Black History Month

This Black History Month, Read with Range and Intention

Black History Month exists to create space — for remembrance, interrogation and attention. It asks readers to engage not with a single narrative, but with a body of work shaped across centuries, geographies and genres. Too often, that engagement narrows rather than widens, circling the same texts and themes until…

Monique SnymanFebruary 4, 2026

Book Club Network Fiction

Mateo Askaripour’s “Black Buck” Cleverly Analyzes Race, Ambition, and Truth

Grab a cup of coffee and settle in with this one! Peppered with humor and chock full of guidance on how to excel in sales and life, author Mateo Askaripour exposes what goes on in the workplace with Black Buck (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). He aims for his black and brown…

Jennifer BlankfeinFebruary 4, 2021

Listicles

Celebrating Black Voices: 12 Essential Reads for Black History Month

Black History Month is a time to honor the rich and complex history, achievements, and contributions of Black individuals throughout the world. One of the most powerful ways to educate yourself and engage with this history is through literature. Stories that educate, inspire, and amplify Black voices. From historical accounts…

Kelsey HallFebruary 25, 2025

Fiction Listicles

10 Banned Books by Black Authors to Read for Black History Month

Throughout history, Black writers have crafted powerful stories that challenge racism, inequality, and injustice, yet their books are often banned for doing exactly what they were written to do. This Black History Month, immerse yourself into these essential tales that have sparked controversy but remain crucial to understanding the Black…

Monique SnymanFebruary 21, 2025

Romance

Eight Romances to Swoon Over for Black History Month

One of the most glorious concepts in romance is that Happily Ever Afters (aka HEAs) are for EVERYONE. Sadly, for years romance novels with black love interests or authors were relegated to “special collections” or the backlist. It was even worse when it came to historical romance. Certain individuals still…

JeriAnn GellerFebruary 14, 2020

Miscellany Nonfiction Pop Culture

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Black Genius(es)

Two of the most vibrant voices of the literary Harlem Renaissance were best, if unlikely, friends. Why and how they loved each other, and how they fell apart, famously and publicly, is the story at the center of the new biography, Zora and Langston: A Story of Friendship and Betrayal…

Joanna PoncavageFebruary 20, 2019

Nonfiction

Rediscovering South African Heritage Long After Apartheid

Ask South African author, businesswoman, and entrepreneur Jesmane Boggenpoel about living under apartheid, and she’ll tell you it wasn’t just political systemic racial segregation. At its core, it was a period during which as a South African woman of color she felt countless internal contradictions and conflict. She felt immense…

BookTribFebruary 25, 2019

Nonfiction

Kicking Off Black History Month with Vashti Harrison, Author of ‘Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History’

To kick off Black History Month, we are sharing a Q&A with Vashti Harrison, author of The New York Times Bestseller, Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History. The book debuted at number three and was one of the most anticipated books of 2018 with a number of well know…

Aisha K. StaggersFebruary 1, 2018

Nonfiction

TED Talks: Bryan Stevenson on Identity and Injustice

Black History Month ends in just a few days, so this week’s installment of TED Talks Tuesday is one of the most elegant examinations of race in America ever given on the TED stage. Human Rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson’s moving talk from TED 2012 paints a hard picture…

Katie HiresFebruary 23, 2016

Nonfiction

Children portray Black History Month icons in Because of Them, We Can

Today we are giving you a dose of cuteness for a cause. The Because of Them, We Can campaign was born from photographer Eunique Jones Gibson’s desire to share the rich history of black people as well as the limitless future potential by using photographs that challenged negative…

Mea StewartFebruary 26, 2015

Nonfiction

Ellen Oh discusses why we need diverse books

If you’re a frequent Twitter user, then you’ve probably already heard of We Need Diverse Books. The phenomenon hit social media last year, shortly after BookCon announced a panel, “Blockbuster Reads: Meet the Kids’ Authors That Dazzle,” which only featured white men. A few YA authors, including popular fantasy author…

Rachel CarterFebruary 25, 2015

Children's Books Children's Books - Featured

Celebrate Black History Month and Children’s Authors and Illustrators Week With These 7 Picture Books

The first week of February marks a unique moment in the calendar. Designating the start of Black History Month, it also happens to be Children's Authors and Illustrators Week. This combined celebration creates the perfect opportunity to feature children’s books that educate and honor key figures and events of Black…

Cameron KimballFebruary 4, 2022

Children's Books

All Aboard the “Overground Railroad” to a Better Life

So begins the journey of Ruth Ellen and her parents by train from North Carolina to New York City, just three of the millions of African Americans who made their way north to escape segregation, discrimination and poverty in the first half of the 20th century. Like many, Ruth Ellen's…

BookTribFebruary 19, 2020

Fiction

The Daughter Who Slipped Away: Thomas Jefferson, Race, Class and the Search for a President’s Lost Family

Now to the family archives comes a new book, Jefferson’s Daughters: Three Sisters, White and Black, in a Young America by Catherine Kerrison, a professor of American history at Villanova University. “Their lives provide a unique vantage point by which to study the complicated American Revolution itself,” said Kerrison at the…

Joanna PoncavageFebruary 27, 2018

Audiobooks Fiction Listicles Thrillers

Gaining Insight Through Mystery Audiobooks

As we close out Black History Month, I want to take this opportunity to recognize the contributions of African American authors, narrators, and characters to the mystery/thriller genre. There is such a wealth of audiobooks to focus on.

Ellen QuintFebruary 26, 2019

Fiction Listicles

8 Books Featuring Memorable African American Characters

Memorable characters are like friends in my head who stick around long after the book has ended. They dazzle me with their imperfections, deliciously awful decisions, and take me on a read that I just can’t resist. The best ones follow me to bed, dance through my dreams, and when…

Sadeqa JohnsonFebruary 6, 2020

Black History Month

This Black History Month, Read with Range and Intention

Mateo Askaripour’s “Black Buck” Cleverly Analyzes Race, Ambition, and Truth

Celebrating Black Voices: 12 Essential Reads for Black History Month

10 Banned Books by Black Authors to Read for Black History Month

Eight Romances to Swoon Over for Black History Month

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Black Genius(es)

Rediscovering South African Heritage Long After Apartheid

Kicking Off Black History Month with Vashti Harrison, Author of ‘Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History’

TED Talks: Bryan Stevenson on Identity and Injustice

Children portray Black History Month icons in Because of Them, We Can

Ellen Oh discusses why we need diverse books

Celebrate Black History Month and Children’s Authors and Illustrators Week With These 7 Picture Books

All Aboard the “Overground Railroad” to a Better Life

The Daughter Who Slipped Away: Thomas Jefferson, Race, Class and the Search for a President’s Lost Family

Gaining Insight Through Mystery Audiobooks

8 Books Featuring Memorable African American Characters

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