Explore this recommended reading list from writer, professor, television host, and political commentator Melissa Harris-Perry. She is currently the Maya Angelou Presidential Chair Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Wake Forest University, a regular columnist for The Nation, and editor-at-large at Elle.com. Explore both her books, Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America and Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought, with the Library.

"Unable to organize consistent thoughts, find useful words, or move to effective action, I am reading."

 

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs

The author recounts her childhood in slavery, the abuse she suffered, her escape to the North, and the help she received from both blacks and whites, and documents the degradation and injustices of slavery.

 

 

 

 

 

Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde

Presenting the essential writings of Black lesbian poet and feminist writer Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider celebrates an influential voice in twentieth-century literature.

 

 

 

 

 

Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement by Barbara Ransby

A portrait of one of the most important Black leaders of the twentieth century introduces readers to the fiery woman who inspired generations of activists.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color by Andrea Ritchie

A passionate, incisive critique of the many ways in which women and girls of color are systematically erased or marginalized in discussions of police violence.

 

 

 

 

 

Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin by Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin

An intimate portrait of Trayvon Martin shares previously untold insights into the movement he inspired from the perspectives of his parents, who also describe their efforts to bring meaning to his short life through the movement's pursuit of redemption and justice.

 

 

 

 

Our Time Is Now by Stacey Abrams

The award-winning House Democratic Leader and best-selling author of Lead from the Outside draws on extensive national research to outline an empowering blueprint for ending voter suppression, reclaiming identity, and reshaping progressive politics in America.

 

 

 

 

 

The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor

The Body Is Not an Apology offers radical self-love as the balm to heal the wounds inflicted by violent systems. World-renowned activist and poet Sonya Renee Taylor invites us to reconnect with the radical origins of our minds and bodies and celebrate our collective, enduring strength.

 

 

 

 

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Sethe, an escaped slave living in post-Civil War Ohio with her daughter and mother-in-law, is haunted persistently by the ghost of the dead baby girl whom she sacrificed, in a new edition of the Nobel Laureate's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.

 

 

 

 

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Summaries provided via NYPL’s catalog, which draws from multiple sources. Click through to each book’s title for more.

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