Every year in the US, International Week of Black Women in the Arts is observed every year from February 7 to February 15, which is why we’re looking at the most notable books. The week celebrates the achievements of Black female artists in various fields and finds ways to support them. This is also the time to discover new Black artists, promote their art, and raise awareness of issues that are unique to them.
From music to painting and cinema, Black artists have made their presence felt with their remarkable talents. Yet they remain underpaid and underrepresented. Find out how you can support your favourite Black female artists and discover new ones.
Here is a selection picked by Vivi Koroma Kala, who is a bookish mum, marketer + content-creator and editor Dianca London Potts, who is a Kimbilio Fiction Fellow, a VONA Voices alumna, and the former online editor of Well-Read Black Girl.
Best books supporting International Week of Black Women in the Arts
📚 Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be… by Shonda Rhimes
📚 Slay In Your Lane: The Black Girl Bible by Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinene
📚 Feminism, Interrupted: Disrupting Power by Lola Olufemi
📚 Mouth Full of Blood: Essays, Speeches, Meditations by Toni Morrison
📚 Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging by Afua Hirsh
📚 Becoming by Michelle Obama
📚 Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves by Glory Edim
📚 I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown
📚 The Source of Self-Regard by Toni Morrison
📚 Zora Neale Hurston: Novels & Stories by Zora Neale Hurston
📚 Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde
📚 Constructing a Nervous System by Margo Jefferson
📚 We Are Never Meeting in Real Life. by Samantha Irby
📚 All That She Carried by Tiya Miles
📚 The Black Period by Hafizah Augustus Geter
📚 Feel Free by Zadie Smith
📚 Deep Sightings & Rescue Missions by Toni Cade Bambara
Remember to check out the important works by writer bell hooks, who passed away in 2021. And remember to check out the episode with University of East Anglia professor Tessa McWatt on her book Shame on Me: Race, Identity and Belonging.
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