Black History Month is still going to be observed this month by the new administration but we all know that we would continue to celebrate regardless of what the government chose to do. (White House)
Why? Because it's important to remember: We existed in the past. We exist now. And we will continue to exist in the future.
The following book recommendations depict this for us:
Black Past
Midnight by Beverly Jenkins is about a Faith Kingston, a rebel spy in Revolutionary War era Boston, who falls in love with a free Black man with a passion for justice.
The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History by David F. Walker & Marcus Kwame Anderson depicts the history of the Black Panther Party from its beginnings to its untimely end due to the U.S. Government's involvement.
Black Present
The Dead Don't Need Reminding: In Search of Fugitives, Mississippi, and Black TV Nerd Sh*t by Julian Randall is a collection of essays on the author's journey to learn more about an ancestor who passed for white, experiences in academia, and struggling with mental health.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler was published in 1993 and takes place in 2024-2026. It's a work of speculative fiction following a teen named Lauren Olamina who sees the destruction around her community and country and strives to survive through faith in her vision for the future.
Black Future
The Memory Librarian and Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monae & More is an anthology of Sci-Fi stories that imagine a future where Black, Indigenous, and People of Color resist and survive the censorship of their brutal government.
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi is a YA Magical Realism novel about a girl named Jam who lives in a future without police where the comfort of a utopian society makes her community reluctant to remember their past.
I found each of these books incredibly powerful and I hope they lend you perspective as well as strength for the fight we are now in.
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