Black History Month 2025 | A Reading List

by LJ Reviews
Feb 05, 2025 | Filed in Reviews+

In 1926, Carter G. Woodson envisioned a weeklong commemoration to increase awareness of Black history and culture. In the 1960s, protests against racial injustice helped make it into a monthlong celebration, but the U.S. didn’t formally recognize Black History Month until 1976. This list spotlights collective and individual aspects of Black history and experience. 

In 1926, Carter G. Woodson envisioned a weeklong commemoration to increase awareness of Black history and culture. In the 1960s, protests against racial injustice helped make it into a monthlong celebration, but the U.S. didn’t formally recognize Black History Month until 1976. This list spotlights collective and individual aspects of Black history and experience. These titles, and those selected from previous years, are available as a downloadable spreadsheet. 

FICTION

Cosby, S.A. All the Sinners Bleed. Flatiron. Jun. 2023. 352p. ISBN 9781250831910. THRILLER

Due, Tananarive. The Wishing Pool and Other Stories. Akashic. Apr. 2023. 320p. ISBN 9781636141053. SHORT STORIES

Perkins-Valdez, Dolen. Take My Hand. Berkley. Apr. 2022. 368p. ISBN 9780593337691. POP FICTION

Ruffin, Maurice Carlos. The American Daughters. One World. Feb. 2024. 304p. ISBN 9780593729397. HISTORICAL

Stratton, L.S. Do What Godmother Says. Union Square & Co. Jun. 2024. 384p. ISBN 9781454947486. SUSPENSE

NONFICTION

Golden, Marita. How To Become a Black Writer: Creating and Honoring Black Stories That Matter. Mango. Feb. 2025. 200p. ISBN 9781684817153. SOCIAL SCIENCE

Hopson, Cheryl R. Zora Neale Hurston. Reaktion. (Critical Lives). Aug. 2024. 224p. ISBN 9781789147957. BIOGRAPHY

Lewis-Giggetts, Tracey Michae’l. Then They Came for Mine: Healing from the Trauma of Racial Violence. Westminster John Knox. Sept. 2022. 180p. ISBN 9780664267285. SPIRITUALITY

Shakur, Prince. When They Tell You To Be Good. Tin House. Oct. 2022. 296p. ISBN 9781953534422. MEMOIR

This Is the Honey: An Anthology of Contemporary Black Poets. Little, Brown. Jan. 2024. 448p. ed. by Kwame Alexander. ISBN 9780316417525. POETRY

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