February is Black History Month, honoring the triumphs and struggles of African Americans throughout U.S. history.
Below is a selection of recommended reading for the month. Books can be purchased by clicking on the link and (if in stock) picked up at Cozy and Content on the same day.
The 1619 Project is an anthology of essays investigating the origins of the slave trade in America, and how it has shaped what the country would become. It’s also an exploration of how we create history, and how these stories shape our political present.
Black Fortunes follows the narratives of America’s first black millionaires. The book focuses on six historical figures and how they rose to their status and used their power for social justice, movements, to help their communities grow, and how they helped people of color to thrive.
In Call Us What We Carry, Gorman explores history, language, identity, and erasure through an imaginative and intimate collage. Harnessing the collective grief of a global pandemic, this beautifully designed volume features poems in many inventive styles and structures and shines a light on a moment of reckoning.
In Don’t Cry for Me, Jacob is dying from lung cancer and struggling to scribble down his life lessons, his regrets, and most importantly, relay the love and appreciation he has, not only for his son but also for a family that has long passed.
Ray Carney is a furniture salesman struggling to make ends meet. With the help of his misfit cousin Freddie, Carney deals in stolen jewelry on the side. After a crew of bandits raid the Hotel Theresa, Carney hopes his involvement does not lead to his own murder.
Starr Carter is constantly switching between two worlds — the poor, mostly black neighborhood where she lives and the wealthy, mostly white prep school that she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is soon shattered when she witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend at the hands of a police officer. Facing pressure from all sides of the community, Starr must find her voice and decide to stand up for what’s right.
A teenager explores her magical connections to greenery and gods. Briseis Greene is a Black high schooler with magical powers that she hides from most people save her adoptive mothers, Thandie and Angie. She has an innate connection to plants and is even able to grow them from seeds using just her mind and hands.
This is the story of a Black woman and native Alabaman returning to the region she has always called home and considering it with fresh eyes. Her journey is full of detours, deep dives, and surprising encounters with places and people.
My Grandmother’s Hands is a call to action for all of us. The book asks readers to recognize that racism is not only about the head, but also about the body. It introduces an alternative view about how we can grow beyond our entrenched racialized divide by realizing that the body is where our instincts reside.
