As we celebrate the richness and resilience of Black history, we’re excited to share some of our staff’s favorite reads by Black women authors that will feed your soul this Black History Month.

Our curated selection of books showcase the brilliance and diversity of Black voices, spanning genres and perspectives that explore the beauty, complexities, and triumphs of the Black experience.

From compelling novels to thought-provoking essays, these reads invite you to celebrate, reflect, and engage with narratives that inspire and empower.

Happy reading!

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Black Cake – Charmaine Wilkerson

Black Cake revolves around Benny and Byron, siblings who come together following their mother’s recent death. In the wake of her passing, they discover an unusual inheritance: a frozen black cake stored in the refrigerator and a recorded revelation from their mother, unveiling the untold truths of her past and origins.

The Body is Not an Apology – Sonya Renee Taylor

In this powerful manifesto, Sonya Renee Taylor challenges societal norms, advocating for radical self-love and urging readers to embrace their bodies and dismantle the shame and discrimination perpetuated by conventional beauty standards.

Break the Cycle – Dr. Mariel Boque

In this empowering resource, Buqué enlightens readers on the transmission of trauma across generations and offers insight into breaking this cycle through practical therapeutic approaches. She also encourages readers to navigate mental health with resilience and strength, challenging stigmas and fostering a culture of understanding and support.

Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement – Barbara Ransby

In this definitive biography, Barbara Ransby traces the extensive and multifaceted career of Ella Baker’s role in the Civil Rights Movement, offering insights into her activism and leadership that shaped the course of history.

The House of Eve – Sadeqa Johnson

Set in the 1940s-1950s, this book follows two protagonists, Ruby and Eleanor, in alternating first-person and third-person limited perspectives. Exploring second chances and the influence of gender, racism, and poverty on choices, the novel weaves through three generations of women, highlighting the enduring strength of familial bonds and shared pasts.

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body – Roxane Gay

This powerful memoir explores Gay’s experiences with trauma, body image, and self-worth. Through her intimate exploration, she invites readers into her journey towards self-acceptance, offering a poignant reflection on the complexities of the human experience.

Indigo – Beverly Jenkins

Set in the American West, Beverly Jenkins weaves a passionate romance in “Indigo,” a celebration of love and resilience amid the challenges of historical context. Hester Wyatt, a former slave turned Underground Railroad member, encounters the wounded “Black Daniel,” a crucial figure in the North’s Underground network. Despite initial clashes, as Galen Vachon heals in Hester’s care, a deep connection blossoms. The story unfolds against the backdrop of traitors, slave catchers, and the quest for true love, emphasizing the strength of Black individuals in the face of adversity.

Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good – adrienne maree brown

adrienne maree brown’s groundbreaking collection of essays challenges conventional notions of activism. In advocating for joy, pleasure, and love as essential components of social justice work, brown encourages readers to embrace self-care as a radical force for positive change.

Raybearer – Jordan Ifueko

This captivating fantasy novel follows the journey of Tarisai, a young girl navigating self-discovery and political intrigue. Set in a richly imagined world, Ifueko weaves a tale of magic, relationships, and the power of identity.

Soothe Your Nerves – Angela Neal-Barnett

This comprehensive guide, tailored specifically for Black women, provides insights and practical strategies for understanding and overcoming anxiety, panic, and fears, addressing mental health with a culturally sensitive approach.

Thicker Than Water – Kerry Washington

Kerry Washington’s memoir intricately explores family complexities and concealed secrets, touching on themes of identity, loyalty, and the pursuit of truth. Providing an intimate look into her public and private roles as a mother, daughter, wife, artist, advocate, and trailblazer, Washington shares her journey of overcoming challenges, childhood traumas, finding mentors, and achieving success. She also inspires readers to seek their true selves, fostering authenticity, connection, and a sense of belonging.

Walk Through Fire – Sheila Johnson

Entrepreneur and philanthropist Sheila Johnson shares her remarkable journey in “Walk Through Fire.” This inspiring memoir emphasizes the importance of perseverance and resilience in the face of challenges, offering valuable lessons on navigating adversity with strength and grace.

The Wedding Date – Jasmine Guillory

In this delightful romantic comedy this story revolves around Alexa Monroe and Drew Nichols, who embark on a fake date that turns into unexpected fun and feelings. As high-powered professionals in different cities, they navigate the challenges of a long-distance relationship, exploring the collision between their careers and personal desires.

What We Lose – Zinzi Clemmons

In this book, Clemmons explores loss, identity, and cultural belonging as a young woman copes with her mother’s battle with breast cancer. Published in 2017, the novel employs experimental techniques, offering an intimate portrayal of grief and self-discovery.

The Window Seat – Aminatta Forna

The Window Seat is a diverse collection of essays that explores displacement, trauma, memory, love, and our relationship with the non-human world. In this collection, Forna intimately discusses themes of travel, identity, and the human experience, taking readers on a captivating journey that prompts thought and self-discovery in our interconnected world.

Black History Month is a special time in February dedicated to honoring the rich history, culture, and influences of Black Americans throughout our nation’s history. It is also a time to celebrate the voices that have and continue to pave pathways that inspire and create spaces for global change.

This Black History Month, The Women’s Foundation is excited to share twelve (12) of our staff’s favorite reads written by some of the most brilliant Black writers and thinkers.

Check them out below, and let us know what you think!

All About Love: New Visions – bell hooks

All About Love breaks down why love remains elusive for many of us. From our flawed understanding of what love is to our misguided expectations of romantic love, author bell hooks examines common barriers to love and explains the steps individuals need to take for society to become more loving and nurturing.

Finding Me – Viola Davis

Finding Me is EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards) winning actress Viola Davis’ story, in her own words, and spans her incredible, inspiring life, from her coming-of-age in Rhode Island to her present day. It is a deep reflection, a promise, and a love letter of sorts to self. 

Homegoing – Yaa Gyasi

Homegoing is a story of race, history, ancestry, love, and time that traces the descendants of two sisters torn apart in eighteenth-century Ghana and their descendants through eight generations: from the Gold Coast to the plantations of Mississippi, from the American Civil War to Jazz Age Harlem. The novel shows how the memory of captivity has been inscribed on the soul of our nation.

How the Word is Passed – Clint Smith

How the Word is Passed examines the legacy of slavery in America and how both history and memory continue to shape our everyday lives.

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption – Bryan Stephenson

Just Mercy is a powerful true story about Bryan Stevenson, a young lawyer who founded the Equal Justice Initiative—a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system. It is a story about the potential for mercy to redeem us and a clarion call to fix our broken justice system.

The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois – Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois is the 2021 debut novel by American poet Honorée Fanonne Jeffers. It explores the history of an African-American family in the American South, from the time before the American civil war and slavery, through the Civil Rights Movement, to the present.

The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Fall Apart – Alicia Garza

In The Purpose of Power, Co-Founder of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, Alicia Garza, combines immense wisdom with political courage to inspire a new generation of activists, dreamers, and leaders. It’s a story of galvanizing people to create change; an insight into grassroots organizing to deliver basic needs – affordable housing, workplace protections, and access to good education – to those locked out of the economy by racism.

Seven Days in June – Tia Williams

With its keen observations of creative life in America today, as well as the joys and complications of being a mother and a daughter, Tia Williams’ Seven Days in June is a hilarious and romantic story of two writers discovering their second chance at love. 

The Warmth of Other Suns – Isabel Wilkerson

The Warmth of Other Suns sheds new light on the story of the Great Migration—the movement of Black Americans out of the Southern United States to the Midwest, Northeast, and West from approximately 1915 to 1970—through the stories of three individuals: Ida Mae Brandon Gladney, George Swanson Starling, and Robert Pershing Foster. It shows just how dramatically American culture has been changed, and continues to be changed, because of it.

Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves – Glory Edim

Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves is a collection of inspiring essays by Black women on the importance of recognizing themselves in literature. Each contribution to the anthology is thoughtful and thorough and creates both a time capsule and an artifact of memories in literature. 

When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matters Memoir – Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele

When They Call You a Terrorist is a reflection on humanity. It is an empowering account of survival, strength, and resilience and a call to action to change the culture that declares innocent Black life expendable.

You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience and the Black Experience – Tarana Burke and Dr. Brené Brown

This anthology brings together a dynamic group of Black writers, organizers, artists, academics, and cultural figures to discuss the topics that Burke and Brown have dedicated their lives to understanding and teaching – vulnerability and shame resilience. It is a space to recognize and process the trauma of white supremacy, a space to be vulnerable and affirm the fullness of Black life and Black possibility, and a space that gives Black humanity breathing room.