Here at SGO, we often joke that time is a social construct. But, time still passes and here we are at the close of January. With February fast approaching, you might be wondering what resources you could offer to your workplace for Black History Month. Or, you might be looking for some inspiration yourself. With that in mind, we’ve collected a few of our favorite offerings. Some of these might be familiar to you; old friends. Other stories might be newer to you. We hope that you find some inspiration here, or at the very least, some interesting reading.
If you’re planning to share with your organization, consider supporting a book club (or starting one) internally. Pick a book or article, share around with interested parties (depending on budget, you might be able to purchase physical copies for readers), and suggest a date for convening to discuss. Before the book club comes together, prepare some possible discussion questions or prompts to generate conversation and analysis. Make sure to center your reasons for bringing the group together. This could be as simple as a short statement sent to your group before the first meeting, or taking some time to discuss your purpose at the top of the first gathering.
We also suggest that you use this as an opportunity to think about how you could uplift and support Black people inside and outside your organization beyond February. Education and work should not be capped by time limits, even though time is a social construct- the work is ever evolving and shifting.
Non-Fiction
- A Black Women’s History of the United States by Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross
- Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism by Safiya Umoja Noble
- Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
- Between the World and Me byTa-Nehisi Coates
- Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
- But Some of Us Are Brave: Black Women’s Studies edited by Akasha (Gloria T.) Hull, Patricia Bell-Scott & Barbara Smith
- Freedom is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Y. Davis
- Heavy by Kiese Laymon
- How to Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
- How to Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
- Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
- I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
- Killing Rage: Ending Racism by bell hooks
- Lift Every Voice: The NAACP and the Making of the Civil Rights Movement by Patricia Sullivan
- March, Books 1-3 by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin
- People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
- Reproducing Race by Khiara Bridges
- So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
- The Angela Y. Davis Reader by Angela Y. Davis, Joy James (Editor)
- The Autobiography of Malcom X by Malcolm X, Alex Haley
- The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
- The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
- The Red Record by Ida B. Well-Barnett
- The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois
- They Were Her Property by Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers
- Thick: And Other Essays by Tressie McMillan Cottom
- When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan Cullors, asha bandele
- Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Tatum
- Writing Beyond Race by bell hooks
- You Can’t Touch My Hair by Phoebe Robinson
Fiction
- Hair Love by Matthew Cherry and Vashti Harrison
- Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
- The Color Purple by Alice Walker
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead