Go Read Black Authors

Today and every day

Hi fellow readers!

This weekend’s post is early, and it will be a bit short and strike a different tone than I normally take. I want to highlight books written by Black authors and encourage you to read some. This year I have read more books by Black authors- authors from different eras and life experiences- than I ever have at any point in my life. Some of these books are hard to read, and they confront heavy topics. Some have been more lighthearted. All have given me a new perspective on life and on reading. I am so grateful for each book and its author that I’ve read this year, and especially for these Black authors. They have helped me find a renewed joy in reading, and in the pursuit of knowledge and understanding my world. I have learned more about the power of written word and of reading to shape minds, change hearts, and spark the full range of human emotions this year through reading Black authors than I ever knew there was to learn. And so many of the books I’ve read this year by Black authors, along with the authors themselves, face ignorant criticism, dismissal of their messages, nowhere near the acknowledgement and celebration they deserve, and book bans.

We need to do more than read and celebrate Black authors during Black History Month, on Juneteenth, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and other times of the year when celebrating Black history and culture is suddenly popular. We need to read these books, listen to these authors, and share their stories and what we learn from them every day, of every month, every year. We need to lift up the voices of people who have the courage to tell the truth when it means taking a real, personal risk. Black authors do that just by existing, by putting themselves and their work out into a world that is often hostile to them and doesn’t want to hear what they have to say. They sacrifice time, effort, and often their personal safety and well-being, to share their stories and their voices with us. And the world is better, and will be better one day than it is today, because they do this work.

So this weekend, I will be re-reading one of these books, and I’d love to hear about the books by Black authors that you’re reading. I started a read-along on my Threads and Bluesky accounts of Between the World and Me, and I’d love it if you’d join me there. You can find me on Threads at @resistance.reading or on Bluesky at @resistancereading.bsky.social I’m posting snippets, quotes, and thoughts as I go through the book. I would also love to hear more about the Black-authored books you’re reading in the pinned posts on both accounts. I want to add more of them to my TBR list so I can keep learning, growing, and supporting the people whose words have made me a better person. This weekend, let’s celebrate Black authors, their stories, and the wisdom they’ve spent so much time and labor to share with us. Because every day is a great day to read Black authors.