Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi - I can't believe this is Gyasi's debut novel that she wrote in her early 20s. It's stunning, complex, beautifully imagined, and very raw. It's a story that weaves through history and follows two women and how drastic their lives are once divided: one gets put onto a slave ship, the other married to a slaver in Ghana. The historical novel traces one generation per chapter from the 1700s and jumps the reader back and forth into present day at the story's end.
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead - This book is probably the most graphic fiction book I've ever read. It's a Pulitzer and National Book Award prize winner, and the writing is absolutely searing. This book is about Cora, a woman who escapes slavery but is running from state to state via the magical realism of a train on the underground railroad, complete with flowers in a vase atop a checkered tablecloth waiting with a basket of food for her at some of the stops. This book looks at the absolute depravity of the national sin of slavery, and even the disgusting motives that those who help her along the way, have. You can not look back after reading this one-the thought of slavery-if it wasn't before-will be visceral and nausea inducing, and it should be.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas - This book was such a hit they made a movie a year or so after it's publication, but it's ripe for the time. It's about an young black man who was killed by the cops while in his car, with a friend. I don't remember the details but I believe he is pulled over because it's late at night and he has a tail light missing or forgot to signal. The pain that comes from his death ripples through the community and the main character, who is struggling through her own identity at an all-white school. It's a very powerful story and I'd suggest older teens reading it for context of the Black Lives Matter protests.
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jaqueline Woodson (YA) - This book is so beautiful. I've got a thing for poetry and this book is a memoir of Woodson growing up in the Civil Rights movement and moving all around the US, and told in verse form. This book is technically YA (Young Adult) but I read it for myself, first.
One Crazy Summer by Rita-Williams Garcia (YA) - This is another book geared toward young adults that I loved. It's the story of three sisters who spend a summer in Oakland, and they have to go to a Black Panther camp instead of Disneyland since their mom is an activist. This book is hilarious, honest, and really eye-opening as to what the girls learn during their crazy summer. I haven't read the other two books in the series, but I want to.
Native Son by Richard Wright - This was a book I read a long time ago but I often think about how it likely effected a lot of writers after its publication. It's about a boy named Bigger who lives in Chicago who commits a crime and is on trial for prison and the death penalty. Read this first, then Just Mercy, back to back and come to your own conclusions.
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones - This is a story about a couple who are taken from one another as the husband is accused of a crime he didn't commit, and going to jail for many years as a result. The plot is really between the couple and what happens as their marriage dissolves because of the heaviness of the situation.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou - Angelou's memoir of her childhood in the 1930s in a small town. The writing is beautiful and the author is also a poet. You can read her title poem here. If those words don't cause you to tear up I don't know what will.
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston - I read this book a long time ago but I remember it was one of my favorites of that year. It's a coming of age story of a young African American woman and her life living through three very different marriages.
Other:
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline - This is a dystopian novel where Indigenous people are captured for their ability to dream, and how they escape the hunters. The moral here is more about environmental stewardship and those who can 'heal' it (Indigenous peoples) than racism, but it is an underlying current of the futuristic story: what once was 'useless' is now the highest commodity- Indigenous bodies.
Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros - This is one of my favorite books of all-time, written by one of my favorite authors. Cisneros is a Chicana writer who writes novels, poetry, and an autobiography, all about her background as a Mexican American. Start off with The House on Mango Street, fall in love with her juicy words, and come back for the comedy and touching clarity of social commentary on growing up a minority in a big city with a big, loud family.
My Name is Seepeetza by Shirley Sterling (YA) - This is another young adult title that is very popular as it tends to be on the required reading lists at schools studying Indigenous history. This is the story of a little girl who is forced to attend a residential school (the last one closed in Canada in 1994. 1994!!!) but has such a strong spirit she stays resilient even after a traumatic experience.
The Break by Katherena Vermette - This is another title by an Indigenous author, also about the rape, missing, and murdered Indigenous women here in Canada. It's also very graphic, and is a generational story where you can trace the lines of trauma from one person to the next, along with Canada's own problem with racial profiling amid RCMP officers.
Waiting/Wanting to Read:
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas - This is Thomas' newest book, that I believe will also become a movie in the near future (led by Black women from start to finish). I just got it from the library and hope I can finish it in 3 weeks--it's really big!
In Search of April Raintree by Beatrice Mosionier - This is a book an Indigenous friend of mine recommended, about the Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women in Canada. Don't ever let anyone tell you Canada doesn't have racism. I bought it a few months ago at a thrift store, time to get to it.
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