Blacklitology

Over the past five days on social media, I’ve shared the banned and challenged books by Black authors that fill the shelves of my home library. The response was so powerful that I knew I had to bring them all together in one definitive post for you.

While Banned Books Week officially lasts for seven days, our protest against censorship can happen every single day. How? By intentionally reading, sharing, and purchasing these very books.

This list is more than just titles; it’s a testament to the stories some would rather silence. Each one of these books has a place of honor in my personal collection. I hope this list becomes your go-to resource for discovering your next powerful read.

To make this list easier to browse, I’ve loosely grouped the books by genre and theme.

Fiction & Literature

• The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
• Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
• Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
• Fledgling by Octavia Butler
• Go Tell It On The Mountain by James Baldwin
• If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
• Native Son by Richard Wright
• Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
• A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines
• Kindred by Octavia Butler
• The Lone Woman by Victor LaValle
• Tar Baby by Toni Morrison
• Sula by Toni Morrison
• Beloved by Toni Morrison
• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
• Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
• Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

Young Adult & Middle Grade

• Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
• You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
• Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
• Dear Justice by Nic Stone
• Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
• Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
• Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
• Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
• Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson
• The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson

Non-Fiction, Memoir & Essays

• Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” by Zora Neale Hurston
• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones
• Mules and Men by Zora Neale Hurston
• Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
• The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person by Frederick Joseph
• The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race edited by Jesmyn Ward
• The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley
• Assata: An Autobiography by Assata Shakur

Short Story Collections

• A Phoenix First Must Burn edited by Patrice Caldwell

This Is Just the Beginning

After compiling this list, I was reminded of just how many more incredible banned books are out there. The fight against censorship is ongoing, and our TBR (To-Be-Read) lists are our greatest weapons.

For more comprehensive lists, I highly recommend the resources provided by PEN America and the American Library Association.

Your Next Steps: Read, Discuss, and Purchase

As I always say: if an effort is being made to ban a book, that’s the clearest sign that you absolutely need to read it.

If you’re ready to dive in, I encourage you to support local bookstores. You can find many of these titles at your neighborhood shop. If you don’t have one nearby, here are my favorite online alternatives that still support independent stores or offer affordable options:

• Bookshop.org (Supports local bookstores)
• ThriftBooks (For affordable used copies)
• Book Outlet (For discounted new books)

Let’s continue the conversation! Which of these books have you read? Which one are you most excited to pick up first? Let me know in the comments below—I love talking about these stories with you.