The Anti-Anti Racism Reading List

Illustration by Jane Mount

Because our lives don't revolve around white people . . .

1. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: An epic novel by one of my favorite authors; I am obsessed with everything she publishes. 

2. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou: I remember reading this during recess in 6th grade and being incredibly moved (ie. traumatized).

3. Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston by Valerie Boyd: Because who doesn't like a good trickster tale? 

4. Parable of the Sower by Octavia Bulter. Dystopian fiction at its best. 

5. Family by J. California Cooper: I've read everything that she's written and I have never been disappointed.

6. An American Marriage by Tayari Jones: The best book that I've read in the past few years.

7. Everything Inside by Edwidge Danticat: Also read Dandicat's first collection of short stories Krick Krak.

8. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz: This is part novel; part history book.  I love Diaz's collection of short stories This is How You Lose Her as well.  

9. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison: Quite possibly one of the most challenging and rewarding things ever written. 

10. Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Man by Henry Louis Gates Jr.:  This is Gates at his best. Read the essay on Anatole Broyard. 

11. The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley: Just because you've seen the Spike Lee film doesn't mean that you can skip the book. This was also a formative work during my middle school years.

12. A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry: A work of art ahead of its time. 

13. A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid: Don't bring this on your next Caribbean vacation unless you want to feel guilty.

14. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston: Janie's hair is a character in itself.

15. Zami by Audre Lorde: A New Spelling of My Name: A Biomythography

16.  How We Fight Fight For Our Lives by Saeed Jones: A beautifully written memoir from the perspective of a black, gay poet.

17. Passing by Nella Larsen: First published in 1929, I swear that there's a thinly veiled same sex love affair in this one. 

18. Browngirl Brownstone by Paule Marshall: This was on my 8th grade summer reading list and I hated it. Adulthood allowed me to connect with the characters, and I have come to the conclusion that Paule Marshall is terribly underrated.

19. Sula by Toni Morrison: I could have listed everything that Chloe Anthony Woffard has ever written. Her books are my roadmap.

20. The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor: Check out the TV movie also; probably the first depiction of a black lesbian couple on network TV.

21. Caucasia by Danzy Senna: Read "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" as well. 

22. For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf by Ntozake Shange: Because a Choreopoem and a Tyler Perry movie are not the same thing

23. Solider by June Jordan: A poet's life

24. The Blacker the Berry by Wallace Thurman: One of the finest works to come out of the Harlem Renaissance.

25. The Color Purple by Alice Walker: I loved the book AND the movie! 

26. Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward: This book made me overuse the highlighting feature on my Kindle.

27. Joe Turner's Come and Gone by August Wilson: Read the entire Century Cycle.

28. The Colored Museum by George C. Wolfe: A totally underrated, hilarious, and thoughtful piece of  American theater. 

29. Training School for Negro Girls by Camille Acker: a short story collection that should have gotten more attention from literary critics.

30.  The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson: A history of the Great Migration that will force you to look at the world differently

31. Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas: A classic memoir of a young man growing up in Spanish Harlem.

32. Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid: An elevated beach read about the relationship between a young woman and the family she babysits for.

33. My Sister the Serial Killer by Oykinkan Braithwaite: A fun and fast paced story that takes place in Nigeria. 

34. Difficult Women by Roxanne Gay: An Innovative collection of short stories by my favorite person to follow on Twitter

35.  Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn: A complex novel about a Jamaican woman struggling to define her sexuality for herself.

36. The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives by Lola Shoneyin: An engaging portrait of a polygamous family in Nigeria.

37.  The New Kid by Jerry Kraft: A graphic novel written for middle-school students that I quite enjoyed!

38. Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson: As soon as I finished this book I read it again.

39. What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah: a short story collection that will challenge you and make you think.

40. The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi Durrow: A coming of age story about a bi-racial/bi-cultural girl with an unexpected ending.