of growing up during apartheid in Southward Africa. The son of a white Swiss male parent and a Black South African mother, Noah was born at a time when interracial unions were illegal. The book elucidates Noah's challenging childhood — he spent most of his early years in hiding and in fear that at whatever moment he could be separated from his family unit.

It's an boggling tale of how Trevor and his mother navigated tyranny, poverty, violence, and abuse, and how they ultimately learned to live openly and embrace new opportunities.

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How to Exist an Antiracist

By Ibram Ten. Kendi

Named one of Fourth dimension's most influential people of 2020, Ibram X. Kendi is a professor, a historian, an antiracist activist, and the author of the New York Times No. ane bestseller "How to Be an Antiracist" (2019).

This nonfiction book is 1 of the most honest and compelling analyses of race and race relations to date. Geared toward those looking across understanding racism and social inequality, Kendi'south work focuses on cultivating allies and activists who are committed to edifice a just and equitable society.

The premise of "How to Be an Antiracist" is simple: Everyone possesses the capacity to be racist, regardless of their position in society. Through this book, Kendi instructs readers to develop an understanding of what racism is and how information technology has evolved over the years. He likewise discusses how in social club to exist antiracist, you must exist aware of your ain racism, too as your participation and perpetuation of information technology, and actively promote antiracist policies.

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The Vanishing One-half

Past Brit Bennett

Published in 2020, "The Vanishing Half" is a New York Times bestseller and was also a Skilful Morning America Volume Club selection. The novel, which centers on the lives of two light-skinned Black sisters, does a phenomenal job stringing together multiple characters with contrasting experiences.

At sixteen, identical twins Desiree and Stella run away from domicile. Merely while Desiree marries a Black human being and chooses to maintain her Black identity, Stella elects to alive every bit a white-passing woman. The book chronicles the sisters' uniquely dissimilar lives and the struggles they face equally they navigate and ascertain their identities.

A powerful, moving tale, "The Vanishing Half" highlights the complex relationships between identity, race, and learning to embrace your authentic self.

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Feature Image: Andrii Kobryn / Shutterstock

Discover 10 books past Black female authors that continue to shape Black history and culture. To better understand the history and contributions of Asian Americans, here are 9 compelling books every college student should make time to read. Gloat bright minority women authors, and explore some astonishing books. These ten books should be on your must-read listing this year.