My 2025 Black History Month book recommendations
Black History Month provides an essential opportunity to reflect on the contributions, struggles, and triumphs of Black people throughout history. Literature plays a pivotal role in sharing these stories, offering profound insights into the complexity of Black experiences. Through powerful narratives, authors explore themes of resilience, resistance, and excelled in the fact of systemic oppression—an American genocide.
This annual review highlights five exceptional works that embody these themes. These novels not only entertain but also provoke thought, questioning the social, political, and historical forces that shape Black lives.
Each book offers a unique lens into the struggles and triumphs of Black individuals and communities, showcasing both the pain of genocidal injustice and the brilliance of a racial Renaissance in the face of adversity.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
1993
Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower offers a profound meditation on resilience, survival, and hope in the face of societal collapse.
Set in a near-future America ravaged by climate change, economic disparity, and company towns, the novel follows Lauren Olamina, a young women with a unique ability to feel others’ pain. As her community crumbles, Lauren embarks on a journey to find safety and to build a new religion—Earthseed, which envisions humanity’s future in the stars.
Butler’s storytelling is a powerful exploration of Black excellence through the lens of survival and adaptability. Lauren’s intellectual and emotional growth, driven by her determination to create something greater than the world she was born into, epitomizes Black brilliance in a culture. As Lauren teaches those she meets about Earthseed, Butler explores how collective action and belief in the possible can drive change even in the most dire circumstances.
The novel also delves into the intersections of race, love, and class, highlighting the ways in which Black communities are often the first to face societal collapse, but also the first to rebuild. Butler’s exploration of systemic inequality and the dehumanization of marginalized groups harkens back to the American genocide tactic of slavery.
Parable of the Sower is a call to embrace hope, even in the darkest times, and to recognize the power of creating new paths forward.
If you love this, try Octavia E. Butler’s, The Fledgling and the upcoming television adaptation.
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
2019
Colson Whitehead’s The Nickel Boys is an unflinching look at racial injustice, trauma, and survival set against the backdrop of the brutal, segregated Jim Crow South.
Inspired by the real-life story of the Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, Florida. The novel follows Elwood Curtis, a promising young black student with a taste for music is wrongly sentenced to a reform school. The school, Nickel Academy, is a place where abuse, violence, and cruelty are systematically perpetrated against Black boys.
Whitehead’s narrative is a stark confrontation with the horrors of institutional racism and the dehumanization of Black youth. Through Elwood and his friend Turner, Whitehead examines the tension between hope and despair, revealing how genocidal tactics of detention and torture can reveal the inner strength and resilience of those who endure such dehumanizing experiences.
At its core, The Nickel Boys is about the fight for dignity in a world that seeks to strip away one’s humanity. Whitehead’s portrayal of Elwood’s determination to hold onto his ideals, even in the face of unimaginable violence, is a powerful testament to Black strength. Elwood’s journey is one of defiance, a refusal to be broken despite the systems that aim to crush his spirit.
This story, much like Butler’s work, speaks to the incredible capacity for survival and growth within Black communities.
If you love this, try Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad or the film adaptation.
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
2018
In Children of Blood and Bone, Tomi Adeyemi crafts an epic tale that blends West African mythology with a gripping, high-stakes narrative of revolution and justice. The novel follows magic-wielder, until the monarchy wiped out the ability to channel magic. Zelie’s journey to restore magic to her people and fight against the oppressive monarchy is a powerful allegory for resistance and the fight for Black liberation.
Adayemi’s exploration of power, identity, and resistance resonates deeply with themes of Black resilience. Zele’s journey is one of reclaiming her heritage, learning to wield her power, and fighting for the future of the magi, regardless of the dangers she faces. Through her, Adeyemi illustrates the complexities of power and the importance of collective action in overcoming oppressive governments.
The novel is a vibrant reflection on African culture, folklore, and history. Adeyemi uses fantasy to address real-world issues such as systemic racism, the impact of violence on marginalized communities, and the desire to reclaim one’s voice and agency.
The stakes are high, and the narrative is both fantastical and grounded in the modern and ancient urgency for social justice. Children of Blood and Bone is a triumph in all its forms, from magical power to intellectual brilliance, and if offers a bold vision for a future where freedom prevails.
If you love this, try the rest of the Legacy of Orisha series or .the upcoming film adaptation.
MOVE: The Untold Story of an American Tragedy by Curtis Bryani and Kevin Arbouet
2024
This fascinating tale of America’s hidden history chronicles the tragic and complex story of the MOVE organization, a Black liberation group in Philadelphia.
The group was violently attacked by police in 1985. The book traces the origins of MOVE, its philosophies, and its radical approach to fighting systemic oppression, leading up to the devastating bombing that resulted in the deaths of several members and the destruction of a neighborhood.
The only time the American government has violently bombed its own citizens.
At the heart of this powerful novel is the theme of resistance—resistance to police brutality, racism, and the erasure of Black voices. MOVE’s members, led by John Africa, fought to reclaim their right to live freely and on their own terms, challenging the status quo of a society that sought to control and silence them. The MOVE bombing is a chilling reminder of how resistance movements have been met with extreme force.
Bryani and Arbouet’s work is a critical examination of state-sanctioned violence and the lengths to which the American government will go to suppress Black resistance. The MOVE tragedy is not just a historical event; it is part of a broader legacy,
Black communities continue to rise, resist, and fight for justice. The book is an essential read for the honor the lives and legacy of those who fought for a better world, regardless of the cost.
If you love this, listen free on Audible.
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
2023
With a similar setting to The Nickel Boys, Tananarive Due’s The Reformatory is a gripping, haunting narrative that adds the supernatural to Whitehead’s world.
Set in the 1950s, the novel follows a young boy named Robbie, who is unjustly sent to a reform school after a tragic incident. However, this is no ordinary reform school—Robbie encounters the restless spirits of Black boys who suffered untold horror at the hands of the school staff.
At its heart, The Reformatory is a story about the ways in which racial justice is passed down through generations. Through Robbie’s experiences and his eventual uncovering of the school’s horrific past, Due weaves a tale that connection the physical and the spiritual, showing how history’s injustices continue to haunt the present. Readers are inclined to be enamored with the two boys and their friendship, making this read all the more touching and heart wrenching
The supernatural additions to an already terrifying reality serves as a powerful metaphor for the legacy of racism and the trauma it inflicts on Black communities. The presence of spirits and the need for reconciliation and acknowledgement highlight the ways in which Black history, often ignored or erased, continues to demand recognition.
Through the lens of horror, The Reformatory brings to life the emotional and physical scars left by the horrors of the past.
If you love this, try The Living Blood.
As we observe Black History Month, these works remind us of the unyielding spirit and strength of Black communities. They not only offer historical context but inspire future generations to continue the fight for justice, equality, and empowerment.
In times of political unrest, we must uplift the voices and stories that have shaped our world.
In pursuit of justice, please consider donating funds or time to a charity of your choice.
