HomeDiscoverArticles14 essential Vintage books for Black History MonthReading lists14 essential Vintage books for Black History MonthPowerful and important poetry, non-fiction and novels: here are 14 essential works to add to your 'to read’ pile this Black History Month.Naomi Morris OmoriFacebookPinterestTwitterEmail Decolonising My Body by Afua Hirsch (2023) Upon turning forty, Afua Hirsch had an encounter that forever altered her preconceived notions of ancestry and body image, making her question everything from body-modification rituals such as tattoos and piercings to the foundations of sexuality, as well as attitudes towards puberty, ageing and death. This book charts her year-long journey of radical unlearning. Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo (2021) Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2022, this novel is the sweeping tale of a chorus of animals stuck in a cycle of political upheaval. Echoing the intricacies of our human world through the eyes of this animal kingdom, Glory explores colonialism, tyranny, power and resistance. The Mixed Race Experience by Natalie and Naomi Evans (2022) Naomi and Natalie Evans, founders of the platform Everyday Racism, explore the complexities of the mixed-race experience. In the UK over 1.2 million people who identify as mixed-race, and it is the fastest-growing racial group. Sharing their experiences of growing up in the UK, Naomi and Natalie shed insight on the nuances of mixed-race identity. Their book includes interviews, research and practical advice for mixed-race families and friendships. Beloved by Toni Morrison (1987) Sethe is now miles away from Sweet Home, the farm where she was kept as a slave. Unable to forget the unspeakable horrors that took place there, she is haunted by the violent spectre of her dead child, the daughter who died nameless and whose tombstone is etched with a single word, ‘Beloved’. A tale of brutality, horror and, above all, love at any cost, Beloved is Toni Morrison’s enduring masterpiece and best-known work. How to Raise an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi (2022) From the million-copy-bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist comes a book that investigates the questions at the forefront of many parents’ minds: how do we teach children to be antiracist? As Ibram X. Kendi discovered himself when he became a father, these questions demand consideration. He explores how we can inspire the next generation to make the world a better place. Sugar by Bernice McFadden (2000) In this modern classic young, confident Sugar Lacey arrives in Bigelow hoping to escape her past. Following her story, Sugar explores the sexism and prejudices of the Deep South in the 1950s. With rich characters and powerful storytelling, this is an addictive read. Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in her Head by Warsan Shire (2022) This is the landmark poetry collection from the award-winning poet Warsan Shire, celebrated collaborator on Beyoncé’s Lemonade and Black is King. In her first full-length poetry collection, Shire explores migration, womanhood, trauma and resilience. A Thousand Threads by Neneh Cherry (2024) Top of the Pops, December 1988. The world sat up as a young woman made her debut: gold bra, gold bomber jacket, and proudly, gloriously, seven months pregnant. This was no ordinary artist. This was Neneh Cherry. In this beautiful and deeply personal memoir, Cherry remembers the collaborations, the highs and lows, the friendships and loves, and the addictions and traumas that have shaped her as a woman and an artist. At the heart of it, always, is family: the extraordinary three generations of artists and musicians that are her inheritance and her legacy. Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (2023) Enter a world where, livestreamed to millions, prisoners fight like gladiators for the ultimate prize: their freedom. Fan-favourite female stars Loretta Thurwar and Hamara ‘Hurricane Staxxx’ Stacker are teammates and lovers. Thurwar is nearing the end of her time on the circuit, free in just a few matches, a fact she carries as heavily as her lethal hammer. But as protestors clash with the baying crowds and the programme’s corporate owners stack the odds against her – will the price be simply too high? A House for Alice by Diana Evans (2023) After fifty years in London, Alice wants to return home to Nigeria. Her three daughters are divided on whether she stays or goes, and in the wake of their father’s death, the imagined stability of the family begins to fray. Spanning three generations and set against the shadows of a nation in turmoil, these ordinary people confront fundamental questions. How to raise our children? How to do right by our parents? And how, in the midst of everything, do we satisfy ourselves? The Truths We Hold by Kamala Harris (2019) A compelling life story and a galvanising account of how meaningful change is made, The Truths We Hold offers essential insight into Kamala Harris’s journey to this pivotal moment in her career and in American history. Drawing on the hard-won wisdom and insight from her own career and the work of those who have most inspired her, she communicates a vision of shared struggle, shared purpose, and shared values as we confront the great work of our day. Dominoes by Phoebe McIntosh (2024) When Layla and Andy first meet, they can't believe they have the same surname. It feels like fate… until they realise their families could be linked in the worst possible way. What seemed like a fairy-tale romance is rapidly derailed as Layla begins to uncover parts of her history and identity that she had never imagined – or, perhaps, had simply learnt to ignore. The Three of Us by Ore Agbaje-Williams (2023) A nice house, a carefree life, a doting husband, a best friend who never leaves your side. You couldn’t ask for more. There’s just one problem: your husband and best friend love you, but they hate each other.Over a single day, wife, husband and best friend Temi toe the lines of compromise and betrayal. Slowly, their lives begin to unravel, until a startling discovery throws everyone’s integrity into question… Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks (2023) Yamaye lives for the weekend, when she can go raving with her friends at The Crypt, an underground club on the outskirts of London. Then everything changes. Yamaye meets Moose, who she falls deeply in love with, and who offers her the chance of freedom and escape. After their relationship is brutally cut short, Yamaye goes on a dramatic journey of transformation that leads her to Jamaica, where past and present collide with explosive consequences.
