We See Each Other, We Good: Recommended Reads About Black Life from @blkbookswap
We See Each Other, We Good is a collection of book recommendations curated by Trae, a black & queer avid reader who lives in Brooklyn, NY. Trae is also the founder of @blkbookswap, a free book exchange pop-up where the goal is you bring a book, you take a book.
Every Black History Month, every book lover begins to recommend and curate lists of what people should read in honor of the time and month. Consider this a friendly reminder that books about Black Life should be read year-round, especially if you consider yourself an ally and wish to learn more. If you want to start, check out a few of these titles.
Each of these books tell a different story, represent a part of Black History and Black Futures that will delight any reader. Take yourself on a journey through the likes of these amazing Black authors, all of which have something unique to share with you.
Black On Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity by C. Riley Snorton
When I first saw this book in Bluestockings Bookstore in LES in 2018, this title jumped out at me and made me really stop and think about what I knew about the racial history of Trans Identity. Titles are supposed to catch your attention and make you think, right? But this was different. Within two chapters, C. Riley Snorton takes us back to the 1800’s and makes you question all those times you heard an elder say “we just didn’t have all of these genders and all this stuff back then”, as if they were bothered by the existence of Trans and Queer people. With the use of early sexology, psychology and historical archives, C. Riley Snorton shares the lives of many pioneering of many Trans, gender queer, “cross dressing” and gender fluid historical Black figures.
Wandering in Strange Lands by Morgan Jerkins
Morgan Jerkins is such an amazing author, let's start there. In Wandering In Strange Lands, which is part memoir, part self-discovery and part historical non-fiction, Morgan travels several states to discover and learn more about The Great Migration. The Great Migration occurred from approximately 1910 - 1970, where nearly 6 million Black people moved from the American, Jim Crow South throughout the Northern, Mid-Western and Western states. In search of freedom, economic opportunities and equity, millions of Black people disconnected themselves from their Southern roots in search of promise in unfamiliar cities and towns. As a Black American who is a direct descendant of South Carolinians who worked as sharecroppers and eventually migrated to New York City, this read is deeply reflective and helped me to have so many important conversations with my parents and grandparents while they’re still with us.
I Can’t Date Jesus by Michael Arceneaux
I still haven’t found a collection of essays that come close to Michael Arceneux’s humor, wit and deeply relatable transparency about being queer and queer dating life. Michael Arceneux’s candor and very personal stories made me literally laugh out loud and some even impressed some second hand embarrassment onto me. It’s not all laughs though, as he discusses homophobia, growing up in a very conservative and religious household and having fractured adult relationships due to being gay. This is a great look into Black and gay life from a hilarious millennial’s standpoint.
Black Futures by Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham
In this lovely anthology of Black Life, Art, Innovation and everything in between, Black Futures is the dense collection we’ve always needed. Both Drew and Wortham recommend that anyone who reads this book, read it with a device near by so that you can look up trends, people, words, just anything that you didn’t know (which trust me – will be a lot of things). From Black dances to Black viral Tweets to Black food, this book isn’t linear. It wasn’t written to be.
Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn
Patsy is a story about a Jamaican woman who travels to New York City to follow her best friend, Cicely, who had left Jamaica years before. This heart wrenching novel explores so many intersections of life: queerness, motherhood, lies, being undocumented in America, love and loss. Nicole Dennis-Benn writes the book in her native patois, which gives the book the Jamaican realness you need out of a book like Patsy. Many times throughout the book, the use of patios reminds you how important language, dialect and familiarity are to you as you search for a home in another country. What I love the most about Patsy is that none of the story is packaged in a nice gift wrap and delivered sensitively. Instead, every page is a new opening of emotional depth that is sometimes hard to wrap your head around, but so necessary to.
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Does this book even need an introduction? I do not think so! If you haven’t read this, please do!
Native Son by Richard Wright
Native Son is a novel you cannot get throughout without questioning the world around you. Set in the 1930’s, published in 1940, Wright pulls you into a world where everything is Black and White from the beginning. It’s intentionally written as though you never forget that this is a novel about race relations, race and racism. Long before True Crime shows began a craze, Richard Wright wrote a fictional crime novel at a time where very few Black authors were published, let alone embraced in a world that wrote very nuanced stories about Black life.
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
When I think of Clap When You Land, a book about 2 sisters that do not know about each other until after their father dies in a plane crash, I think of how complex the characters and the story itself is. This young adult novel is written in-verse, so it’s easy and quick to get through but that doesn’t make the weaving stories any less potent. Acevedo mastered writing that touches almost every emotion: anger, happiness, hope, guilt, grief, love, and so on. Reading this reminds me that even following a lifetime of secrets, some healing can occur.
Hair Love by Matthew Cherry
Hair Love is a tender children's book about a father’s love for his daughter and the extra mile he goes to style her hair for a special event. This book is about embracing your natural hair in all its forms.
Blk Book Swap is a free book exchange founded by iced-coffee swirling book lover, Trae. Follow & support Trae @blkbookswap on IG and Twitter and see our book display in store until Feb 28.
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