1. Black England: A Forgotten Georgian History
Written by Gretchen Gerzina
About: The idea that Britain became a mixed-race country after 1945 is a common mistake. Georgian England had a large and distinctive Black community. Whether prosperous citizens or newly freed slaves, they all ran the risk of kidnap and sale to plantations. 'Black England' tells their dramatic and moving stories.
2. Endless Fortune
Written by Ify Adenuga
About: Endless Fortune tells the life story of Ify Adenuga: A fighter, a thinker, a feminist and a parent. Born in Lagos, Ify’s life was uprooted by the Nigerian civil war, which ravaged the country in the mid-1960s, forcing her family to flee.
3. Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race
Written by Reni Eddo-Lodge
About: A charged and necessary wake-up call to pervasive, institutionalised racism, Eddo-Lodge’s searing polemic reconstitutes the frame of the argument around race, removing it from the hands of those with little experience of its resonances. 'Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race' is a clarion call for understanding. Explores issues from eradicated black history to the political purpose of white dominance, whitewashed feminism to the inextricable link between class and race.
4. Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women White Feminists Forgot
Written by Mikki Kendall
About: A bold, brave and insightful book about how the multiplicity of twenty-first-century narratives. 'Hood Feminism' argues that feminism is in danger of losing its way if it does not embrace wider issues of race, gender and class. Deploying provocative arguments and reaching controversial, fiercely argued conclusions, Kendall’s incendiary volume is an urgently needed modern manifesto.
5. Black and British: A short, essential history
Written by David Olusoga
About: Why did the American Civil War disrupt the Industrial Revolution?
These and many other questions are answered in this essential introduction to 1800 years of the Black British history. Revised and rewritten, Olusoga’s insightful and invaluable history of the Black experience in the British Isles ranges from forgotten Africans in the Roman legions to the multicultural society of the present day.
6. Joyful, Joyful: Stories Celebrating Black Voices
Written by Dapo Adeola
About: A colour-illustrated collection of stories and poems celebrating joy by showcasing 40 talented Black writers and artists from across the world. This uplifting volume of great stories, poems and pictures from Black authors and illustrators is a rich treasury of terrific tales.