7 Books Everyone Should Read By Black Women
By: Cathy Assoba
Tags: Inspiration, Black Women, Culture, Cathysculturecontent, Books

7 Books Everyone Should Read By Black Women

‘I am Not Your Baby Mother’ is one of my favorites

photo by Thoughts catalog, Unsplash

Everyone has their favorite authors. Many of us don’t choose our books based on authors, but based on the genres we are interested in. However, as a black woman, reading from other black authors is where I get my inspiration. I love the following books for different reasons and I think these stories should be experienced by everyone, no matter what race they are, because they are insightful and intellectual.

1. Slay In Your Lane, by Yomi Adegoke & Elizabeth Uviebinene

This book is known as the principal book for every black British woman to read. It delves into the understanding of being a black British woman, the microaggression that black women face, and how to deal with it. It explores history, statistics, and will educate readers on the impacts of white supremacy on black women. The authors have also launched a podcast discussing and sharing the aftermath of the success of the book.

2. Why I Am No Longer Talking To White People About Race, by Reni Eddo-Lodge

This is an emotionally charged book focusing on the educational system that is designed to be pro-division. This book breaks down racial micro and elements of macro aggressions as well as stereotypes. It also provides an understanding of the correlation between class and race.

3. I Am Not your Baby Mother, by Candice Brathwaite

The book truly represents the experiences and obstacles black mothers have faced due to prejudice and discrimination. This is a book that everyone should read to get an insight into this group of women dealing with motherhood. It also removes the cliche of the media’s portrayal of being a British mother.

The author is also the founder of Make Motherhood Diverse.

“Such a funny, thoughtful book. A book I didn’t even know I needed to read. I don’t tend to read mummy bloggers' books because, quite simply, they aren’t very interesting to me anymore and follow pretty similar paths. Candice Brathwaite stands out, not just for being a black woman, but also for ‘spilling the tea’ on whatever it is she talks about, whether that be secrecy in the black community about mental health issues or the white supremacy of the mummy blogosphere. Please don’t think you need to be BIPOC to enjoy this.”

4. Queenie, by Candice Carty Williams

This bestselling book features a character that has been described as the black Bridget Jones. This book is a diary illustrating a black woman living in south London journeying through career and dating. This book, despite it being fiction, discusses existing businesses and areas of London where she lives, making the character all the more relatable. Be prepared for a funny, charming, and poignant story.

5. This is Us: Black British Women and Girls, by Kafayat Okanlawon and Marai Larasi

The portrayals of a black woman between the ages of 4–86 in this gripping book illustrate the lives of women across multiple generations through a collection of Poetry from strangers, acquaintances, friends, and family. This book is more than just for reading, it is a representation of truth, brutality, and sisterhood. It was an honor to be able to read this book and grasp and respect the amount of time and effort it may have taken to gather transcribe the individuals’ biographies.

Reading this book felt so personal as if someone had cut several pivotal chapters of my life and put the pieces together. Its raw and awakening stories keep you gripped and provides a front and center no-filter approach to being a black British woman.

6. Young, Female, and Black, by Heidi Safia Mirza

Black women in western countries are faced from birth with all factors of a fundamentally unequal society. We do well in school and are ambitious and hardworking professionally, yet the success rate in stable professional situations don’t quite match with what is deserved.

I find this book compelling because of the extensive research done by British, American and Caribbean scholars. It provides an uplifting reminder and debunks the status quo myths that black women consistently underachieve in education and the labor market. Instead, it reexamines our misunderstandings and defines what is meant by educational underachievement through the lens of black families and, in particular, black women in Britain.

7. Black Women For Beginners Book, by Saundra Pearl Sharp

The title is exactly that, a timeline of all the strengths and shortcomings of this group of women and their versatility as warriors, healers, teachers, mothers, queens and liberators on all seven continents. It details how they have managed to sustain themselves despite numerous hurdles and hindrances and these stories are to be celebrated and shared.