Read
Reading is one of my favorite pastimes and ways of learning. I tend to be reading two books at a time: one fiction novel and one educational text. I tend to try to only read black female authors, although if it is only one of the two I make an exception.
Children of Blood and Bone
Children of Blood and Bone allowed me to escape this reality while also encouraging me to step into the power of my Blackness, question oppressive power structures, and challenge authority. Full of strong female characters and dependable Black men (both often lacking in mainstream media) I was invested in the world of Orisha from the first page. Adeyemi writes in a way that allows the reader to truly exist in the world of the protagonists, crying as they cry, laughing as they laugh, and determined as they are. The spirituality central to the text also inspired me to seek out more Afrocentric spiritual practices for my own life.
by Tomi Adeyemi
My Grandmother's Hands
by Resmaa Menakem
This book is not just a book, but a healing process. Full of activities and practices, My Grandmother's Hands has provided me an outlet for healing trauma on the physical level. While I have been yearning to heal for over two years now, taking myself to talk therapy has been a struggle. Resmaa Menakem offers a guide to healing trauma through physical processes and exercises. Recognizing the racialized trauma I hold in my body has been a process of intense recognition, especially as I reckon with ancestral traumas. Reflecting upon my ancestors who have benefited from white-body supremacy, and those who suffered at the hands of it has further complicated my understanding of myself as a biracial woman.
Ancestors Stones
by Aminatta Forna
This novel falls under a category I would call “Historical Realism” as it explores the historical realities of Sierra Leone as well as spiritual beliefs and practices. Telling the story of five women from the years 1930 to 2000, colonialism and patriarchy shape their lived experiences, while sisterhood, motherhood and womanhood play essential roles in their well-being. Reading this provided me perspective on lived experiences and practices of women in this time and place in the genre of magical realism which I enjoy.
Reads That Changed Me
These books have influenced who I am, and how I understand my self:
My name is not Angelica, by Scott O’dell
Woman, Race, Class Power by Angela Davis
We Were Eight Years in Power by Tanahese Coats
The Orphan-Master's Son by Adam Johnson
Assata by Assata Shakur
In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Ain’t I a woman: Black Women and Feminism by bell hooks
The Shadow of the Wind by by Carlos Ruiz Zafón