9 Inspiring Memoirs That Celebrate Black Joy and Perseverance
- The Black Lives Matter movement focuses on several serious topics like police reform and inequality.
- But activists say that the movement should also highlight Black joy and success.
- Book review website Goodreads compiled a list of 96 books that celebrate Black joy.
Black History Month is an important time to educate yourself on the Black experience in America.
The Black Lives Matter movement is raising awareness around several serious topics: police reform, over-incarceration, inequality in education, racism in the workplace, discrimination in the health system, to name a few.
But that’s only part of the story.
“The other part about Black Lives Matter that I think people miss is Black joy and Black liberation,” Genisha Metcalf, a 35-year-old mother of two and Black Lives Matter activist told Insider in August.
Book review website Goodreads recently compiled a list of 96 books on Black joy, which includes titles in fantasy, romance, science fiction, and essay collections. Here are nine memoirs by Black authors that highlight other sides of the Black experience.
This article was originally published in August 2020.
“More Than Enough,” by Elaine Welteroth
Elaine Welteroth, editor in chief of Teen Vogue, tells her story of climbing the ranks in the world of media and fashion, sharing the valuable life lessons about race and gender she learned along the way.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai says the book “is a guide for young people who want to find their voice, a crash course for those who want to challenge the status quo, and an adventure story for all of us.”
“Black Girls Rock!” by Beverly Bond
In 2006, model and DJ Beverly Bond founded “Black Girls Rock!” an awards show that celebrates Black women in entertainment, entrepreneurship, and more. In this book, Bond recounts starting the awards show and presents a collection of essays from a mix of powerful Black women, including actress Kerry Washington, filmmaker Ava DuVernay, and tennis champion Serena Williams.
Read More
