by Jennifer Hughes
The Rapides Parish Library aims to perpetually celebrate our community’s diversity. Black History Month, in particular, is a great time to observe, appreciate and celebrate the rich history, contributions and achievements of African Americans in our community and throughout the world. To help celebrate, we have compiled a list of books that will inspire, educate and excite the reader.
You can request any of these materials on the RPL website online catalog http://encore.rpl.org/. If you don’t have time to read them all during Black History Month, it’s okay. Appreciation of these authors shouldn’t be confined to one month; you can check them out anytime!
For the nonfiction lover:
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
How to be Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
For the fiction addict:
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
For YA readers:
The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas
Children of Blood & Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D. Jackson
Memoirs: The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
Children’s Books:
Martin’s Big Words: The life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doreen Rappaport
Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine
Hidden Figures: The untold true story of four African American women who helped launch our nation into space by Margot Lee Shetterly
The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
In addition to these titles, there are Black History Month virtual programs and grab-n-go crafts available at RPL locations. Check out our events by visiting us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RapidesLibrary. Visit our Website: https://www.rpl.org/
