GLINC Talks About Black History Month (1/2)

February is Black History Month so we’re using this occasion to educate ourselves on how Black Canadians have impacted our collective history and paved the way for future generations to succeed. This week, we are highlighting a sampling of 10 books written by Black American and Canadian authors that will raise awareness and perhaps start a conversation about the Black experience.

Disclaimer: This blogpost is not sponsored. We are not working with any of the publishing companies mentioned below – the links provided are not affiliate links, meaning we will not receive any compensation.

A Promised Land by Barack Obama

In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world, describing in strikingly personal detail both his political education and the landmark moments of the first term of his historic presidency—a time of dramatic transformation and turmoil.

The Skin We’re In by Desmond Cole

A bracing, provocative, and perspective-shifting book from one of Canada’s most celebrated and uncompromising writers, Desmond Cole. The Skin We’re In will spark a national conversation, influence policy, and inspire activists.

The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr

A singular and stunning debut novel about the forbidden union between two enslaved young men on a Deep South plantation, the refuge they find in each other, and a betrayal that threatens their existence.

Gutter Child by Jael Richardson

Set in an imagined world in which the most vulnerable are forced to buy their freedom by working off their debt to society, Gutter Child uncovers a nation divided into the privileged Mainland and the policed Gutter.

Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas

Angie Thomas revisits Garden Heights seventeen years before the events of The Hate U Give in this searing and poignant exploration of Black boyhood and manhood.

Can You Hear Me Now? By Celina Caesar-Chavannes

Celina Caesar-Chavannes digs deep into her childhood and her life as a young Black woman entrepreneur and politician and shows us that effective and humane leaders grow as much from their mistakes and vulnerabilities as from their strengths.

How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi

Kendi weaves an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science with his own personal story of awakening to antiracism. This is an essential work for anyone who wants to go beyond the awareness of racism to the next step: contributing to the formation of a just and equitable society.

They Said This Would Be Fun: Race, Campus Life, And Growing Up by Eternity Martis

A powerful, moving memoir about what it’s like to be a student of colour on a predominantly white campus. Using her award-winning reporting skills, Eternity connects her own experience to the systemic issues plaguing students today. It’s a memoir of pain, but also resilience.

The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman

Amanda Gorman’s powerful and historic poem “The Hill We Climb,” read at President Joe Biden’s inauguration. Including an enduring foreword by Oprah Winfrey, this keepsake celebrates the promise of America and affirms the power of poetry.  

Brother by David Chariandy

David Chariandy’s Brother is his intensely beautiful, searingly powerful, and tightly constructed second novel, exploring questions of masculinity, family, race, and identity as they are played out in a Scarborough housing complex during the sweltering heat and simmering violence of the summer of 1991.