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29 Black Authors To Support During Black History Month and Beyond

29 Black Authors To Support During Black History Month and Beyond

Black excellence is not just a phrase, it’s a lifestyle.

Everyday, all day, we are excellent. But when Black History Month comes, we get downright PHENOMENAL!

Recently, Barnes & Noble Fifth Avenue announced a launch of “classic novels with new covers promoting diversity.” The new covers were actually a reimagining of literary characters as Black people. Among them were titles that included Frankenstein, Romeo & Juliet, Moby Dick & The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

It is not a homage to Black excellence or Black history AT ALL. There are also tons of Black authors whose work could and should be supported instead. And since we shan’t let nobody rain on our Black History parade, in honor of those authors, we’ve compiled a list.

Below are 29 Black authors whose compelling work is shifting our narrative and collective consciousness. We honor them and we support them, all year long! 

 

Toni Morrison

James Baldwin

Michelle Alexander

Ta-Nehisi Coates

Zora Neale Hurston

Chinua Achebe

Maya Angelou

Barack Obama

Tomi Adeyemi

Langston Hughes

Alice Walker

Damon Young

Octavia E. Butler

Ralph Waldo Ellison

Michelle Obama

Dick Gregory

Bell Hooks

Jason Reynolds

Nikki Giovanni

W.E.B. DuBois

Yaa Gyasi

DeVon Franklin

Angela Davis

Kondwani Fidel

Audre Lorde

Amiri Baraka

Angie Thomas

Bassey Ikpi

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Photos Courtesy of Penguin Random House/HarperCollins Publishing