The True American Curriculum: 10 Books to Remind the Black Woman She is God
A restorative reading list for these trying times.
Written by: Cree Myles
When done correctly, reading is resistance. It is a practice in empathy, it is self enlightenment. While existing in these unique times I have taken this opportunity to go back to my source — to Toni and Alice, to Octavia and Assata — to remind myself of how powerful I am; of the privilege and honor it is to come to this planet as a Black woman. As the conscious, as the culture, as God.
Nothing makes sense. I am two hours post protest as I write this. Had anyone recovered from the shock of Ahmaud Aubrey in time for George Floyd? I hadn’t, and I’m still grieving Eric, still grieving Trayvon.
An introductory college literature course would likely have a bunch of Faulkner and Thoreau on the syllabus. The list I’m about to share is the real American Lit curriculum. Nobody has their finger on the pulse of American consciousness like the Black woman. Nobody has had to obsess over the hypocrisy of what this country says it is and what it does — merely for the sake of survival — like the Black woman. Nobody has simultaneously been so carefully ignored and imitated at every level of American culture, like the Black woman. We are America. We fed your children, entertained you, loved and bandaged our men while enduring yours, wrote your songs, choreographed your dances and wrote your books. Here are some of the greatest, to help feed you during this time:
The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison
After I finished The Bluest Eye, I immediately started mourning that I was done –– and while I would be able to read it again, I would never be able to read it again for the first time. Toni Morrison’s debut novel is a perfect piece of literature and commentary on many of the complexities that exist within Black womanhood.
Wild Seed, Octavia Butler
A shapeshifting Black woman demigod who heals herself from the inside out. I read the majority of this book with my mouth open in shock. Octavia Butler does not fumble.
Kindred, Octavia Butler
Another Octavia joint. Her crown jewel. Painful, powerful and necessary. The book's opening line is “I lost an arm on my last trip home.” Octavia is not playing with y’all.
Sister Outsider, Audre Lorde
A holy text. I read the entire anthology for the first time a few weeks ago and have read “The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action” six times since then. If I could go door-to-door with this text Jehovah’s Witness style, I would.
Assata, Assata Shakur
The political text. If you’ve ever doubted whether the oppression was real, whether it was intentional or systematic. Read this. You won’t ever doubt again.
Eloquent Rage, Brittney Cooper
I consider this text a companion to Sister Outsider. It is the newest book on the list, published in 2017, and Dr. Cooper has already positioned herself as one of the leading minds around Black Feminism. Her commentary around pretty politics and bullying veiled as feminism is ahead of its time.
I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem, Maryse Conde’
Admittedly, the only foreign book on the list. I ,Tituba, Black Witch of Salem is an imaginative retelling of the Salem Witch Trials written by Guadeloupean novelist Maryse Conde’. It centers the only Black person mentioned in historical texts about the time, an enslaved woman from the tropics named Tituba. Conde’ employs magical realism and feminism to give us timeless prose.
Jonah’s Gourd Vine, Zora Neale Hurston
I mean – y’all know I wasn’t about to leave out the saint. Jonah’s Gourd Vine is Zora Neale Hurston's retelling of her parents' complicated relationship. When I tell y’all I ‘boo-hoo’ cried?
Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston
I’ve read this book so many times but just understood that the God they were watching was actually Janie. I was speechless. We don’t deserve Zora.
The Color Purple, Alice Walker
How do you describe the perfect book? The movie was good, but the book makes it look like one of those low budget Christmas movies Netflix throws on its roster to meet a quota. When Shug describes God to Celie? Seriously, read it today.
As a Black person, there is no correct way to navigate this moment. We carry all of the joy and pain of Blackness with us wherever we go. These books are both a balm for the wounds and a spark for hope. Enjoy.
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