Fiction and non-fiction for Black History Month and beyond

Non-fiction

There is a wealth of non-fiction out there today that helps us to understand and celebrate the history of Black Britons and what it means to be Black in Britain today. These are some of the books we think are definitely worth a read.

• Black, Listed by Jeffrey Boakye – Taking a panoramic look at global Black history and contemporary culture, this book investigates the ways in which Black communities (and individuals) have been represented, oppressed, mimicked, celebrated and othered. 
• Natives by Akala – Akala draws on his own experiences of growing up in Britain, as well as looking at the broader social and political factors that influence how race and class affect us today.
• The Clapback: Your Guide to Calling Out Racist Stereotypes by Elijah Lawal – As the subtitle suggests, this looks back at the history of racist stereotypes and gives you the tools to call them out.
• 100 Great Black Britons by Patrick Vernon and Angelina Osborne – Celebrating the lives and contributions of 100 Black people who have helped to shape Britain.
• Mother Country by Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff – 22 accounts telling the story of the Windrush generation and their descendants. 
• Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging by Afua Hirsh – Explores British national identity, looking at the history of racism and its impacts today.
• Black and British by David Olusoga – David is, of course, beloved of the History teaching community and in this book, he explores the history of Black people in Britain.
• SAFE by Derek Owusu – A collection of essays from top poets, writers, musicians, actors and journalists that explores the experience of Black men in Britain.
• England’s Other Country Men: Black Tudor Society by Onyeka Nubia – This book seeks to redress the balance: revealing not only how black presence in Tudor England was far greater than has previously been recognised, but that Tudor conceptions of race were far more complex than we have been led to believe.
• Me and White Supremacy by Layla F Said – This book shows readers how to dismantle the privilege within themselves so that they can stop (often unconsciously) inflicting damage on people of colour, and in turn, help other white people do better, too.
• The Good Immigrant by Nikesh Shukla – 21 accounts of what it is like to be an immigrant to Britain today.
• Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge – Exploring everything from eradicated black history to the inextricable link between class and race, this is an essential handbook for anyone who wants to understand race relations in Britain today.
• Black British History: New Perspectives by Hakim Adi – An illuminating collection of essays that spans the centuries from the first Black Britons to the latest African migrants in Britain.
• Staying Power: The History of Black People in Britain by Peter Fryer –  First published in the 1980s, amidst race riots and police brutality, Fryer’s history performed a deeply political act; revealing how Africans, Asians and their descendants had long been erased from British history.
• Under Fire: Black Britain in Wartime by Stephen Bourne – This book tells the story of Britain’s black community during the Second World War, shedding light on a wealth of experiences from evacuees to entertainers, government officials, prisoners of war and community leaders.

Fiction

Non-fiction is not the only way of learning about history and the experiences of others. Fiction lets us look into other people’s worlds and go some way to understanding their experiences. Here’s a list of some fantastic fiction by Black authors, some contemporary and some classic, that our team at Hodder Education and others have recommended. Some are about Britain, but we couldn’t resist putting some in from further afield too.

Black British fiction

• Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams – Living in South London, Queenie struggles to navigate work and relationships while straddling two cultures and trying to work out where she fits in.
• Small Island by Andrea Levy – A classic, fictional account of the experiences of the Windrush generation.
• The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney by Okechukwu Nzelu – In contemporary Manchester, Nnenna is grappling with the struggles of growing up, as well as wanting to connect with her Igbo-Nigerian heritage.
• Black Flamingo by Dean Atta – A black gay teen embraces his true identity in this verse novel.
• The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins – This novel takes you from Frannie Langton’s childhood on a plantation in Jamaica, to the Old Bailey in London, where she finds herself on trial for murder. 
• Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo – This 2019 Booker Prize winner consists of twelve interweaving tales, mainly of Black British women.

And some other excellent books:

• The Color Purple by Alice Walker – The Pulitzer Prize winning tale of Celie, born in the inter-war American South. 
• Beloved by Toni Morrison – The classic from the Nobel Laureate, Toni Morrison.
• If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin – A love story set in Harlem, New York, in the 1970s.
• Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – A story of lives engulfed in the brutal Nigerian Civil War.
• An American Marriage by Tayari Jones – The story of a marriage when one spouse is wrongfully convicted of a terrible crime.
• The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead – A woman’s terrifying journey to escape slavery in nineteenth century America.
• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett – Identical twin sisters take different paths, including different racial identities.
• Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid – An incident in an American supermarket leads to a series of events that make you reflect on the complex intersection of race, class and gender.
• We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo – A coming of age novel, set in Zimbabwe and America.
• Remembered by Yvonne Battle-Felton – In this historical fiction novel, a mother desperately tries to keep her son safe in Philadelphia in 1910.

We’d love to hear your book recommendations too! Please leave a comment below. (To leave a comment, you must be logged in to the Hodder Education website. Registering for a website account is completely free and you can do so here).