For those hoping 2021 might offer something different than the parade of injustice we’ve become accustomed to, particularly Black folk who continue to be disenfranchised by police, I’ve got some news for you: things will only change for the better if we do better.
To that end, I’ve found that as a young Black man in an anxiety-inducing world, immersing myself in literature made by and for Black voices has had an incredible effect on my outlook. For other Black men like me who feel stymied by the immense challenges that lay before our generation, or anyone who seeks to educate themselves, here are ten books by African-American authors that have strengthened my resolve.
By Ralph Ellison
Ralph Ellison’s seminal 1952 novel has long been hailed as a modern classic, and rightly so. Ever since first reading it in high school, I’ve marveled at how the distinctly Black cultural perspective depicted by Ellison resonates through the decades, particularly with the latest Black Lives Matter protests taking place in major cities worldwide.
The story is told to us through language as rich as the sweetest of yams by an unnamed Narrator recounting the story of his life, meeting all manner of vivid, often darkly funny characters along the way.
