Often I’m asked “What are you reading now?” I can’t remember the last time I was asked about books that I read during my summers-especially back in the last century when I was in high school that made strong impressions as I prepared for college.
Following are books that I loved and learned from during my school days. Other books were written well after I graduated, but they are my
recommendations for young people in their high school days and as they prepare for college. Every book is not for every reader, but hopefully this list will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers. They are listed in no particular order. AND, these books will make handsome , impressive additions to all personal libraries. I hope you will enjoy them and share some of your favorite books that made impressions in your life as you prepared to make your mark in the world.
- The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley
- Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, by Manning Marable
- Anything by Richard Wright, including Uncle Tom’s Children, Black Boy and Native Son
- Anything by Dr. Maya Angelou, especially I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Letter to my Daughter
- Letters to a Young Brother: Manifest Your Destiny, by Hill Harper
- Letters to a Young Sister: Define Your Destiny, by Hill Harper
- Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
- Middle Passage, by Charles Johnson
- Eyes on the Prize, by Juan Williams
- Roots, by Alex Haley
- Eyewitness to America: 500 Years of American History in the Words of Those Who Saw It Happen, edited by David Colbert
- Letters from Black America, edited by Pamela Newkirk
- Dreams from my Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, by (President) Barack Obama
- What I Know for Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America, by Tavis Smiley
- The Coldest Winter Ever, by Sister Souljah
- The Pact: Three Young Men Make a Promise and Fulfill a Dream, by Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins and Rameck Hunt with Lisa Frazier Page
- The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
- The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni
- The Learning Tree, by Gordon Parks
- Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, by ZZ Packer
- Phyllis Wheatley: Complete Writings
- The Souls of Black Folk, by W.E.B. DuBois
- Coming of Age in Mississippi, by Anne Moody