Novels & Autobiographies by Black Authors
I’m so thankful to have received an education that exposed me to a number of black authors and their stories (both autobiographical and fictional). It all started with reading Roll of Thunder, Hear Me Cry in middle school, and my eyes were opened to a life that was so unfamiliar to me. Next came I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings during my freshman year of high school, and this piece of writing will stay with me forever. Likewise, I’ll never forget reading Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass as a junior, getting completely engulfed in his incredible journey to literacy and freedom. My senior year of high school brought The Color Purple, with yet another amazing story of overcoming a life of abuse.
Getting lost in novels like these, along with my love of reading led me to become an English major and pursue another degree in Secondary Education. In college, I was exposed to James Baldwin’s Notes of a Native Son, Richard Wright’s Black Boy (I vividly recall pulling several all-nighters reading this as I could not put it down), and Barack Obama’s Dreams of my Father, then only a state senator who gave a keynote at the Freshman Convocation.
A few years later, as I pursued a master’s degree and was student-teaching high school English, I was able to read (and teach!) Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon with my students.
I share all of this because I believe it is so very important - now more than ever - to continually expose ourselves (and our children) to a variety of experiences, perspectives, and authors through literature, and I truly feel that reading these books have shaped me into an open-minded and caring person.
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