Our Stories, Our Roots: A Reading List for the International Day for People of African DescentLike this list

24 items

• Homegoing

  a Novel

  Gyasi, Yaa

  Add Homegoing to your for later shelf

  Follows the descendants of two half-sisters in Ghana, tracing 300 years of history through the slave trade, the American Civil War, the Great Migration, and modern Harlem.

• Things Fall Apart

  A Novel

  Achebe, Chinua

  Add Things Fall Apart to your for later shelf

  A classic of world literature exploring traditional Igbo society in Nigeria and the devastating impact of British colonialism.

• Americanah

  Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi, 1977-

  Add Americanah to your for later shelf

  A witty and poignant story about race, identity, and immigration through the experiences of a young Nigerian woman living in the United States and her return home.

• How Beautiful We Were

  a Novel

  Mbue, Imbolo

  Add How Beautiful We Were to your for later shelf

  A contemporary novel about a fictional African village fighting back against the environmental destruction caused by an American oil company.

• The 1619 Project

  a New Origin Story

  Add The 1619 Project to your for later shelf

  A powerful collection of essays and creative works examining the legacy of slavery in the United States.

• The Polished Hoe

  Clarke, Austin, 1934-2016

  Add The Polished Hoe to your for later shelf

  Acclaimed as one of Canada's most important novels examining the Black experience, The Polished Hoe unravels over the course of 24 hours but spans the lifetime of one woman and the collective experience of a society informed by slavery. Set on the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Four Hundred Souls

  a Community History of African America, 1619-2019

  Add Four Hundred Souls to your for later shelf

  A chorus of extraordinary voices tells the epic story of the four-hundred-year journey of African Americans from 1619 to the present.

• An African History of Africa

  From the Dawn of Humanity to Independence

  Badawi, Zeinab, 1959-

  Add An African History of Africa to your for later shelf

  In this fascinating book, Badawi guides us through Africa's spectacular history, from the origins of humanity, through ancient civilizations and medieval empires, to the miseries of conquest and the elation of independence.

• Unsettling the Great White North

  Black Canadian History

  Add Unsettling the Great White North to your for later shelf

  This book highlights the diverse experiences of persons of African descent within the chronicles of Canada’s past.

• Black AF History

  the Un-whitewashed Story of America

  Harriot, Michael,

  Add Black AF History to your for later shelf

• Minor Black Figures

  a Novel

  Taylor, Brandon (Brandon L. G.)

  Add Minor Black Figures to your for later shelf

• The Hanging of Angélique

  the Untold Story of Canadian Slavery and the Burning of Old Montréal

  Cooper, Afua

  Add The Hanging of Angélique to your for later shelf

• Policing Black Lives

  State Violence in Canada From Slavery to the Present

  Maynard, Robyn,

  Add Policing Black Lives to your for later shelf

• The Black Jacobins

  Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution

  James, C.L.R.

  Add The Black Jacobins to your for later shelf

• Rest Is Resistance

  a Manifesto

  Hersey, Tricia,

  Add Rest Is Resistance to your for later shelf

• Burn Down Master's House

  Cane, Clay

  Add Burn Down Master's House to your for later shelf

• Kindred

  Butler, Octavia E.

  Add Kindred to your for later shelf

  A modern Black woman in California suddenly finds herself pulled back in time to a pre-Civil War Maryland plantation. She must protect a white slaveholder to ensure her own existence.

• The New Jim Crow

  Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

  Alexander, Michelle,

  Add The New Jim Crow to your for later shelf

  This book explains how the American criminal justice system functions as a modern system of racial control, locking people of color behind bars and stripping away their rights.

• Between the World and Me

  Coates, Ta-Nehisi

  Add Between the World and Me to your for later shelf

  Written as a letter to his teenage son, the author explores what it means to inhabit a Black body in America and confront the history of racial violence.

• Searching for Serafim

  The Life and Legacy of Serafim "Joe" Fortes

  Smith Díaz, Ruby

  Add Searching for Serafim to your for later shelf

  This book is about the life of Vancouver's first lifeguard, Serafim "Joe" Fortes. The book explores the complexities of his legacy as a hero who saved numerous lives in a racially divided society.