Banned Books by Black Authors You Need to ReadLike this list

14 items

• The Color Purple

  Walker, Alice, 1944-

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  "The Color Purple" depicts the lives of African American women in early twentieth-century rural Georgia. Separated as girls, sisters Celie and Nettie sustain their loyalty to and hope in each other across time, distance and silence. Walker builds a…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Long Division

  a Novel

  Laymon, Kiese,

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  In a post-Katrina Mississippi, magic, time-travel, and real life converge in a spectacular coming-of-age story. In 2013, 14-year-old Citoyen "City" Coldson is sent to stay with his grandmother in the small coastal community of Melahatchie, where a…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• All Boys Aren't Blue

  a Memoir-manifesto

  Johnson, George M. (George Matthew), 1985-

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  This memoir-manifesto was at the top of the American Library Association's banned books list in 2024. In the book, George M. Johnson recounts significant events from his life, highlighting the trials and triumphs of being a Black, queer boy in…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Parable of the Sower

  Butler, Octavia E

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  Octavia E Butler's pioneering work of science fiction outlines a speculative future that has been lauded for its eerie similarities to our own. Set in 2024, Butler details a universe where America has devolved into an apocalyptic world due to…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Parable of the Talents

  Butler, Octavia E

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  The sequel to Butler's "Parable of the Sower", this book follows Lauren into the 2030s as she attempts to balance motherhood with the state of the apocalyptic world in which she lives. Equally as eerily familiar and prophetic as the first book,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Their Eyes Were Watching God

  Hurston, Zora Neale

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  Zora Neale Hurston was very nearly lost to time. She passed in 1960, with her grave remaining unmarked until 1973, when author Alice Walker discovered it. "Their Eyes Were Watching God" is one of Hurston's most classic pieces, weaving an…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• If Beale Street Could Talk

  Baldwin, James, 1924-1987

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  James Baldwin was a passionate civil rights activist with firm convictions and values. This comes through in this seminal Harlem love story. Tish and Fonny, a happy young couple in 70s NYC, are torn apart when Fonny is falsely accused of a crime by…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Giovanni's Room

  Baldwin, James, 1924-1987,

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  "Giovanni's Room" is Baldwin's classic piece of LGBTQ+ literature. It follows David and Giovanni, American ex-patriots in Paris, and the struggles that come with their relationship. They face the internal fight to rationalize masculinity,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The 1619 Project

  a New Origin Story

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  In late August 1619, a ship arrived in the British colony of Virginia bearing a cargo of twenty to thirty enslaved people from Africa. Their arrival led to the barbaric and unprecedented system of American chattel slavery that would last for the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Sula

  Morrison, Toni

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  Toni Morrison is one of the most revered writers of our time, crafting prose that creates incredible work. This novel is no exception. Nel and the titular Sula are born in the Bottom—a small town at the top of a hill. Sula is wild and daring, while…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Paradise

  Morrison, Toni

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  Another of Toni Morrison's great epics, "Paradise," details the history of an all-Black rural town in Oklahoma and the sprawling family tree of characters who live there. Founded by the descendants of formerly enslaved people and survivors in exile…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Stamped

  Racism, Antiracism, and You

  Reynolds, Jason,

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  In this remix of Ibram X. Kendi's book, "Stamped from the Beginning", Jason Reynolds crafts a journey through time to examine race as a concept and contextualize modern events. As Reynolds states at the beginning of the book, this is not a history…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

  Angelou, Maya

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  This collection of poetry is the debut memoir of the visionary poet Maya Angelou. A modern American classic, the book is as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Hate U Give

  Thomas, Angie,

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  Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her…Read moreRead more of this annotation