During our sojourn in these (dis)United States of America, there have been two things individuals and institutions committed to the myth of white supremacy have consistently fought tooth and nail to block us from accessing – voting rights and books.
Each allows us to voice what’s most important to us and those we love. Both our voting rights and books, especially books, allow us to develop our voice and our vision to see beyond the “right now” and into the “not yet.”
Books allow us to travel the world and the multiverse, expanding our perception and conception of what’s possible for us, for our people and for humanity.
That said, certain books are must-reads for every Black person. Failure to read them can result in your Black Card being revoked because they provide so much information and/or inspiration that we cannot chance moving correctly in this world without what those reads offer.
Here are books Defender readers say need to be on every Black person’s list. If you have any to add, please send those titles (with author names) to .
Let’s read!
Book Lists
The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley and Malcolm X
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Anything by Toni Morrison—preferably The Bluest Eye and Beloved
Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos of Community? by MLK Jr.
Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Hailey and Malcolm X
Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Neale Hurston
Any Toni Morrison book
The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams
The Souls of Black Folks by W.E.B. DuBois
Two Thousand Seasons by Ayi Kwei Armah
Segu by Maryse Conde
Roots by Alex Haley
The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley and Malcolm X
Anything by Toni Morrison or J. California Cooper
The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones
The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois
Introduction to Black Studies by Dr. Maulana Karenga
Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley and Malcolm X
Stokely Speaks
Black Power by Stokely Carmichael & Charles V. Hamilton
All of the above and…
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith
The Bluest Eye, Jazz, Song of Solomon, etc. by Toni Morrison
The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah Jones
“Message to the People.” By Marcus Garvey
Miseducation of the Negro by Carter G Woodson
The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois
Aswad Walker
The Philosophies and Opinions of Marcus Garvey, edited by Amy Jacques Garvey
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
Black Christian Nationalism: New Directions for the Black Church by Albert B. Cleage Jr.
Futureland by Walter Mosley
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
The African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality by Cheikh Anta Diop
Assata: An Autobiography by Assata Shakur
Reclaiming Stolen Earth: An Africana Ecotheology by Jawanza Eric Clark
The Debt by Randall Robinson
The Reckoning by Randall Robinson
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
Introduction to African Civilizations by John G. Jackson
The Easy Rawlins Series by Walter Mosley
Of Water and the Spirit by Malidoma Somé
The Healing Wisdom of Africa by Malidoma Somé
My Glorious Brothers by Howard Fast
Zealot by Reza Aslan
Tribes by Joel Kotkin
White Rage by Carol Anderson
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