50 Books Every Black Woman Should Read

Janelle Harris, inspired by the season's upcoming hibernation-inducing weather, makes a list of suggestions at Essence. Suggested Reading New Development for Black Man Whose Dreads Were Shaved Off by Prison Officers Why ‘Handsome’ Jay-Z Has Everyone Thirsting Over Him During The Cowboy Carter Tour The Heartbreaking Reason Gabrielle Union Lets Money Dictate Her Choice in…

Janelle Harris, inspired by the season's upcoming hibernation-inducing weather, makes a list of suggestions at Essence.

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It is by no means a comprehensive list. I don't even think we could create one because somewhere, someone is writing a great book right at this very moment that will ultimately deserve a space on many of our must-read rolls. But I hope it at least serves as a jump-off point for some thoughtful, purposeful literary consumption until the springtime thaw (which is March 20, in case you're counting days). 1.ย ย ย ย Their Eyes Were Watching Godย by Zora Neale Hurstonย  2.ย ย ย ย The Fire Next Timeย by James Baldwin 3.ย ย ย ย Sister Citizenย by Melissa Harris-Perry 4.ย ย ย ย The Miseducation of the Negroย by Carter G. Woodson 5.ย ย ย ย Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George Jacksonย by George Jackson 6.ย ย ย ย Caneย by Jean Toomer 7.ย ย ย ย The Prisoner's Wifeย by asha bandele 8.ย ย ย ย Krik? Krak?ย by Edwidge Danticat 9.ย ย ย ย Things Fall Apartย by Chinua Achebe 10.ย ย ย ย The Blacker the Berryย by Wallace Thurman 11.ย ย ย ย Jesus and the Disinheritedย by Howard Thurman 12.ย ย ย ย Black Bourgeoiseย by E. Franklin Frazier 13.ย ย ย ย Jubileeย by Margaret Walker 14.ย ย ย ย Mumbo Jumboย by Ishmael Reed 15.ย ย ย ย The Bluest Eyeย by Toni Morrison 16.ย ย ย ย Kindred by Octavia Butler 17.ย ย ย ย One Day My Soul Just Opened Upย by Iyanla Vanzant 18.ย ย ย ย In Search of Satisfactionย by J. California Cooper 19.ย ย ย ย Invisibleย Man by Ralph Ellison 20.ย ย ย ย A Raisin in the Sunย by Lorraine Hansberry โ€ฆ

Read Janelle Harris' entire piece at Clutch magazine.

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