> Zed Book Club / Black History Month: 12 Titles to Read
Writer and playwright Lorraine Hansberry poses for a portrait in her apartment at 337 Bleecker Street (where she had written the first-ever Broadway play by an African-American woman, "A Raisin In The Sun") in April, 1959 in New York City. Photo: David Attie/Getty Images
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Black History Month: 12 Titles to Read
Here’s our selection of new and notable titles, covering fashion, food, theatre, movies and music, that illuminate Black lives / BY Nathalie Atkinson / February 10th, 2022
Black history is made every day, but there’s no denying publishers do schedule releases in the lead-up to February in honour of Black History Month. The annual celebration of achievement began in 1926 as Negro History Week in the United States, an initiative of historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African-Americans. Here’s our selection of new and notable titles covering fashion, food, theatre, movies and music — even how we shop — that reckon with, and illuminate, Black lives.
Obsessive Book Buyers: Zoomer editors have carefully curated our book coverage to ensure you find the perfect read. We may earn a commission on books you buy by clicking on the cover image.
1Afro-Atlantic Histories I was fortunate to catch this bold exhibition in person at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston over the holidays. The book, published in late December, expands on the show, which explores and interrogates the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade through 500 years of art made in Africa, the Americas, Europe and the Caribbean. It’s like the more contemporary look at Black Atlantic art in Toronto collector Ken Montague’s book As We Rise (from our recent Activists & Allies list), except it puts the artwork in provocative and revealing juxtapositions to reveal new perspectives.
I was fortunate to catch this bold exhibition in person at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston over the holidays. The book, published in late December, expands on the show, which explores and interrogates the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade through 500 years of art made in Africa, the Americas, Europe and the Caribbean. It’s like the more contemporary look at Black Atlantic art in Toronto collector Ken Montague’s book As We Rise (from our recent Activists & Allies list), except it puts the artwork in provocative and revealing juxtapositions to reveal new perspectives.
2Black Food: Stories, Art, and Recipes From Across the African Diaspora The California chef, historian and activist curates this book to show the meaning behind every meal. The collection goes beyond recipes to include art, music and essays exploring the foodways of the African diaspora. The personal essays, from contributors like culinary historian Jessica B. Harris – one of Time magazine’s 2021 Most Influential People of the Year – are breathtaking.
The California chef, historian and activist curates this book to show the meaning behind every meal. The collection goes beyond recipes to include art, music and essays exploring the foodways of the African diaspora. The personal essays, from contributors like culinary historian Jessica B. Harris – one of Time magazine’s 2021 Most Influential People of the Year – are breathtaking.
3Colorization: One Hundred Years of Black Films in a White World When #OscarsSoWhite inevitably sweeps social media again this awards season, this essential and encyclopedic book has the receipts on Black excellence. Haywood, a Guggenheim fellow, puts Hollywood into historical perspective, beginning with The Birth of a Nation, the notorious first “blockbuster” – which glorified the Ku Klux Klan – before delving into a century of Black filmmaking. It includes the history of Black-owned theatres, directors like Oscar Micheaux, performers such as Lena Horne and Harry Belafonte, genres like blaxploitation, which influenced John Singleton, Ava DuVernay and Spike Lee.
When #OscarsSoWhite inevitably sweeps social media again this awards season, this essential and encyclopedic book has the receipts on Black excellence. Haywood, a Guggenheim fellow, puts Hollywood into historical perspective, beginning with The Birth of a Nation, the notorious first “blockbuster” – which glorified the Ku Klux Klan – before delving into a century of Black filmmaking. It includes the history of Black-owned theatres, directors like Oscar Micheaux, performers such as Lena Horne and Harry Belafonte, genres like blaxploitation, which influenced John Singleton, Ava DuVernay and Spike Lee.
4Consumed This American expat, who lives in London, has become the leading voice on sustainability, ethics and social justice in the fashion industry, not only tells us how to quit fast fashion, but why we need to. She dismantles the past and present history of Black and brown people whose labour built the industry. It’s an incendiary read that will make you want to follow her Instagram account, @ajabarber, for a daily reminder of speaking truth to power.
This American expat, who lives in London, has become the leading voice on sustainability, ethics and social justice in the fashion industry, not only tells us how to quit fast fashion, but why we need to. She dismantles the past and present history of Black and brown people whose labour built the industry. It’s an incendiary read that will make you want to follow her Instagram account, @ajabarber, for a daily reminder of speaking truth to power.
5Lorraine Hansberry: The Life Behind A Raisin in the Sun “We object to roles which consistently depict our women as wicked and our men as weak,” Chicago journalist and playwright Lorraine Hansberry once said, denouncing the movie Porgy and Bess, even as she cast its lead actor in her celebrated stage play. “We do not want to see six-foot Sidney Poitier on his knees crying for a slit-skirted wench who did him wrong.” Her milestone production of “A Raisin in the Sun” ran for 530 performances and made history as the first on Broadway to be written and produced by an African-American woman. Shields’ authoritative biography explores the playwright’s politics and radical social criticism.
“We object to roles which consistently depict our women as wicked and our men as weak,” Chicago journalist and playwright Lorraine Hansberry once said, denouncing the movie Porgy and Bess, even as she cast its lead actor in her celebrated stage play. “We do not want to see six-foot Sidney Poitier on his knees crying for a slit-skirted wench who did him wrong.” Her milestone production of “A Raisin in the Sun” ran for 530 performances and made history as the first on Broadway to be written and produced by an African-American woman. Shields’ authoritative biography explores the playwright’s politics and radical social criticism.
6Manifesto: On Never Giving Up In this new memoir, the acclaimed British writer of Girl, Woman, Other, who was the first Black woman and first Black British person to win the Booker Prize in its 50-year history (she shared the 2019 Booker win with Margaret Atwood), writes about her Manchester childhood as one of eight siblings, and of her rebellious career in the arts. It’s also a meditation on activism, determination and the creative life.
In this new memoir, the acclaimed British writer of Girl, Woman, Other, who was the first Black woman and first Black British person to win the Booker Prize in its 50-year history (she shared the 2019 Booker win with Margaret Atwood), writes about her Manchester childhood as one of eight siblings, and of her rebellious career in the arts. It’s also a meditation on activism, determination and the creative life.
7Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love This lavish book pairs well with Black Designers in American Fashion (from our recent Nostalgia list) and celebrates the remarkable career and legacy of playful and political Black fashion designer Patrick Kelly (1954-1990). It’s a companion to the updated bold, bright and dynamic retrospective currently at the de Young Museum in San Francisco (until April 24), and features thoughtful essays on Kelly’s work, like “Runway Jubilee” by the late Vogue editor, André Leon Talley.
This lavish book pairs well with Black Designers in American Fashion (from our recent Nostalgia list) and celebrates the remarkable career and legacy of playful and political Black fashion designer Patrick Kelly (1954-1990). It’s a companion to the updated bold, bright and dynamic retrospective currently at the de Young Museum in San Francisco (until April 24), and features thoughtful essays on Kelly’s work, like “Runway Jubilee” by the late Vogue editor, André Leon Talley.
9South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a NationPerry, a Princeton University professor of African American studies and award-winning author, was inspired by Albert Murray’s 1971 memoir-slash-travelogue South to a Very Old Place to travel to more than a dozen Southern cities and towns. The Alabama native, who was raised in New England, uses the term “collage of historical meaning” in a memoir that reflects on how Black culture and racial injustice originated in the American South
Perry, a Princeton University professor of African American studies and award-winning author, was inspired by Albert Murray’s 1971 memoir-slash-travelogue South to a Very Old Place to travel to more than a dozen Southern cities and towns. The Alabama native, who was raised in New England, uses the term “collage of historical meaning” in a memoir that reflects on how Black culture and racial injustice originated in the American South
10Yo! The Early Days of Hip Hop 1982 - 84 This 300-page book of rarely seen images from Bramly, a French photographer who lived in New York at the time, charts the musical genre’s rise in the 80s. It’s partly a coffee table book and partly a historical document of cross-cultural influences (like a snap of Futura with Keith Haring), and arists like Fab Five Freddy, Patti Astor and GrandMixer D. St. contribute stories and text.
This 300-page book of rarely seen images from Bramly, a French photographer who lived in New York at the time, charts the musical genre’s rise in the 80s. It’s partly a coffee table book and partly a historical document of cross-cultural influences (like a snap of Futura with Keith Haring), and arists like Fab Five Freddy, Patti Astor and GrandMixer D. St. contribute stories and text.
11You Don’t Know Us Negroes This expansive collection of essays, edited by U.S. professors Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Genevieve West, are a testament to the breadth of curiosity and the intellect of Hurston, the Harlem Renaissance crusader and reporter, anthropologist and cultural critic (writer of classics such as Their Eyes Were Watching God). Several essays – like the titular one – are published here for the first time, and all engagingly explore gender and race relations, as Hurston writes about everything from visual art and jazz to romantic relationships and travel. Her newspaper coverage of a 1950s murder trial, also included in the book, is especially riveting.
This expansive collection of essays, edited by U.S. professors Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Genevieve West, are a testament to the breadth of curiosity and the intellect of Hurston, the Harlem Renaissance crusader and reporter, anthropologist and cultural critic (writer of classics such as Their Eyes Were Watching God). Several essays – like the titular one – are published here for the first time, and all engagingly explore gender and race relations, as Hurston writes about everything from visual art and jazz to romantic relationships and travel. Her newspaper coverage of a 1950s murder trial, also included in the book, is especially riveting.
12Mickalene Thomas Thomas’s silkscreen portrait “Michelle O” became the first well-known portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama, a reference to the Jackie O of Andy Warhol’s celebrity series. This first comprehensive monograph of her work is suitably lavish. It surveys the extraordinary career of Thomas, a queer Black American and key figure in 21st century contemporary art, who employs collage, photography, video and painting to subvert and redress the established so-called art canon, as explored in Zoomer’s feature about her 2019 Art Gallery of Ontario exhibition.
Thomas’s silkscreen portrait “Michelle O” became the first well-known portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama, a reference to the Jackie O of Andy Warhol’s celebrity series. This first comprehensive monograph of her work is suitably lavish. It surveys the extraordinary career of Thomas, a queer Black American and key figure in 21st century contemporary art, who employs collage, photography, video and painting to subvert and redress the established so-called art canon, as explored in Zoomer’s feature about her 2019 Art Gallery of Ontario exhibition.