Our Black History Month selections are presented in partnership with The Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
Dawn by Octavia Butler is a paradigm-shifting exploration of survival, power, and human nature. Lilith Iyapo, a young Black woman, awakens 250 years after nuclear war has ravaged Earth. Aboard an alien ship, she learns the Oankali have saved humanity—but demand submission in return. As a reluctant mediator, Lilith must navigate coercion and manipulation, choosing between interbreeding, death, or isolation. Intelligent and strong-willed, she resists passive acceptance. Butler examines autonomy, sacrifice, and marginalization, offering no easy answers but a vision of transformation, making Dawn a thought-provoking start to the Xenogenesis series.
The Deep by Rivers Solomon reimagines the myth of mermaids with a powerful, haunting twist and lyrical prose. Unlike Disney’s Ariel, who dreams of life on land, Solomon’s mermaids descend from African women thrown overboard during the transatlantic slave trade. Their descendants, the Wajinru, live underwater, unaware of their origins—until Yetu, their Historian, carries the burden of their collective memories. Overwhelmed by 600 years of trauma, she flees to the surface, uncovering painful truths. Through vivid world-building, The Deep explores trauma, identity, and healing, offering a raw meditation on survival and the power of remembering.
Original Sins by Eve L. Ewing is a searing exploration of how American education has long oppressed Black and Indigenous children. Tracing its roots from genocide to slavery, Ewing exposes schooling as a site of control rather than equal opportunity. Drawing on Foucault, she links discipline, testing, and racial tracking to colonial capitalism, where schools reinforce inequality. Yet, she reimagines education as a space for liberation. Original Sins is a necessary critique of a complicit system, offering pathways for transformation—an essential read for educators, parents, and guardians.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X, as told to Alex Haley (author of Roots), is a brutally honest account of one man’s transformation—full of pain, redemption, and profound disillusionment. Written in plain, unadorned language, it focuses on Malcolm X’s real experiences: his poverty-stricken childhood, descent into crime, time in prison, conversion to Islam, and rise as a civil rights leader. His journey to Mecca reshaped his views on race and unity. His philosophy, often misrepresented, emphasized self-defense and justice, a message that remains deeply relevant today.
Black Women Taught Us: An Intimate History of Black Feminism by Dr. Jenn M. Jackson recenters the often-erased contributions of Black women in the fight against racism. Blending memoir and historical analysis, Jackson highlights the influence of Black feminist leaders in shaping modern liberation movements. With intersectionality at the forefront, the book explores the experiences of Black women across class, gender, ability, sexuality, and nationality. This collection of essays offers a nuanced examination of Black feminist thought, redignifying key figures in history and emphasizing the necessity of listening to Black women.
Death of the Author is a story within a story centering on Zelu, a disabled Nigerian author navigating her family’s disapproval. Okorafor critiques the whitewashing of BIPOC stories, the artist’s relationship to their work, audience, and social media. Told through Zelu’s perspective, interviews with her family, and excerpts from her novel Rusted Robots, the book explores Ankara, an android in post-apocalyptic Nigeria. Okorafor’s signature Afrofuturism and afrojujuism create a rich sci-fi fantasy landscape, blending tradition and futurism in a subversive, speculative meta-fiction that is both thought-provoking and immersive.
