The education never stops! All three of these books are not ones that were recommended to me, but rather ones I stumbled upon naturally and would now recommend. Two were bought from a local bookstore and the other from a local non-profit gift shop, and they’re all ones I would suggest for different reasons.
(Level One) / (Level Two)

1. Black Love Matters edited by Jessica P Pryde
This is a collection of essays that are written by readers, writers, professors, scholars, podcast hosts, business owners and more. They all covered their personal angle on Black Love in the media and the importance of Happily Ever Afters. I loved hearing all the points of views, especially considering that college-educated Black women are the biggest reading demographic in America. The authors talked through their experience trying to find representation, characters that meant the most, the lack of intersectionality, and so many more ideas around Black Love. While the book itself was a bit repetitive, I really enjoyed this exploration.

2. This Book Is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell
This book is technically for kids, or is at least geared towards kids, but I think it could be read by anyone. It’s simplistic, but addresses a lot of important issues all while being very colorful and fun. There’s a good overview of history as well as ways to be a good ally in present day. It’s a very quick read, and would make a good coffee-table book for a setting with kids and teenagers.

3. White Tears / Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women Of Color by Ruby Hamad
Okay – this was packed with super important information. I couldn’t recommend this book more for anybody to read, as it covered so much ground from an intersectional perspective. (I also appreciated that the book called out its own short comings, with some references to fill in some gaps.) Essentially, the point of this book is that all women suffer, but women of color have a much more layered experience of life as a woman because of racism. Life is complex and often ugly, and this book discusses the obstacles faced by a variety of communities and the nuances that come with each. There’s a lot of history that is covered, most of it dark and uncomfortable, but it’s necessary to realize how far we’ve come and how much women have had to face. But again, the point is that if white women have climbed hills to have what we have now, then women of color have conquered mountains to get just a fraction of the same.

Black Lives Matter. More to come!

Thanks for reading.