The commonalities connecting our African heritage, which is our Blackness, our resistance, and our resilience are well represented in writers from around the world.
Within the history of African-American descent, our familial, cultural, and linguistic ties did not extinguish upon our physical separation from the Motherland. We have consciously and unconsciously maintained our connection and interactivity in myriad ways. Our sorrows and joys, challenges and triumphs are represented and reflected in our literature and the sundry arts. This gives Pan-African people connective information and inspiration across not only the Americas but also around the globe. Our experiences and history, imprinted into our DNA, give our people a vital connection with which to remember each other. We communicate with each other, reaching back to get what we need to move forward from each other and our ancestors (a concept known as Sankofa), and we continue to build the bridges that bind us together and validate our souls.
Enjoy works from these international, national, and local Black authors:
International Authors
- Mariama Bã
- Margaret Busby
- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Buchi Emecheta
- Clementine Faik-Nzuji
- Miriam Makeba
- Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
- J. H. Kwabena Nketia
- Onyi Nwabinel
- Flora Nwapa
- Mohamed Mbougar Sarr
- Wole Soyinka
- Jeferson Tenório
- Amos Tutuola
- Edwidge Danticat
- John Agard
- William Kamkwamba
- Lupita Nyong'o
National Authors
- Octavia E. Butler
- Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Paul Laurence Dunbar
- Ralph Ellison
- Jarvis R. Givens
- Bell Hooks (Gloria Jean Watkins)
- Langston Hughes
- Zora Neale Hurston
- Ketanji Brown Jackson
- James McBride
- Ishmael Reed
- Gil Scott-Heron
- Vanessa Siddle Walker
- Michaela DePrince
- Leah Johnson
- Tracie Todd
Local Authors
- Allener M. Baker-Rogers
- Molefi Kete Asante
- Charles Leroy Blockson
- Bebe Moore Campbell
- Judith Jamison
- Solomon Jones
- Ayana Mathis
- Diane McKinney-Whetstone
- Sonia Sanchez
- Roland Leander Williams
- Joseph Willson
- Muriel L. Feelings
- Tom Feelings
For specific title recommendations, check out our Celebrating Black Authors Around the Globe and Celebrating Local Black Authors booklists.
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