Overt Racism During Black History Month

Of course, the willfully ignorant don’t take a break just because it’s that month.

Here’s a new biography on a major black suffragist, Alice Dunbar-Nelson.

I not only use Goodreads regularly but also follow the Goodreads Facebook page. Every Friday it posts something like, “What are you reading this weekend?” It’s fun to respond and to see what books other people are reading.

Last week Goodreads asked, “What black authors are you reading for Black History Month?”

This looked like a fun post, and I listed black authors I’m reading this month: Martha S. Jones, Ibram X. Kendi, Mildred Taylor, and I might read Feminista Jones this month. (I began reading the Black history anthology Four Hundred Souls, edited by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain; I’m reading Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor; and Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All by Martha S. Jones. But I only gave author names because I took the question literally.)

While writing this, I just realized I forgot to mention Tiffany D. Jackson (her edge-of-your-seat horror novel White Smoke), bell hooks (All About Love), and Ruby Bridges (This is Your Time). I read a diversity of authors, including black authors, throughout the year, but I think it’s important to particularly focus on black authors during Black History Month. I’m Celtic and Ashkenazi, and the…