10 Books I Recommend You Read To Learn About Race in America

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Race is a complicated topic to learn. It can be hard to fathom how race can negatively impact one’s lifestyle if it does not impact yours. I recommend you read one of these books below to get a different perspective on how race impacts Black people in America.

1. My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson

In this novel, Johnson introduces a group of Charlottesville residents who seek refuge at a former plantation. Each resident has an impactful story and background that gives different perspectives of how identity can impact one’s lifestyle and survival in America.

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2. Three Girls From Bronzeveille by Dawn Turner

Turner documents the journey of three Black girls as they come into womanhood emphasizing on how race and class impacts their experiences. The three girls are from the Bronzeville neighborhood in Chicago, which was the destination of thousands of Black people who were escaping the Jim Crow South.

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3. All About Love by bell hooks

bell hooks uses this novel to propose new ways to think about love. She explains how social notions of what love means and how we receive it often fails us. She notes the commonalities between love and loss.

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4. THICK: And Other Essays by Tressie McMillan Cottom

Thick is a collection of essays that analyze Black womanhood, body image, and other taboo topics.

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5. The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones

The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story is named after the year (1619) in which the first group of enslaved Africans were forcibly brought to the U.S. The novel is a collection of essays that analyzes how slavery continues to impact us today.

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6. Just Pursuit: A Black Prosecutor’s Fight for Fairness by Laura Coates

Laura Coates writes the novel from her experience as a prosecutor for the Department of Justice, where she experienced how unjust Black cases were prosecuted and judged. In this novel, Coates explores the notion of what is right and what is lawful.

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7. Women Race & Class by Angela Davis

Davis provides the social and political history of feminism and how this history continues to affect Black and White women differently.

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8. All That She Carried by Tiya Mills

Renowned historian Mills recounts the story of a family relic—a simple cotton bag. She traces the legacy of this keepsake and uses historic records and archives to connect three generations of women whose stories have been lost to history.

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9. The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

In The Fire Next Time, Baldwin writes about his upbringing in Harlem. He also included two essays where he analyzes the consequences of racial injustice.

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10. Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon

Laymon’s Heavy is a personal narrative of his life where he writes about his struggles with vices, family secrets, relationships, and lies. Laymon confronts these disturbing truths of his life to learn how to live and become free as a Black man in America.

Purchase Heavy on Amazon