No. 2.1: The Home Library
What do James Baldwin, Octavia Butler, and Toni Morrison have in common? And your bookshelf?
They are all great black writers and black voices that inspire us to reach beyond our immediate surroundings. They are the shoulder for which we stand for endless inspiration and creative savvy. And they may or may not be on your shelf.
Have you ever visited the African American section of your local library or bookstore?
Not much to choose from, right?
Remember the one or two paragraphs about Black history in your high school American history course? Unless you had a Black English teacher, there is a good chance Black literature wasn’t a part of your primary or secondary education curriculum.
It’s so important to educate ourselves about who we are as a community.
It is critical to understand what we have contributed to society. Our contributions to entertainment, art, literature, politics, science, and business are tremendous, considering the multitude of barriers intentionally imposed on our livelihood.
The gateway to gaining this knowledge starts with self, right at home. One has to take the time to invest in acquiring resources.
Imagine having your home library to rummage through pages of paperbacks and running your fingertips along the fabric of a hardcover book. Highlighting quotes to remember words that resonate with your interpersonal feelings while writing notes along the sides of the pages to reference later for peer discussions.
These books have captured the essays of James Baldwin, the play by play of August Wilson‘s characters, the oration of Malcolm‘s speeches, explanations of African fables, the science fiction tales of Octavia Butler, or how we can achieve group economics to sustain our communities. The list of Black writers to draw inspiration from is endless. Oftentimes, unacknowledged.
Maintaining your own personal library of books by Black authors is defiant. Defiant because we live in a society that has intentionally tried to erase, “sugar coat” and downplay our experiences. Just in 2019, during an interview with Gayle King, Virginia’s governor, Ralph Northam, referred to Africans as “indentured servants” as he noted it was the 400 year anniversary of their arrival to the Virginian shores in the year 1619.
Can I insert a side eye here?
Indentured servants signed contracts to work for a certain period of time in exchange for a specific benefit. Those Africans who arrived in 1619 were stolen from their villages, stripped of their clothes, beaten, raped, intentionally split from their family and involuntarily labored for the benefit of those who legally became their owners. The change of terminology completely altered the factual historical events.
Owning a collection of books of multiple genres by Black authors fills the voids. The voids in history. Voids in higher education. Voids within our own communities.
During times of the American slave trade, our ancestors were prevented from from reading and writing. Intellect was a sense of freedom. So what did our ancestors do? They told their stories. Stories of life in the Motherland. Stories of triumphant and despair through enslavement. Stories of their family through the generations. Stories that were passed down to each other and those who were able to write, did so. They continued to write. And write. And write. And write. Writing their truths, thoughts and feelings. Sharing what was once silenced.
We are great stories tellers. Whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, we have been preservationists of our stories. We have painted pictures of our experiences and imaginations through our words. Words that are strategically laid out on pages that are bonded at the seam. Binding our narratives to teach the past, present and future.
Do you have a favorite Black author? Are any of their books on your shelf?
My top five picks for your home library
1. The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley
2. Fences by August Wilson
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4. The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
5. Open the Flood Gate: A Memoir by Dr. Dorothy Height
So what is on your bookshelf?
P.S. This isn’t a shaming post to anyone who doesn’t have their own personal library of Black authors. Whether your shelf has 5 or 100 books, all are valuable. If you haven’t started then that’s OK too. It’s never too late to get started. I hope you find the inspiration to start your own or grow your personal library.
“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.”-Malcolm X
