“I’m a firm believer that language and how we use language determines how we act, and how we act then determines our lives and other people’s lives.” – Ntozake Shange
The Black Lives Matter movement has pushed for reading as a primary resource for liberation and revolution – echoing the sentiment that the pen is mightier than the sword. As a result, numerous texts on Black history and culture have sold out on Amazon and other platforms; many Black authors and writers of colour who were previously overlooked have now been propelled into mainstream popularity, quite literally overnight. In June, Reni Eddo-Lodge became the first Black British author to top the non-fiction paperback charts in the UK, and in 2019, Bernadine Evaristo was the first Black female and Black British recipient of the Booker Prize.
Literary exchanges have evolved both digitally and IRL, as democratic spaces to appreciate and critique, reciprocating knowledge and opinion. Rapper/activist/queen Noname has established her own successful Book Club, championing the likes of Angela Davis, Paulo Friere and Samantha Irby, organizing meetups across the US, pulling in icons of the activist and creative worlds to share their inspirations.
Vicky Grout
Assata: An Autobiography by Assata Shakur
Where/how did you find this book?
I read quite a lot on my iPad, and on the iBooks store they have some good recommendations sometimes, and I think this popped up after I read The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
What’s the most interesting/inspiring/enlightening thing you have learned from it?
That even as somebody that has been oppressed and beaten down their whole life they still see hope in the world (and manage to also include humour in the book!)
What’s your favourite quote?
“A revolutionary woman can’t have no reactionary man.”
Why would you recommend it?
I would recommend this book because I think it is equally as important and powerful as the autobiographies of Malcolm X and Huey P. Newton, however it is rarely mentioned in the same breath. Assata Shakur is an amazing and inspirational woman who also writes about her experiences in a very personal and relatable way.
Mariam Aluede
Americanah ~ Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Where/how did you find this book?
I work with Eytys part time and they provided ‘Americanah’ to their friends/staff as part of their Black Lives Matter book club. I also heard about the novel from my mum and others so I’ve always been aware about it.
What’s the most interesting/inspiring/enlightening thing you have learned from it?
I’m currently still reading it, but I’ve learnt so far that Black people have and still find living in various societies difficult, in terms of how Black culture isn’t accepted for what it truly is. In the book, there’s a topic discussed about the politics of Black hair – how women are expected to relax their curls with toxic chemicals in order to conform to comfortable white norms. The novel is truly relatable but also an eye-opener and what I’ve found enlightening is the passion portrayed by the character‘s in the book.
What’s your favourite quote?
“Race doesn’t really exist for you because it has never been a barrier. Black folks don’t have that choice.’’
Why would you recommend this book?
‘Americanah’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is an important book that covers modern attitudes to race and touching issues about loss, identity and loneliness. It’s a novel for everyone as it gives an insight into discrimination and racism that some may not actually understand so this book puts the reader in the character’s perspective.
Deba Hekmat
Natives ~ Akala
Where/ how did you find this book?
I was on a shoot once reading ‘Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race ’ and another model (now my good friend Josh) recommended that I read ‘Natives’ by Akala after we spoke about ‘Why I’m No Longer’.
What’s the most interesting/inspiring/enlightening thing you learned from it?
The most interesting thing i’ve learned from this book is just how normalised and often police misconduct and brutality is in the UK. The countless stop and search stories in this book leave you to imagine just how many young Black men in our capital face unlawful stop and searches. Another thing is how the stereotype and criminalisation of young Black boys in London has affected our perception on knife crime and gang culture. We are led to believe that young Black teens are responsible for the countless cases of knife crime when in all reality the North East of England has the most cases of knife crime, and most of them aren’t even committed by teenagers… specifically black teenagers. Young Black men are always criminalised. Young black men get harsher sentences than their white counterparts for the exact same crime. Young Black men have to learn at a very young age that the police are not there to protect them but rather there to show how powerless you are.
What’s your favorite quote?
“To be Black, poor and politicised in Britain is to see the ugliest side of the police and indeed of Britain itself; it is to see behind the curtain and not get fooled by the circus, and to feel crazy because so many others cannot see what is so clear to you.”
Why would you recommend this book?
This book gives you first hand experience into what it is like to be a young Black man of today’s society. Akala shows you the social, political and historical factors that have left us where we are today regarding racism and classism. This book may not be easy to read for some but it’s vitally important in understanding how the UK is still so systematically racist, Akala gives insight into how the British class system interacts with and feeds off a long and complex relationship with empire and white supremacy, and how these social forces can manifest in and shape the life of young Black men in the UK.
Arman Zahawy
Blueprint for a Revolution ~ Srdja Popovic
Where / how did you find this book?
I found this book scrolling through the Instagram feed of Tim Sabajo (@timpatta) , one of my managers in Amsterdam. Tim is heavily educated on global race relations and the large selection of books he posts on his Instagram are insightful and helpful to anyone who wants to read up on similar subjects.
What’s the most interesting/inspiring/enlightening thing you learned from it?
What inspires me about this book is the general attitude that is imposed on the reader. It shows how the most infamous injustices have been rectified with the simplest of starts and how one individual can have such a large impact overall simply with everyday tendencies.
In this book you’ll also find a variety of injustices ranging all over the world and affecting every walk of life. It’s sad how little information there is available on these instances, and how I’d personally never heard of some of them growing up until reading this book…at 24 years of age.
What’s your favourite quote?
I’m yet to finish reading Blueprint for Revolution however my favourite quote so far is:
“People are fickle, easily distracted, and largely irrational. Hit them when they’re paying attention to something else and all the best planning will be lost, but strike when the hour is right and you are guaranteed to win.”
Very relevant in my opinion.
Why would you recommend this book?
I’d recommend this book because of its focus on how to tackle injustices and implement change with comedy and non-violent techniques.
Halina Kaszycka-Williams
Between The World and Me ~ Ta-Nehisi Coates
Where / how did you find this book?
I read this book a few years ago after reading a lot of articles by Coates on The Atlantic, (most famously his 2014 essay ‘The Case for Reparations’). It was a bit of a media darling when it was published so it made all the sense to check it out.
What’s the most interesting/inspiring/enlightening thing you learned from it?
The book is a long form letter from Ta-Nehisi Coates to his teenage son Samori, inspired by James Baldwin’s ‘The Fire Next Time’. In 1963, Baldwin wrote to his 14-year old nephew, and here, Coates offers his take on ‘The Talk’ that Black fathers and mothers are sadly required to have with their children (most particularly young men in the context of Police brutality, economic inequality, mass incarceration and the school to prison pipeline) warning them of the dangers and harsh realities of being Black in a white supremacist society. Whilst focusing on the state of America, it touches on universal themes of racism, justice (and lack thereof) capitalism, belonging, fear and hope that can be applied to the Black experience on both sides of the Atlantic, and across the world.
The fact that this book was definitively written for a Black audience, is by default an inspiration, in a society that aims to censor and neutralise Black voices to appease the mainstream.
What’s your favourite quote?
“Black Power births a kind of understanding that illuminates all the galaxies in their truest colors.”
Why would you recommend this book?
It’s under 200 pages, and written in a first person perspective, dipping in and out of formal/informal conversation, so it’s super short and easily digestible. Coates challenges the reader to ask and answer questions about their experience and society at large, leaving the book open-ended.
Sydney Mabuya
Black Against Empire ~ Joshua Bloom & Waldo E Martin JR
Where / how did you find this book?
I stumbled on it recently when I was looking into the Black Panther movement, and it looked like a good read.
What’s the most interesting/inspiring/enlightening thing you learned from it?
I’m interested in the whole Black Panther movement because I’ve noticed that two different people may have very different opinions on it – some see it as a self-defense movement and some see it as a political party, I personally see it as a combination of both. In that time, self-defense was political power and it was self-defense to have political power. I see elements of that in today’s society, despite how much we campaign and sign petitions for us to truly be Respected we have to control important pillars in our society, for example economic power, a society in which Fortune 500 companies are Black owned, you think they’d be able to disrespect us when we control the economy? If they try, we take away access to our services, businesses. I encourage any black kids / adults who are interested in any business venture to start – ain’t nothing besides fear holding you back.
What’s your favourite quote?
“How do you fight white supremacy in an era of colour blindness?”
Why would you recommend this book?
I’m 3/4 of the way through and I would 100% recommend it to anyone of any reading level – it gives insight into the Black Panther movement and politics as a whole.
Rob Hallet
Why I’m Not Talking To White People About Race Anymore ~ Reni Eddo-Lodge
Where / how did you find this book?
I’ve seen it periodically on the tube over the last 3 years since it was first published. The cover is really effective at grabbing attention. Earlier this year I took the chance to read it for myself.
What’s the most interesting/inspiring/enlightening thing you learned from it?
It gives a really good historical context of race and class, mostly in the UK. There are loads of situations and historical events that happened that I had heard of or knew the name of, but none of the inner workings. This book explains them really well and you can easily understand just how deeply ingrained systemic racism is in this country and others.
What’s your favorite quote?
“We cannot escape the legacies of the past, but we can use them to model our future.”
Why would you recommend this book?
The best thing about this book is the attention it gives to intersectionality. Dealing with race is one thing but then beyond that there are issues of class and gender that are part of the same battle. The chapter on feminism being a largely White domain is really interesting and something I hadn’t fully realised before.
TJ
Race Matters ~ Cornel West
Where / how did you find this book?
I am a big fan of Cornel West’s work as a philosopher and activist, and had previously studied his essays and articles surrounding race. It was actually in a conversation with my grandfather about the Black Lives Matter movement, on the back of George Floyd’s murder, that West’s work came up, and he recommended Race Matters to me as one of the more informative and accurate documentations of American racial history that he had read.
What’s the most interesting/inspiring/enlightening thing you have learned from it?
West manages to impart his historical wisdom through a set of raw and candid essays that, despite containing complex language, are both easy to follow and understand. It’s evident that his words come from experience and knowledge rather than speculation. He delves into American racial history in a way that I have never seen, with his coverage on the 1992 LA riots being particularly striking for me.
What’s your favourite quote?
“To be humble is to be so sure of oneself and one’s mission that one can forego calling excessive attention to one’s self and status.”
Why would you recommend it?
For those interested in educating themselves on racial issues in America, I would recommend Race Matters as it is an unfiltered, no-nonsense work of writing from the perspective of one of the most highly lauded black activists of our day. The real and informed perspectives detailed by West in the book are exactly the ones that people should be listening to, especially those out of touch with racial matters of today.
