Books about Black Americans – Equal Opportunity Reader

[REVIEW] Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts, by Rebecca Hall, illustrated by Hugo Martinez

The bright red cover of Wake in paperback depicts a group of Black women rendered in blue underneath the heavily inked book title.

(Buy this book here.) What I expected from this award-nominated graphic novel about women who led revolts during and after the Transatlantic Slave Trade: Justice. Vindication. Strong, clever African women standing up to oppressors, liberating themselves and others, making their marks on history. Blood. Thunder. Justice. What I got: a new understanding of just howContinue reading “[REVIEW] Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts, by Rebecca Hall, illustrated by Hugo Martinez”

[REVIEW] The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni, by Nikki Giovanni

The Kindle cover of The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni, depicting a black and white line drawing of a book, rests on a squishy yellow cushion

(This should be on your bookshelf if it isn’t already. Find it here.) we all start/as a speck/nobody notices us/but some may hope/we’re there When I was small, I stumbled upon a poem that made me feel like I was 10 feet tall. It gave me pride in my African ancestors, pride in being BlackContinue reading “[REVIEW] The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni, by Nikki Giovanni”

[REVIEW] Blood At The Root, by LaDarrion Williams

The Kindle cover of Blood At The Root, depicting a magical Black boy standing in front of an ancient tree, is held up in front of a slightly less ancient, very green real world tree.

(Buy this book here.) Malik Baron has had the usual fantasy hero’s rough start in life. He’s an orphan who’s finally aged out of the abusive foster homes he grew up in, and he has the prickly, exasperatingly self-destructive, suspicious personality to show for it. He also has erratic magic powers and no idea whereContinue reading “[REVIEW] Blood At The Root, by LaDarrion Williams”

[REVIEW]The Rose That Grew From Concrete, by Tupac Shakur

(Buy this book here.) So, the poems in this book are absolutely terrible and we need to talk about that. Put away your pitchforks and torches. I said what I said. This book of posthumously published poetry by one of hip-hop’s most lauded voices is…pretty bad. The rhymes are trite, the metaphors banal (when they’reContinue reading “[REVIEW]The Rose That Grew From Concrete, by Tupac Shakur”

[REVIEW] Elite Capture, by Olúfémi O. Táíwò

The paperback version of Elite Capture is open facedown on a wooden kitchen table, next to a delicious dish of greens, egg and tomato. The cover depicts a silhouetted Black hand stealing the dot from the "i" in "elite". The title of the book is all in black typeface except for that "i".

(Buy this book here.) I think at this point we all realize that this idea many millennials have been fed of working really hard, socially climbing, and getting into powerful rooms and important tables to make changes is more or less a pipe dream. It’s not that it isn’t possible, it’s just that it’s notContinue reading “[REVIEW] Elite Capture, by Olúfémi O. Táíwò”