Order books on Black history from independent Black-owned bookstores.

We’re timing this story to go live in February, which is traditionally Black History Month, but we mean this to be an all-the-time thing.

Books are good. You should read them. We at OTYCD like paper best, but we aren’t snobs. We don’t care how you read, we just care that you read.

You should read about Black history and the experiences of Black people. That goes double if you are American and white. Even if you were lucky enough to get straight, honest information some of the time on your journey through the educational system, you almost certainly never got the full, real picture with all its nuances.

Relevant books we at OTYCD learned a lot from include:

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander

The Beautiful Struggle and Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates (His first name kind of rhymes with Tallahassee)

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, by Frederick Douglass

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot

These stories and lists offer many more book suggestions for adults and children:

Black History Month Books list from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/black-history-month

25 Must Read Books for Black History Month, Shondaland

https://www.shondaland.com/inspire/books/g30771264/must-read-books-black-history-month/

35 Books for Black History Month, Scholastic

https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/teaching-tools/book-lists/29-books-for-black-history-month-.html

Borrowing these titles from your local library is mighty fine. If you prefer to purchase books, please consider placing your order with a Black-owned independent bookstore.

Literary Hub has an excellent list of Black-owned indie bookstores:

You can order today from these black-owned independent bookstores.

The Oprah Magazine published a great list in August 2020:

https://www.oprahmag.com/entertainment/books/a33497812/black-owned-bookstores/

Keep in mind when you call your order in that you are not buying from Amazon. You might need to wait for the store to order and receive the titles you request, and you might have to wait longer than a day or two to receive your books in the mail. One of the many ways you can support these smaller outposts, aside from spending money with them, is displaying patience with the process.

Read read read and then read some more. Hooray for books and those who sell them!

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