From Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Black woman credited with creating rock music, to Ella Fitzgerald, whose smooth voice earned her the title of “the queen of jazz,” Black artists have been cementing their place in music history since time immemorial. Whether you’re into fiction, nonfiction, film, or music, you can find something at the library. See if one of these suggestions works for you as a perfect way to pay homage to Black music innovators during Black Music Month.
Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop by Danyel Smith The impact that Black women have made on pop music from the conception of the genre and well into today cannot be overstated. In her latest release, Smith masterfully mixes history, both musical and otherwise, with her experiences as a lifelong music fan to craft an insightful ode to Black women musicians.
The Final Revival of Opal and Nev by Dawnie Walton If fiction is more your thing, The Final Revival of Opal and Nev might be exactly what you’re looking for. Though the story is a fictional history of a musical duo that never existed, the harsh lessons Opal, an unconventional Black artist, learns over decades about navigating the music industry as a Black woman are all too real.
Respect (2021) If you’re talking about Black music innovators, Aretha Franklin is one artist who more than deserves to be a focal point in that conversation. This dramatic retelling of Franklin’s life stars vocal powerhouse Jennifer Hudson, who landed a NAACP Image Award in 2022 for her portrayal of the title role.
World Music Radio by Jon Batiste (2023) Is there anything Jon Batiste can’t do? In World Music Radio, his seventh album, Batiste bends the limits of numerous genres to create a concept album that defies description. He proves, yet again, why he is often hailed as one of the most creative musical minds of our time.
Sharon Pruitt-Young is an Instructor and Research Specialist at East Columbia Branch. Aside from books, she is passionate about writing, urban sketching, trees, and art of all kinds.
Don’t believe anyone who tells you that comics are just for kids. That’s never been true, and now more than ever, graphic novels are gaining popularity for the creative ways authors can use the format to tell moving, complex, diverse stories for adults.
These five stories are just a few of the titles that HCLS offers for readers interested in expanding their Black History Month reading list. If you’re not a regular reader of comics or graphic novels, you may find yourself surprised at the storytelling power of words and pictures when they work together.
So says one of the protagonists of Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith’s Wash Day Diaries. It’s a ritual that any black girl with natural hair knows well. When it comes time to wash, deep condition, and ‘whatever else’ your hair, it’s prudent to dedicate an entire day to the endeavor. Washing, deep conditioning, detangling, styling—it’s a complex, time-consuming process. In this graphic novel, the only things more complex are the lives of our four heroines: Kim, Davene, Nisha, and Cookie.
Wash Day Diaries makes a point of accurately and lovingly depicting natural hair and all the ways it can be styled, and that’s part of what makes it stand out. It’s a well-told story that centers the importance of self-care and community, and it makes for a pleasant, uplifting afternoon read.
(If you’re looking for another graphic novel that delves into the cultural weight of hair in the African American community, check out Hot Comb, a collection of pen-and-ink comics by Ebony Flowers.)
Jason Reynolds’ poetic and immensely moving young adult novel Long Way Down revolves around a teenage boy grappling with the effects of gun violence. The story starts with the shooting death of protagonist Will’s beloved older brother. Lost in his overwhelming grief, Will is hell-bent on retaliation, but a visit from seven ghosts, all of whom have some connection to Will or his brother, forces him to make a hard decision about who he wants to be.
In the original book, Reynolds uses few words to say a lot, and the graphic novel version (also available as an e-book) of his story—told through watercolor illustrations—will leave you reeling just the same.
(Fun fact: Reynolds paid a visit to our East Columbia branch in 2018!)
Author Jason Reynolds speaks to an enthusiastic crowd at HCLS East Columbia Branch.
Being a biracial kid in the predominantly white town of Apple Valley, California—as well as a predominantly white punk music scene — isn’t easy. Written by James Spooner, founder of the Afro-Punk website, The High Desertchronicles Spooner’s coming-of-age experience and the birth of his love for punk/alternative music, a connection which blossomed even as Spooner struggled to find his place in a community that was oftentimes racist and even outright violent towards him. Spooner’s graphic memoir is perfect for anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider in the worlds that they love.
In another novel adaptation, artists Damien Duffy and John Jennings translate Octavia Butler’s (disturbingly timely) dystopian story into graphic novel form. Parable of the Sower isn’t an easy read, not by a long shot; in Butler’s 1993 novel, a series of simultaneously occurring catastrophes have transformed the country into a virtual hellscape.
Protagonist Lauren Olamina, a teenager at the start of the story, lives in an insular community where she and her neighbors continue to live life as normally as possible while struggling to avoid the widespread violence, exploitation, and corruption taking place outside. When Lauren, who is coming into her own mysterious powers, is forced to venture out into a collapsing society, what follows is a story of hope and new beginnings.
Be warned: part of what really makes this pick a disturbing one is that it’s set in the year 2024 and, at times, feels all too possible.
Fans of Octavia Butler should also check out the graphic novel adaptation of Kindred, one of her most beloved novels. It follows a black woman as she is thrown, repeatedly and terrifyingly, back into time — and into the antebellum era, when chattel slavery was the norm.
Melanie Gillman grapples with what it means to be black and queer in a Christian community—one in which non-white members are few and far between — in another coming-of-age graphic novel, As The Crow Flies.
During a week spent at Camp Three Peaks, a religious summer camp, our protagonist, 13-year-old Charlie Lamonte, finds herself questioning her faith and identity, all while embarking on a strenuous expedition up a (literal and figurative) mountain. As micro-aggressions abound, Charlie finds kinship and a reprieve from her loneliness in fellow outsider Sydney, a young trans girl who’s dealing with her own doubts. Soft, colored pencil illustrations depict luscious mountain scenery in this former webcomic turned graphic novel. This is one that fans of ‘found family’ stories will enjoy.
Sharon Pruitt-Young is an Instructor and Research Specialist at East Columbia Branch. Aside from books, she is passionate about writing, urban sketching, trees, and art of all kinds.
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