Toronto Public Library shares reading lists for Black History Month

The Toronto Public Library has compiled a list of books that celebrate Black culture and heritage to mark the start of Black History Month on February 1.

The 20 books included in the list feature stories that celebrate achievements, amplify everyday experiences, and dive into history.

Some are fact, such as Njoki Wane’s memoir From My Mother’s Back: A Journey from Kenya to Canada, and some are fiction, like Cherie Jones’s How the One-armed Sister Sweeps Her House.

Others, like Jillian Christmaes’s The Gospel of Breaking, are filled with moving poems, and some include beautiful photographs amongst their words, like Afua Cooper and Wilfried Raussert’s Black Matters.

February is #BlackHistoryMonth. Join us for free online events and explore new reading lists for all ages that honour and celebrate Black voices, heritage and culture. Learn more at https://t.co/LmfaiqYgEi

TPL’s Black History program series is generously supported by @TD_Canada pic.twitter.com/wwl0zCY40f

— Toronto Public Library (@torontolibrary) February 1, 2021

From stories on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa to police brutality in Canada, here is the Toronto Public Library’s Black History Reading List for 2021.

• Black Loyalists in New Brunswick: The lives of eight African Americans in colonial New Brunswick 1783-1834 By Stephen Davidson
  
• Black Matters By Afua Cooper and Wilfried Raussert
• Butter Honey Pig Bread By Francesca Ekwuyasi
• The Fishermen By Chigozie Obioma
• From My Mother’s Back: A Journey from Kenya to Canada By Njoki Wane
• The Gospel of Breaking By Jillian Christmas
• How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps her House By Cherie Jones
• In the Company of Men By Véronique Tadjo
• The Night Piece By André Alexis
• Off Script: Living Out Loud By Marci Ien
• The Response of Weeds: A Misplacement of Black Poetry on the Prairies By Bertrand Bickersteth
• Ring Shout: Or Hunting Ku Kluxes in the End Times By P. Djèlí Clark
• Shame on Me: An Anatomy of Race and Belonging By Tessa McWatt
• Shut Up, You’re Pretty By Téa Mutonji
• The Skin We’re In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power By Desmond Cole
• They Said This Would Be Fun: Race, Campus Life, and Growing Up By Eternity Martis
• Transcendent Kingdom By Yaa Gyasi
• Willie: The Game-Changing Story of the NHL’s First Black Player By Willie O’ree

The Toronto Public Library has also curated reading lists for children and teens in honour of Black History Month.